Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-09
EBEN |. BOYCE
HANGED TODAY
Had Hope to the Last but Collapsed
at Final Summons.
81 AN A SOLDIER STILL"
That was His Last Remark ms lie
stood Upon the scailOld-
Neck Broken.

Tacoma, Wash, Aug. 9.Eben l..
Boyoe, was executed on the fifth floor
Of the court house this morning for wife
murder He slept soundly from two to
five o'clock, and even then had hope Of
a stay Of execution. He collapsed when
summoned for the march TO the gal
lows, but was revived and as he stood
on the scaffod, said: 81 am a soldier
still.
The execution was perfect, his neck
being broken by the fall The drop fell
a; '.OG and the heart cased beating In
IL minutes.
The crime Of which Eben H. Boyce
was convicted was committed In Ia
coma on February TO- 1900 at o'clock
in the evening He went into the res
taurant az l07 South Tenth street,
where his wife was employed as CASH
Ter, and shot her in cold blood Boyce
had reached the city only an hour be-
fore on the Victorian and had been
drinking heavily all the way down.
When he opened the door Of the .~stau-
mination In his face and screamed In
terror. Boyce pulled a double action
Colts revolver and opened fire The first
shot shattered her arm and she turned
TO run into a private box behind the
counter. The second shot struck her In
the left breast and she fen to the floor
Without a word he advanced to the
PROSTATE body Of his victim and plac-
La hA h.. sN
fired the third shot. AS he left the
restaurant he walked down Tenth
street towards the Tacoma hotel. but
was oyertaken by officer Needham and
quietly submitted TO arrest He said he
hoped he had done good job.
[Eb Boyce as he was Familiarity
called by his associates IN the musical
profession, came from Colorado. When
a boy, previous to his entering his
teens. he exhibited wonderful musical
ability and was even then considered
a paragon in his performances uopn
the cornet. He played at dances, etc,
in company with his father who was
one Of the old-style "hoe-down' I'D
dlers. and the little fellow astonished
his listeners with the excellence Of his
playing, He could not read music and
played everything by ear" Later he
went 10 Boston and was Immediately
taken up by the MUSICIANS there, per-
forming In one of the churches. II was
here that he learned to read music,
seeming to grasp the proper method
without effort, and was always after
wards known as sight reader" He
remained In Boston but two or three
months, when his rowing disposition
carried him back TO Denver, where he
remained until going to Tacoma.
Ills ability as a c0rnetist was recog-
nlzed by every musician whoever heard
him While at Denver he was engaged
at one Of the theaters and his perform
ance there was something wonderful at
times He was very modest about his
ability, however, and when under the
impression that someone was paying
special attention to his part his efforts
were confined to the simplest rendition.
But sometimes, when in the humor and
ohlivlous as to his auditors his natural
bent was given full swing and the best
IF musicians were simply astounded.
Times without number he has been Of
fered splendid salaries to play in the
best bands in the country but his
natural abandon to immediate sur
roundings led him TO laughingly decline
them all.-Ed.l