Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-06
EFFORTS TO SECURE INFORMA-
TON RELATIVE TO KILLING
OF MISSOURI STEVE"
WITNESS CLAIMED
He KNEW NOTHING
Says He Was Within Few Feet of
Wells When He Was Shot-Story
of Subsequent Movements.


killing of Steve Wells on the night of
February %, was interrogated at length
by County Attorney Breen and City
Detective Murphy late yesterday after
noon in an effort to get at the tr"e
story of the killing.
The Interview was not productive of
much, with the exception that matters
were further complicated by the state
ment of Cox, to the effect that the
wound on Wells head, made by some
blunt instrument, was not made before
the shooting.
Mr.. Breen explained to Cox that the
wound on the side of the head crushed
the skull, and was sufficient to have
produced instant death, and if it had
been produced before the shot was
fred Wells would have fallen dead to
the floor. Cox then, in a roundabout
way, stated that the blow could not
have been struck before the pistol was
fired.
He said that he was within a few
feet Of Wells at the time Of the tragedy
and was facing him at the time. The
blow might" have been struck by
man in the next room at the same in
slant that the shot was fired, but after
considering a moment, he said that it
would have been Impossible, as he
would have seen 1t. AS soon as the
shot was fired Wells fell forward from
the chair he was occupying and Cox
at once stopped over and, taking him
around the waist, partially raised him
from the floor. He said that he did
not know who had fired the shot, as
his back was turned to the door, and
although he heard the explosion. he
did not turn his head.
After the shooting he went out of the
cabin with Slaton ana Went for the
police. They found one near the Jail
steps, and then Cox went through the
California brewery and across the street
tc Whatley's restaurant, where his
brother is employed as a waiter. He
told his brother what had occurred and
| they went into an adjoining saloon for
| a drink. While in the saloon he lost
track Of his brother, and thinking that
! he had gone to the room. he went in
that direction. He looked up to the
window Of the room. but seeing no
light there, went back to the cabin.
Detective Murphy asked Cox if he
had not absented himself from the
scene Of the shooting for the purpose
| Of sscreting the weapons with which
the bloody deed was done. Cox replied
that he had not. Mr. Breen informed
Cox that physicians had testified that
the powder burns on Wells face indi-
Gated that the gun had been held with
in three or, at most. four feet from the
face at the time the shot was fired,
but Cox still persisted that he did not
see the man who had fired the shot.
Mr.. Breen told Cox that he would
| hn IN foil "a no ftor
or else complaint charging him with
murder would be fled against him, and
he might not get his preliminary exam
ination until Christmas. He said that
it was senseless matter for a respec-
table young man like Cox to withhold
the truth of the matter out of mis-
taken idea of loyalty to a murderer
or a scamp whom he might have called
friend in the past. Cox said that he
had told everything that he knew, and
he had no idea how Wells skull was
broken.
When asked If he had any idea who
the parties We're who entered the cabin
and fired the shot, he intimated that
her had suspected two men, named Con-
nors and Burke, who were hard char
acters. On the night or morning that
Enright's saloon in Centerville was held
up, these two men mad entered the
restaurant where he was working and
had told him to visit them in their room
over Ben E. Harris place after he got
off from work. He did so, and they
asked him what he knew about the
hold-up, and their questions made him
wonder at their Interest. Some time
afterwards they had made particular
inquiries in regard to the amount of
money Wells and Slaton had in their
game in the cabin. Cox said that he
told them that they often played for
big stakes and would take $3.50 and
s25 bets IL man had the coin.
Cox talked for over half an hour
hut would admit nothing in regard to
the occurrences in the cabin at the
time Of the shooting. except that which
| has already been stated. He was sent
back to Jail pending further investiga-
! ton.