The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-27
KANSAS NEWS.
Two Dead and Two Wounded In
q Street Battle.
Strenuous Time Started by a
Soldier at LeaVenWOrth.
FIERCE PISTOL DUEL.
ThOrOughfares Crowded With
Frightened Spectators.
George Cole Finally Shot Down
by the Chief of Police.

est of the Saturday afternoon shopping.
when the streets We're thronged with
women and children, crazy man who
had just deliberately committed a muir
der on Cherokee street walked boldly
through the main streets of town, keep
ing a large crowd of men and boys at
bay with his smoking revolver, and
finally found refuge in a shed. where he
was shot by the chief of police, after
he had wounded two more men.
The man was George Cole, an ex-
soldier, who has been working on
Drake Spencer's farm north Of town as
a farm hand. He murdered William
Hammond, a single man At years Of age
who worked on the farm with him, and
with whom he had quarreled over some
trivial matter.
The murder took place in the street
IN front of Hess warehouse, and was
witnessed by dozens of men. After
shooting Hammond through the breast,
Cole shook out the empty shells, re-
loaded his revolver and coolly walked
UP Fifth street stopping every now and
then to threaten the crowd with his
weapon. He turned at Fifth
and Delaware streets, the main corner
in town, and with a crowd of over 500
persons following him, he walked down
Delaware to Fourth and up Fourth to
the postofice.
In the meantime the police had been
notified and the men on duty at once
ran to Fourth and Shawnee streets,
where they found the man holding the
immense crowd at bay. Several men in
the crowd were armed with reVolvers.
They fred at Cole and he fired into the
crowd. but strange to say, no one was
hit. Detective Jack I1onergan appear
ed on the scene and opened fire, but
woman ignorant of the trouble walked
into range just behind the murderer
q nd
shooting. Cole took deliberate aim
and fired several times at Lonergan
while the crowd fed in confusion.
Several other officers appeared and
started to fire at the desperate man,
but were handicapped by the immense
crowd which practically surrounded the
dueiists.
Having emptied his gun. Cole pulled
out his knife and extracted some shells
which had stuck, reloaded from sup
ply in his pockets and ran up an alley
back Of the postofice. The crowd surg
ed after him, with the officers in the
lead. The murderer jumped over
fence into a private yard and threaten
ed to kill a woman who was in bis way.
and then ran through an opening in the
fence into place owned Dy mrs
Wheeler. a very aged woman. He STUN
bled over an old table in her yard and
feU at her feet. crying. Let me in, for
Gods sake, let me in" Mrs. Wheeler
tried to block the door, exclaiming,
mo. get out Of my yard. don't want
any shooting here but the desperate
man pushed past her into the house
and out through a back door into a
chicken house, where he took refuge
behind door, saying Don't tell them
I'm here"
The officers were already in the house
and Mrs. Wheeler pointed out the hid
ing place and a rush was made. Cole
emptied his gun at the invaders, wound
ing Joe Besser, a mattress maker, ana
c. F. Seeley, a printer, of Minneapolis
MINI.
Chief Taylor, who is lame. had by
this time reached the scene OF the bat
tie. and, with the utmost GOODNESS,
walked up to a window opening out of
the shed. and, as the murderer TOOK
aim at him, and chief fired and sent a
ball through Coles brain The man
dropped like a log and was promptly
dfsarmed The shed and kitchen were
riddled with bullets. and it was found
that Cole was shot through the leg A
hen sitting on eggs was within two or
colo during the fight, and Mrs. Wheel
er's chief concern was Tor her men,
which, strange to say, didn't leave the
nest.
charge of Seeley and Besser, and they
were taken to the Leavenworth hos
pital. where the bullets We're extract
ed Both men were shot through the
thick of the thigh and bled prOfuSelyl
but the doctors say they will recover
Cole died within two hours without
regaining consciousness. he was
native Of Virginia and enlisted in the
regular army in 1901 and served with
the Tenth infantry through the Phil
fppine war. His papers show that he
took part in several engagements and
showed great bravery He deserted
from the army.
Cole was about 80 years of age and
of medium build, with q short, sandy
nustache. Hundreds of citizens wit
messed his remarkable retreat, and at
least a dozen army officers watched
the lone man with a S2-calibre re-
Volver holding back over 500 people.
To have attempted to rush him would
simply have resulted in some unnec-
essary deaths, as the sidewalks were
lined with women and children who
hardly knew what had happened
William Hammond. the murdered
man. is an uncle of. Mrs. George Gal
win. and was well known in Iseaven-
worth. he has been working on
Drake Spencer's farm near Kickapoo
with Cole. and il is thought the quar-
rel started on the farm.
Hammond was not attempting to
defend himself when he was shot
down and was unarmed
Several army officers wives who
innocently got in the way of the des-
perate man were roughly brushed
aside and threatened with his revol-
yer. They We're terribly frightened.
Considering the great number of shots
fred, IL is almost impossible to be
leve that more were not killed or
wounded.
ms IS the tnlru Killing OF TINS ma
ture that has happened here in recent
years.
Three years ago a crazy man named
Mike Kelley shot and killed John Gar
ret a prominent lumber merchant, on
the same street, shot and seriously
wounded DR.. Charles MCGEE, who had
rushed to the aid of the wounded
man, and then held the officers at bay
until he was killed by Detective
Michael Mcdonald Kelley wounded
two officers
Several weeks ago a saloon bar
tender named Kyle shot and killed a
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