The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-26
MAN SHOT IN 4
SALOON RAID
Mrs. Nations Followers
Cause Another Tragedy.
TOPEKA THE SCENE
OF A BLOODY RIOT
4
Many Shots Fired in Attempt
to Smash Liquor House.

made upon a North Topeka wholesale
liquor house last night, J. W. Adams
was shot and probably fatally wound
ed. He is now at a hospital where he
is lowering between life and death.
At midnight a crowd Of citizens,
heavily armed with revolvers, sIedge
hammers, crowbars and a battering
ram. broke into the wholesale LIQUOR
house of Cash" Curtis, on West Cur
tbs street, between Kansas. avenue and
jackson, street, and smashed the beer
casks found there. Three policemen
drove the crowd back Both the DO
hcemen and the citizens fired their re-
VolVers, and J. w. Adams, a carpenter
was shot twice in the breast. He was
taken in a hack to Riverside hospital
where he lies in q precarious. condi-
ton.
DR.. NJ. r. Mitchell and the Rev. F.
w. Emerson were arrested. Mr.. Elmer.
son was taken to the police station.
where he was booked under the charge
of resisting an officer. His left hand
was cut and bleeding. He was allowed
to go upon his own recOgnizance. DR.
Mitchell took the injured man to the
hospital in a hack and was allowed to
stay and administer to him without
giving bond.
The three officers-PatroImen Dow
ney and BOyIes and Private Waterman
COnnOrS-claim that Adams was shot
by his own crowd while he was re-
treating from the place where the Ii
quOrs were smashed, and Adams says
that he was shot by a policeman. Of
ficer DOwney says he did not arrive at
the scene of the trouble until it was
about over. officer BOyles claims that
two shots he fired were in the air, and
that he did not aim at anyone.
The crowd which did the smashing
met on West Curtis street, about two
blocks from the joint. The estimates
of the number vary from thirty TO
sixty. At a few moments past Il the
crowd moved east on Curtis street to
Jackson street The wholesale liquor
house is a small frame building at
the rear Of Curtis home, which faces
on Curtis street. The crowd turned
south on Jackson street and crossed
the rear of the lots between the street
and the liquor house. A half-dOzen
men seized a log and used il as q.
battering ram. The door gave way and
the crowd rushed in. At the first rush
the lantern which the crowd carried
was extinguished and the work was
done in the dark
Smashed the Saloon.
Three men stood on the inside and
passed the cases and kegs of beer to
men in the doorway, who threw them
into the yard to be smashed. The
crowd used heavy sledges, axes, ma
sons hammers and crOWbars. The
owners of the beer made no resistance.
ParOlman BOyles and Waterman
COnnOrs were called from the Union
Pacific depot two blocks away and
We're the first officers there. They en-
tered the yard from Curtis street and
n no r~d q
ficers arrived thirty cases and two
kegs of beer had been smashed, and
the debris was scattered over the yard
When the officers arrived the crowd
fell back to a ditch near Jackson street,
where the leaders succeeded in rally
ing the forces. While the crowd was
being driven back twenty or thirty
shots were fired. When the crowd re
treated to Jackson street the officers
were near the building and Adams was
between the officers and the crowd.
When he was shot he fell by a pile Of
wood. When the crowd found that one
of the number had been wounded the
members quickly dispersed
Chief Stahl was summoned but did
not arrive there until the crowd had
left. He said: THE other raids have
been expected and have had the of
ficers posted, but that was a complete
surprise. We had no idea that it was
going to take place. MY information
is that nearly all the joints on the
south side have been supplied for the
last three or four days from this Cur
tbs street storage house, and little If
any has come from MOeser's."
When ConnOrs and 1 arrived said
PatrOlman BOyles, the crowd yelled
Mob emf Hang emf Burn emf I
arrested Dr.. Mitchell and the Rev. 3
W. Emerson. They seemed TO be the
leaders. When L got there they stopped
carrying out the beer. DR.. Mitchell
was giving orders. All the crowd had
white handkerChiefs tied over their
faces but DR. MitchelIs and Mr.. En-
eTSOn's handkerchief came off. / went
TO where they were throwing out the
stuff and told them to stop The crowd
fell back toward Jackson street and
the shooting commenced L shot twice
in the air. Adams was running toward
the crowd when he was shot he had
a sledge and a steel bar in his hands.
He did not say a word when he fell"
Bevolvers Were Drawn
Waterman Connors' story is a cor
rOboration of that of Officer Boyles.
When we got into the yard Emerson
drew q revolver on me-" said COnn0rs.
When I tried to take it away from
him we clinched and fell He had me-
down on some. boxes and I could not
get up. During the fuss someone hit
me with a club twice and I was hit
Emerson got away from me and Bsyles
got him. The crowd started toward
the street. Adams was between the
crowd and the building and thirty feet
from the building running toward the
crowd, when he was shot. Emerson
stood on a little bank Of dirt and called
upon the crowd to rally Emerson
stood there and fired his revolver. Ny
revolver was knocked from my hand
and 1 did not fire 1t.
''They were unloading the beer all
evening" said DR.. Mitchell. we fol
lowed the wagon in which they We're
hauling it from the Union Pacific
tracks. They had emptied one car and
there is another still on the track"
When asked if he was present when
the smashing took place. DR.. Mitchell
admitted that he was.
when the officers came" he con
tinued. several shots were fired. I
do not know who fired first Both the
crowd and the officers fired. The crowd
ran toward the street and i called
upon them to rally I was not the
first to reach Adams when he was
b41T no was not 1Inpr41 crf01rz