The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1904-09-29
KILLED HER HUSBAND

KILLED HER HUSBAND
Mrs. Peter A. Lewis, of Eden Town.
ship, Kills Her Husband, Think
ing Him a Chicken Thief
One of the most heart rending trag-
edies ever enacted in Decatur county
occurred at the home OF Peter A. Lewis,
who lived on Q. E. Gardner's farm in
Eden township, five miles south of Leon
shortly after o'clock last Wednesday
evening, when Mrs. Lewis thinking she
was shooting to scare a. supposed
chicken thief, emptied the contents of a
shotgun loaded with No. shot into her
husbands body, inficting wounds from
which he died about an hour after the
shooting. Mr.. Lewis left home about z
o'clock that evening to go to the home
OF James Jones, who lives a half mile
north OF the Lewis home, intending to
sit up a part of the night with Mr..
Jones who is very sick. Before leaving
home he told his wife that he would be
home at II o'clock and for her not to sit
up for him but to go to bed as she had
sat up at the home of Mr.. Jones the
previous night. A few nights before
this Mr.. Lewis had loaded his shot gun
and told his wife that if any of those
chicken thieves ever came around there
when he was not at home for her to
shoot the gun OFF and it would scare
them away.
On the fatal evening before leaving
home Mr.. Lewis and his wife went to
the chicken house and shut the chickens
in and then went and shut up the ducks,
it being their custom to do this every
night and see that all were securely
fastened before they went to bed. The
night before both Mr.. and Mr. Lewis
had been up at Mr.. Jones and remained
until twelve o'clock, and he had promis-
ed to come back the next night and sit
up until midnight. When he started up
the road after bidding his wife goodbye
he had little thought that when hes re-
turned an hour later it would be to his
death. 1t seems that when he arrived
at the home of Mr.. Jones he found that
Mr.. Barlean had come to sit up, so he
told them it was not necessary for him
to remain and he would go back home
and come back the next night and sit
up. Shortly after Mr.. Lewis left home
his wife and her sister, Miss Nora Bull
lard, who is teaching the school near
there and boarding at the Lewis home,
prepared to retire for the night. After
closing up the, lowe part Of the house
they went up stairs to bed. Mrs. Lewis
had just gone to bed and Miss Bullard
was in the act of retiring, having just
wound her watch and noticed that it
was ten minutes past eight, when the
two dogs began to bark and the women
heard a racket out at the chicken house.
They went to the north window upstairs
and looked out, the chicken house being
about 80 feet northwest oi the house,
and in the dim light Of the moon they
saw the figure of man standing in
front of the chicken house door. Both
of the ladies were badly frightened and
Miss Bullard asked her sister what on
earth they would do. Mrs. Lewis re-
piled that she would run down stairs
and get the gun and shoot and scare him
away. Returning with the gun, they
looked out the window and saw the man
coming out of the chicken house and
thought he had his hands full of chick
ems, SO Mrs. Lewis pushed the barrel of
the gun through hole in the upper
part of the lower window sash, as she
says thinking she would shoot over the
top of the chicken house, and having no
toward the man. She did not put the
gun to her shoulder but held it at her
waist and shutting her eyes, turned her
head and fired. In pulling the trigger
she would naturally pull up on the stock
and this detected the barrel so that it
exactly covered the man. Immediately
following the shot she was Mortified to
hear the voice of her husband calling
Minnie, it's me-" Mrs. Lewis then ran
down stairs and out in the yard where
he had fallen, Mr.. Lewis having walked
perhaps half way to the house before
sinking to the ground. She tried to
lift him up but could not. Mr.. Lewis
told her not to cry, that he knew it was
an accident and she did not intend to
shoot him, and that he was not afraid to
die. Seeing that he was badly wounded
Miss Bullard ran first to Mr.. Hatfield's
house short distance north and Chas.
Hatfield came at once. Mr.. Lewis was
alive but was breathing hard and told
Hatfield how to move him so that he
would be easier. He repeated again
after Hatfield came that he did not
blame his wife, thatsit was an accident.
After returning with Mr.. Hatfield,
Miss Bullard ran to Blockley to phone
for physician, but Mr.. Hamilton had
gone TO MISSOURI and there was no one
at home. 1t was necessary to send to
the home of VIM. Martz to telephone for
a physician, DR.. Layton being called,
but when he arrived at the house Mr..
Lewis had been dead for nearly an hour.
DR.. Layton made an examination Of
the body and found that the charge
from the gun had struck him full in the
face and chest, no less than 46 shot had
entered his face and body down to, the
waist,in addition to several which having
struck him on the arms, and number
of the shot had struck in vital parts, so
that no physician could have saved his
life had he been on the scene at once.
Coroner Fred A. Bowman went down
.and viewed the body Thursday after
noon and examined number of the
neighbors and Mrs. Lewis and her sis
ter, and after hearing all the details
decided that it was not necessary