The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-28
v. A. benson SHOT
IN PISTOL DUEL
Wounded Twice by R. |. Leath-
erwood on Twentieth Street
OLD QUARREL REOPENED
| eatherwood Is Charged With Assault
With Intent to Murder-Mace
Bond Late Yesterday-Den-
son Not Badly Hurt.

III a PASNOl oASA a. y 1ACch S~SN~A@@S
morning on Twentieth street, near Rail
road avenue. in which each participant
emptied his revolver, w. A. benson, an
attorney-at-law, was twice wounded, once
in the neck and once in the left leg, by R.
L. Leatherwood, another attorney.
Mr.. Denson who is a son of Col. w. H.
Denson a noted lawyer, politician and SOL
der, was promptly taken to the Hillman
hospital, where his wounds, which
though painful. are not necessarily fatal,
were dressed by DIR. ]. D. S. Davis Mr..
benson rested comfortably throughout the
day and was taken home at 4;9O o'clock
in Lige Logs ambulance, and at an early
hour this morning his condition was re-
ported to be satisfactory under the CIR
cumstances.
Mr.. Leatherwood was promptly arrest
ed by Policeman Richardson and taken
to the city prison. Later in the day W.
E. Carter, a deputy constable at the re-
quest of Mr.. Denson's brother, swore out
a warrant before Justice of the Peace k
l.. Williams, charging Leatherwood with
assault with intent to murder. Leather
wood was then transferred to the county
iail his bond being fixed at $1,000
Mr.. Leatherwood Talks.
On the way to the city prison Mr..
Leatherwood is said to have remarked
that Mr.. benson had fired the first pistol
shot. When asked for detailed state
ment of the affair in the afternoon at the
county JAIL Mr.. Leatherwood declined to
be interviewed.
Mr. benson. in a statement made to
Constable Carter, soon after he was
wounded, said that Mr.. Leatherwood mad
attempted to assassinate him." and that
he Denson) had returned the fire in sell
Defense
1t was reported last night that Leather
wood may be defended by two Of the
most prominent lawyers at the Birming-
ham bar.
Two Eye Witnesses.
Two prominent men were standing on
the west side of Twentieth street near
Powell avenue and witnessed the entire
ARRAY after the first shot was fired. They
were probably able to give the best ac-
count of the affair. One of them said:
1--WE were walking along Twentieth
street and heard pistol shot. We turned
and looked across the street and saw
Leatherwood, or the big man as we called
him then, standing on the pavement be-
hind the corner of the pipe works firing in
a southeasterly direction, evidently at
some one behind a little one-story shack
which belongs to the Southern railroad,
but is used as a dwelling. We saw him
fire the second shot, and then empty his
revolver After the third shot he fired
we heard three shots from behind that
little shack, and a second afterwards
Leatherwood turned and walked rapidly
down Twentieth street towards the rail-
road tracks As he was just in front of
the McArdle Parker Machine company,
benson stepped on the pavement between
the shack and the pipe works and fired
two shots after Leatherwood. He fired
directly north, and right down the pave
ment. Then he turned and walked south
for half a block and met some large man
wearing a light hat. He appeared to ask
this fellow for a pistol, for he drew
large one half out of his hip pocket and
then showed 1t back again. benson and
this fellow then turned and walked north
tracks, when the crowd rushed and we
saw no more.
while benson was walking he limped
slightly, and we both noticed it. Leather
wood stepped behind the corner of the
McArdle building and reloaded his pistol,
which he had broken and empted the
cartridges from the weapon while walk
ing down the pavement. benson had
also broken his revolver as he walked, ex-
tracted the cartridges and seemed not to
have any more We could not see Den
son until after he had fired three times,
and after Leatherwood had emptied his
pistol. l do not know where benson or
Leatherwood was standing when the first
shot was fired, so do not know whether
or not he fell to the ground"
Appeared to Fall.
In addition to this statement II seems
that benson was knocked to the ground
by the first bullet, which struck him in
the neck. According to the statement he
made at the hospital, benson stumbled
over behind the shack when the bullet
struck him, and before he could draw his
pistol. on account of his dazed condition.
Leatherwood had been able to fire three
shots. This corroborates the statement of
these two men.
In the rear of the shack is a small
back yard about 10x10 feet, fenced In by