Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1906-12-07
MOTIVE FOR SHOOTING OF PAD|LLA
PadiIla Wept Tears.

Padilla is halfbreed and previous
to being shot was man of large
physical proportions. Today he lies
in a private ward of st. Josephs hos
pital, a physical wreck, and apparent
ly the hardened nature his business
IS a shloUpl7sepcr among tough char
acters built up has sOftened, too, for
tears rolled down his cheeks yester-
day as he told the reporter in a
childish way that he had never done
anything to that man. He referred
to Harris.
The only thing he has against
me-" he said, "is that | made that
woman leave my place | never did
anything to that man. and as to the
other man" Here the saloonkeeper
told terrible story of immoral con
duct on the part of one of the lumber
men in the Zuni mountains. Il told
Belknap about it, and he said he
didn't believe It, | told him chat
did not believe it either, but there
were four persons ready to say that
they saw it, | cant say positively
that Harris shot me, but | think that
he did. | fell down when the bullet
hit me. The shot came from up on
the mountain side, but | did not know
it until second shot came and
missed me by about three yards. |
looked up and saw that part of a man
from the waist up standing in the
brush. | thought that it was Harris
A third shot was fired. but | don't
know where ii struck.
AN old man came along in a little
while, and yelled to him TO help me-
He said that he was afraid, but that
he would tell the ranch people. There
was a ranch not far away. A woman
came and she got wagon and took
me to Ketner. II was then that Bel
knap said: I told you not to go
down there; you would run into a
trap"
The doctors say that Padilla will
not lose his leg. but it will be a little
short. Twenty-Five splinters were
taken out of it, At present the in
jured member is in a sling hanging
from a scaffold fixed over the bed.
A rumor was heard this morning
that the mounted police would be
drawn into the case in a very un-
sayOry manner. 1t was intimated that
Mounted Policeman Dudley integrity
as an officer would be attacked by the
prosecution in the case. The refiec-
tion, If the rumor could possibly be
true, is upon Dudley's fidelity to his
oath in keeping the law and guarding
his trust as an officer.
Dudley has done more or less good
service in the timbers and was in
. .trtvs F4U fs. u
once charging him with assault with
intent to kill. Dudley also was in
strumental in bringing 10 justice the
murderer of Peter SlOcum, who was
killed in the neighborhOod of Padilla' :
place, and has kept the saloonkeeper
under surveillance for several months
past Slocum's murderer was I'm the
employ Of Padilla, and is a native.
SIocum's Friends are Leaving.
Strange To say, the night following
the arrest of Harris for the shoot
/ ing of Padilla, nine Sweeds, friends
OF Peter SlOcum, the lumber jack
killed in the neighborhood of Padilla's S
saloon less than a year ago. drew
their pay and left the timhers, and
every day since has seen more of
them hiking. There might be sig
nihcance in the departure of these
. foreigners at this time, if one should
/ choose to make deductions Of the
. Sherlock Holmes variety II there is
a significance I'm IT, and their depar.
ture is due To- the arrest of Harris and
the threatened arrest of others sus.
pected OF having had something tu do
with the shooting. the authorities
have been negligent in making ar
. Ta-f-