The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-29
SKIN GAME ENDS IN DEATH.
sIGNORA MITCHELL SHOT AND FAT
ALLY WOUNDED JAMES HARRIS.

Maintained by the Women, In the
Western Section of the City-The
Woman Is, and Harris Was, n Ne
gro-A Game of Skin in Which
Harris Had Lost Steadily Preceded
the HOmicide-Tore the Deck I'm
Anger at His Ill Luck-varying
Tales as to the Degree of the WO-
mans Guilt.
Signora Mitchell, alias Signora Harris,
alias half dozen other names besides. is
held at the police station house for the
murder of James Harris. The Mitchell
woman is a negro woman Of evil reputa-
ton, while her victim, though not of alb
solutely spotless life and irreproachable
character, enjoyed moderately good rep
utation among the people of his race.
The tragedy occurred in the dive main
tanned by the woman, on the corner of
Cuyler and Duffy streets, in the western
section of the city, and in a neighborhood
known of the police for it's frequent con-
tributions to the somewhat eventful his
tory of their lives. Vice in that neigh
borhood stalks triumphant and crime is so
common and so generally participated in
that anything less than q homicide at
tracts no particular attention.
The story told by those who were in
the house at the time the fatal shots were
fired is altogether in favor of the wo-
man. These witnesses. Gus Thompson,
Jim Small and Owen Martin, are held
with the slayer of Harris at the station
house. The description of the homicide
given by the quartette is practically iden-
teal. Indesd, the stories told bear so close
a resemblance 10 each other that Coroner
Goette, who had determined to hold an
inquest last night, postponed it until such
time as he was able 10 secu the attend
ance OF some other witnesses, not quite
so overcome with The entire and perfect
limo cerce Of the woman held under arrest
for the crime.
The story told by the defendant and
her friends is that a game of skin was
in progress at the womans house during
the early hours of yesterday morning, in
which Harris was a player and at which
lie had been a steady loser. Angered by
his ill-luck, he at last tore the deck of
cards through, and a wordy colloquy be-
tween the Mitche woman and himself at
once ensued, Thompson says the woman
had revolver in her hand at this juno
ture and that he and Small succeeded.
after some difficulty, in carrying her into
an adjoining room and holding her down
on q be5.
Then, according to the Thompson and
Small version of the homicide, Harris be-
gan to get ugly. When besought to go
home he refused to 90 so and finally,
breaking loose from Thompson's restrain
ing hold, rushed into the room in which
the woman was, with a drawn knife in
his hand, Then she fired, three shots in
rapid succession. the third shot taking
effect in Harris abdomen and bringing
him to the floor with a moan of anguish.
For some minutes after the shooting the
woman and her allies, one of whom
Thompson, lived in the house, were to-
Their without interrupt on. Then an ex-
cited mob of negroes charged down upon
the scene and the house was filled. Pa
trolman Woods was soon on the spot
and Sergt. Fleming, Detective Clarity
and Patrolman Farrell arrived almost i'm
mediatey afterwards. By this time the
mort ally wounded man had been placed
in bed and the woman, his assailant, had
disapp cared.
The search for her was begun at once
and after some difficulty Garrity located
her concealed behind pile of rubbish be-
meath an adjoining house. She was hauled
out and carried into the room where her
victim lay dying. she watched him expire
with sullen unconcern and led the chorus
of her vindicatiOn that was poured out by
herself, Thompson. Small and Martin into
the ears Of the officers of the law. After
Harris's death she was carried in the
wagon to the station house along with
the witnesses who then acknowledged
knowing something about the homicide
Clarity continued TO work on the case
yesterday and succeeded in cleaning evil
dencte that had not come out during the
previous hurried investigation. He found
two witnesses one a woman living in The
neighborhood, and another negro man,
George Glover whose accounts of the ia
tai shooting and the events that preceded
it place 1t in a far different light from
that told by the witnesses interrogated at
the bedside of the dying man.
The story of the woman is to the effect
that Signora had long cherished bitter an
imos!ty against Harris, whom she accused
OF assisting in removing from her inf1u-
ence man whom, in her own way, she
had loved and with whom she had been
living. 1t is said that on Sunday after
noon she was heard to say that she would
kill Harris at the first opportunity and
after he had ben shot, and placed on her
bed. she is said to have threatened to re-
enter the room and make an end Of him.
Glover makes an interesting contribution
to the facts offered in evidence. He says
that while the skin game was in progress
he was standing outside the house and
that he heard Harris say:
There's my last twenty cents. If lose
that l am going to tear up this deck of
cards. It's a horse deck, anyhow" A
horse deck" in the vernacular of the
players of skin, is one In which the cards
have been marked
Glover overheard theeheated argument
between Harris and the woman and her
remonstrance with him for tearing the
deck Then there was scuff1e end almo {
Immediately afterwards the shots were
fired. He says there was no interval Of
any length between the quarrel and the
firing. The other story has it that there
was q considerable interval, dur ng which
the woman was carried from the room in
which the quarrel occurred to anoiher.
A circumstance that casts suspicion on
the story told by the woman and her three
friends is that the officers were never able
to find the knife'they said Harris had held
in his hand when he entered the ROOM 1t
was not on or about his person or any,
where about the room. A further sus-
picious element in the story is that Small
tells a part OF it, He is notorious rogu,
and distinguished himself last year by
walking into Knights Pharmacy, gather
In . na aeh fcio orI talr