Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-08-09

VIZ men were instantly killed IN
three fatally wounded at a picnic il
Doe Run last Saturday. The tragedie
were the result of a feud of long stand
Ing between the Harris and Doole,
families. The Harris are we'll know
here having spent the past winter il
Eliot knob. There were four OF them
father and three sons. The youn!
men were regarded here as pretty hare
characters. always ready and willing
to create a disturbance, and FREQUENTLY
seeking trouble. Here in the story O
b shooting Saturday as telegraphet
from Doe Run Monday to the St. Louis
P0St-DEspotch: This town and ~vicinit,
is in a ferment of excitement over the
terrible ending of the feud between the
Dooley and Harris families at the pic
mic Saturday. The feud is of two
years standing and began when Yves.
ley Harris eloped with the wife o.
Joseph Dooley. The Dooleys are farm
ers, living a short distance from Doe
Run. The HAIRLESS are also farmers,
living a short distance away from the
Dooleys. Wesley Harris had beer a
frequent visitor at the Dooley home
and his attentions to Mrs. Joseph
Dooley had been noticed. One morn.
ing it was found that she was gone and
inquiry showed that she had eloped
with Wesley Harris. The Dooleys
swore vengeance, but up to Saturday
there had been no serious encounter.
1t was rumored around the neighbor-
hood that the two factions would at
tend the picnic, and trouble was feared,
but for some reason no steps were
taken to have officers of the law pres
ent. At n side of the grove in which
the picnic vas held a merry-go-round
was in operation and surrounded by a
large crowd. The Harris brothers
drove into the grounds. Wesley Har-
ris was accompanied by the former
wife of Joseph Dooley, the woman who
had given up all for him. They took
seats on the merry-go-round. Hardly
were they seated when the male mem
bers of the Dooley family, all on
horses, came into the grounds. Joe
Dooley went directly to the swing,
stepped up beside his former wife and
kissed her in the mouth. He then
turned away, cooked his Winchester
and began firing at Wesley Harris.
Old man John Dooley came up at this
moment and Harris, who had been hit
twice. opened fire. His first shot
pierced the heart of old man Dooley,
who fell dead without uttering a word.
At the first shots other members of
both families hurried to the scene,
each man armed with either a Win
chester or a revolver. Paying no at
tention to the crowd about the merry
%go-round, the firing began, each man
shooting to kill. The crowd scattered
with wild scream of fright from the
women and children intermingled with
the curses of the ~maddened combatants.
Wesley Harris fell dead, pierced with
six bullets. Then Joe Dooley dropped,
shot in the head and arm. He raised
himself on his elbows and continued to
shoot until he fell back, exhausted by
blood. James, Frank and Len Harris
attempted to retreat and a running
fight began, William and John Dooley,
Jr., following them. One of the
Dooleys had a Winchester, the other a
revolver, and as they ran through the
crowd they fred almost at every step.
Frank Harris fell. He had been shot
through the chest and arm. He
dragged himself into the crowd and
got away. James Harris, shot through
attempted to escape by hiding in the
brush at the edge of the grove. The
pursuing Dooleys, thinking he had
gone toward town, mounted their
horses hurriedly and galloped up Main
street after him. The crowd, thinking
them gone, ran to the wounded men,
but the Dooley boys had discovered
their error and returned to the grove
at full speed. They saw James Harris
lying on the ground and both opened
fire on him. Miss Ora Literal, a by
stander, was struck by a ball from a
Winchester, in the instep. Her shoe
string was carried through the foot and
stuck out on the other side. William
Dooley went back through the grove
and seeing the dead body of Wesley
Harris on the ground, placed the muz-
zle of one of his revolvers against the
face of the corpse and fred and then
stamped the upturned face with both
his feet. Both of the Dooleys then re-
mounted their horses and rode up town
and had the sheriff at Pennington
called by telephone. To him they
signiied their desire to surrender. |
They are now ir Jail at Pennington.
EXCITEMENT is running high here, and
there is considerable talk of taking the
men from Jail and lynching them"
The REGISTER man-who, perhaps, |
by reason of gathering years. ought to
be beyond gadding about the country |
attended the picnic at Annapolis last
Saturday. But it was a Daughters of
Rebecca picnic, and where the daugh-
tiers are gathered there will be found
the fathers and the sons, also. 1t has
been so yer since pyramids were built
and was so long before the u~nspeaka-
bleness of the sphynx became a by
word to the nations of earth. By
courtesy of Superintendent Wentworth
to whom long life and happinessi-l
the fast mail took up the Ironton con-
tingent and landed it In Annapolis just
in time and tune for a most excellent
breakfast, prepared and served under
the competent supervision of the fair
hostess, Mrs. Benson. She is noted for
her untiring energy, her kindly heart,
and her great ability. These form a
conjunction which captivates the guest
and makes him an out-and-out advo-
cate for Hotel Benson. Her worser-
half is a good second to the hostess
and he makes it comfortable for those
around him. As we stepped to the door