Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-10-14

and - lore so after a policeman
cam 81 80 house and told us that he
had q al ver and cautioned us to be
car a. II this time he was upstairs
in p and his wife and my wife
am - were downstairs. When
tht man had gone, Mrs. Doherty
wf ohm Doherty's house to tell
herr 1it,.s-Jnd's brother about her fears.
My wife and | went down to Johns
soon, too, and we all three staid there
last night.
Friendly This Morning.
About 5 o'clock this morning John
and came back to the house and built
fire in the kitchen. John went upl
stairs to see if Tom was there but he
was not although the bed was warm
and we knew he had not been out of
1T long / then went into the front
room and found Inn there, sitting in
chair. He seemed to be friendly
and John asked him about the revolt
yer. At first he denied having one, but
when John told him that the police had
said he had it, lie admitted it but said
he did not have it then. When search
ed by Officer Mcbride last night he
did not have gun, either, and l sup
pose he hid it in the shop after we had
left last night.
i have been afraid that something
would happen for long time, and es
peclally during the last few days. Last
night when he went upstairs and took
the lamp believe he intended to shoot
us all when We started to go to bed.
The head Of the stairway is right at
his door, and to go to our rooms we
would have to pass his own. believe
that he had planned to shoot us all as
we came upstairs, but we did not go
after the policeman told us of his hav-
Ing gun. was afraid to go to work
this morning, for felt that something
like this would happen. | would have
staid here il could have been spared
from my work.
Policeman Warns Family.
| Mr.. Doherty is said to have shown
reyolyer,supposed to have been the one
with which he shot himself. to people
in the city yesterday. The police were
notified that he was armed and intoxi--
Gated, and last night Officer Stephen
Mcbride met him ON South Market
street and searched him to see if he
had the weapon. At that time he was
unarmed, but Mcbride feared that he
might cause trouble at home, so he
went to the Doherty home and notified
| the members of the family of his sus-
picions. This probably saved them
from wholesale tragedy, as it seems
that Mr. Doherty had made up his
mind while intoxicated to end the
! lives of his wife, daughter, and son-in--
law and then shoot himself last night
The Shooting.
Mrs. Gilbert went to work this
morning at the South Side exchange
of the Ottumwa Telephone Co., and
her mother returned home, and went
about her work as usual. Mrs. Doher-
ty spent some time at the blacksmith
shop owned by her husband, which
Saturday was leased by a. F. PiXley.
formerly of Mt. Pleasant Mr.. Pixley
was cleaning the trash out of the
shop and Mrs. Doherty took scraps
for kindling to the house On one
of her trips from the shop to the
house she went insite and moment
later Mr.. Pixley heard shot He step
ped to the rear door of the black
smith shop, looking toward the Doher-
ty home, distance of about fifty
feet, and saw Mrs. Doherty standing
in the kitchen door. She called for
aid, saying, He shot at met"
Mr.. PiXley induced the terrified wo--
imam to come into the blacksmith shop,
and before she reached it another shot
rang out. This was the one which
caused the death of Doherty, but as
/ there was no sound from the direction
iof the house no one was willing to en-
ter 1T unarmed. Policeman Nels Nell
son was summoned and abort twenty
minutes after Mrs. Doherty had been
driven from the house by her husband,
Officer Nelson and Mr.. Pixley entered
and their gaze fell upon the man, sit,
ting in rocking chair with his head
thrown back, breathing heavily.
, He clutched revolver in his left hand,
and it was not until the officer had
possessed himself of the weapon that
he realized that the man was shot and
not in a drunken stupor, as he had at
first supposed.
DR.. NJ w. Pascoe was called i'm
mediately and remained with the un.
, fortunate man until life fed DIR. A.
o. Williams was also called later in
the morning. Nothing could be done
to relieve him nor to save his life. 1t
was simply a question as to whether
his system would withstand the shock
For two hours or more after the shoot
ing his pulse remained normal and
, being unconscious he did not suffer
any pain. The wound in the lip bled
: freely but not until about II o'clock
; did the blood commence oozing from
the wound in the skull, through the
nasal duct into the mouth. Nothing
, could be done to save the mans life
: and he died without recovering con
! sciousneSs at IL o'clock.
Had Life Insured.
Mr.. Doherty carried $4,000 life pol
t icy in the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, in which organization hi
: was member in good standing at the
: time OF his death. The local lodge vii
5 have charge of the funeral services.
Born in Buffalo.
!. Thomas w. Doherty was born il
, Buffalo, New York. Sept 15, 1852