The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-11-10
GIVES A MOTIVE
FOR SHOOTING
Friend of Ellison Explains Attack
on Watson
TELLS OF PRECEDING EVENTS
FATALLY WOUNDED MAN STILL
LIvES-CALLS IT BLACKMAm.

| A 7 THE Holy Cross hospital lies one
/ n man. lowering between life and
death, with the chances all in
favor of the latter. In an iron-barred
I cell at the city jail sits another man.
moody and morose, denying himself to
all and Offering no reason for his at
/ tempt on the first mans life, beyond
saying that he was justified IN a we'll
/ furnished home on Second street sits
another person-the woman in the case
and she has nothing TO say. These
| three persons, the principals, hold the
] secret of the shooting Of a. S. Watson
by c. H. Ellison, and they are guard
4 ing it carefully. Friends of both were
found yesterday, however. who threw
considerable light on the affair.
The wounded man and his friends
claim that the shooting was the result
/ Of an attempt at blackInail- The pris-
/ oner says nothing. but his friends say
that he was justified in doing as he did,
Tor they allege the man in the hospital
! alienated the affections OF the woman
who is the wife Of the man in Jail.
Mrs Ellison does not corrobOrate either
story.
There is plenty of time to talk"
when the time comes"
Story Of Estrangement
Friends of Ellison. the prisoner, say
all was peace and happiness between
him and his wife until, at Mr.. Watson's
suggestion, they went to live at the
latter's house during Mrs. Watson's
absence in the east During the cou-
pies stay there something occurred
which estranged the EllisOns and
caused them to leave suddenly and re-
/ turn to their first quarters in a room
at 176 South State street.
Just prior to leaving their room there
the two had been contented and no
quarrels marred the domestic tranquil
! lily. Ellison was sober and Industrious
and evidently much in love with his
wife. When they returned all was diff
ferent Ellison frequently Quarreled
with his wife and took to drinking
heavily. Twice he ordered her to leave
him and go TO her mother The first
time he was intoxicated and his wife
did not take the matter seriously. go
ing instead to her husbands mother,
Mrs Payne. who took him home with
her until he was ready TO return and
live with his wife.
The second time he ordered her home
was on Friday night, a week ago. Peo-
PIE living in the mouse heard the sound
of a quarrel and then both appeared
/ in the hallway. Ellison went in and
told the landlady, Mrs. Joseph jeffrey,
that he was sending his wife home,
that he had placed her trunk in the
hall TO be taken away, and that he
forbade anyone replacing it in the
room Mrs Jeffrey, who was a friend
of the pair, was surprised to hear OF
the quarrel, and went into the hall TO
talk to Mrs Ellison, who was standing
at the head of the stairs.
What is the matter between you
and your husband?'' she asked. Il
thought you were getting along all
right"
HE is crazy replied the woman,
standing dry-eyed in the hallway. HE
is sending me home, but I don't care
I am innocent. and advise you to
watch the papers and see who is inno-
cent
Ellison Takes to Brooding.
The woman returned home, and from
that time on his friends noticed a.
change for the worse in Ellison. For
the first two or three days after she
had left he drank a great deal, evil
IDENTIFY trying to drown the memories
OF what had been and could be no more
Unsuccessful in doing this, he gave
way 10 brOOding, and would sit i'm
mersed in thought for hours at a time.
During this period he did not drink.
l.
became alarmed for his mental and
physical condition. They set them
selves to watch him, meanwhile at
tempting TO make arrangements for
his future well being. These arrange
ments, it is said, came to naught and
Ellison, learning of this. eluded the
vigilance of his friends, and, pistol in
hand, avenged himself for his real or
fancied wrongs on the person of A
S. Watson, whom he considered their
author.
A close friend Of EIlison-M J.
Yeoman-a man who has watched over
and taken care of him during his trou-
bles, told the story of the affair yester-
day. and added that he believed that
had he not constantly remained with
Ellison during the past two weeks, the
shooting would have occurred at least
d week before
Il knew Ellison and his family six
years ago, when they lived in Canon
City, COlO.,' he said. land I have never
known anything but good of them. Eli
son was always a gentleman, and I
never knew of his drinking until I
came here some few weeks ago and
met him.
AT the time met him I noticed
that he was moody and .abstracted and
that something was Weighing on his
mind I did not ask him about it, pre-
ferring to let him tell me when he got
ready, and at last one day he told
me. Just what he told me LIDO net
care to state. That viii come out at
the trial, but suffice it 10 say that his
CONTINUED on Page 3.