Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-10-11
SHOT IN THE FACE
Stephen Ellis Wounded Fatally
at Mortified Wednesday.
Both Barrels of Gun Discharged While
Riding in Carriage-Ellis Died Soon
After He Reached Brattleboro.

Riding in carriage-Ellis Died Soon
After He Reached BrattIeboro.
A shocking fatality, with strange sad
| and distressing features brought the life
! of Stephen c. Ellis 54, the well-known
| barber, to an end Wednesday. The acci-
| dental discharge of a shotgun took place
| in Northfeld, Mass, about 3 O'Clock in
| the afternoon, the contents of both bar
| rels striking Mr.. Ellis at close range un-
der the chin, mutilating his face horribly,
and he died about $50 o'clock, or within
half an hour after he was brought to
Brattleboro, never having regained con-
sciousness fully.
The details of the shooting are not
clearly defined. Ellis and Hiram II. Liv-
ingston, the iceman, who is also one Of
the assistant engineers of the Brattleboro
fire department, went hunting Wednesday
morning on the mountain. About $50
o'clock Livingston appeared at c. S.
Stockwels livery stable. He ordered a
horse and carriage and drove away.
How and where Ellis and Livingston
spent the next few hours has not been
determined. but a careful investigation,
beginning at Brattleboro and following
on through Hinsdale toward Mortified
would undoubtedly show something more
of the underlying causes of the tragedy
1t is known. however, that the two men
were seen early in the afternoon. driving
between Hinsdale and Mortified in a
badly befuddled condition. Shortly be-
fore o'clock Henry Bardwell of East
Northfeld, who was a short distance from
the d. L. Moody homestead heard
shot and looked up in time to see the
smoke rising and a horse prancing about
in the road in front of the Moody house,
the carriage containing two helpless men.
He had no difficulty in stopping the
xxnfg lieta
In the carriage was the ghastly figure of
aEllis, a short, stocky man, bleeding pro-
'fusely, with his chin and the entire
right side of his face shot away. and
beside him was the burly form of Liv-
ingston. a giant i'm proportion to his COM
panon. but he was too helpless to be
Of assistance to his wounded friend.
The shot had been heard by other peo-
pie. who came quickly to the scene
Ellis was lifted from the carriage, and
DIR. a. l.. Newton of Northfield who
arrived shortly. on making an eXamina-
tion in front of Charles Lawrences house,
at once pronounced the wound fatal
Ellis was taken into Mr.. Lawrences s
house and made as comfortable as possi-
BILE.
The two hammerless shotguns were in
the front part of the carriage. The one
which had exploded contained two empty
shells. Fred Britton was examining the
other gun, when one barrel was acci-
dentally discharged, and another serious
accident was escaped narrowly, the
charge whizzing uncomfortably close to
Dr. Newtons drivers head, cutting away
twigs from the tree just above him. The
other loaded cartridge was removed in
stanter.
one of Livingston's hands had been
blackened and burned by the discharge
which wounded Ellis. The big iceman
was in so much of a comatose condition
that he could give no information, not
being able to tell even who Ellis was
The whip in the carriage contained Liv-
eryman Stockwells name, and by tele-
phoning to Brattleboro the Northfield
people ascertained that team answering
the description of the one at Northfield
had been driven away by Livingston, but
the men at the stable did not know who
went with Livingston. Plying Livingston
with questions again the Mortified peo-
pie learned that the wounded man was
Ellis, but what Ellis, Livingston could
not make clear.
About half an hour after the shooting
S. w. Edgett. the Brattleboro real estate
dealer who had gone to Northfield with
the Christian Endeavor excursionists,
heard that a Brattleboro man was in
1ured, and on going to the Lawrence
house Immediately identified Ellis.
Preparations were made at once for
Opiates had been given him, and he was
placed in an easy chair in an express
wagon, and accompanied by DR.. Newton
e. S. Bardwell and Samuel E. Walker.
in addition to the driver, he was taken
to Brattleboro.
Ellis showed some signs of conscious
ness. He put his hand to the wound
pushed away the hand of one of the men
supporting him, and at one time seemed
to motion the driver not to drive so
rapidly. Arrangements had been made by
telephone at Northheld for taking Ellis
to DIR. Lynchs private hospital, and when
he arrived DR.. Lynch and DR.. Henkel
were in waiting to render any assistance
possible. There was nothing to be done,
however, except to make the poor sufferer
as comfortable as possible and he died
within half an hour. Both jaws were
crushed by the shot the right eye was
torn out. and the entire right side of the
face rddled.
Ellis's body was taken from the hospital
Thursday afternoon to his home on South
Main street. where the funeral will be
held at o'clock Saturday afternoon, Rev
r. X. Marvin officiating.
1t is understood that no investigation
into the shooting will be made in North
field, Ellis having died in Vermont. Had
Ellis's death taken place in Mortified
an investigation would have been neces-
sary
Livingston was brought home from
Northheld by Mr.. King of that town in
the team in which the shooting occurred.
On the way here he told a somewhat hazy
story to the effect that he and Ellis had
had some trouble on the way, that they
feared that the sheriff was after them,