Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-08
Thornton Hams Tells Story of
Bayside Shooting.
MEETING WAS ACCIDENT
Says He Tried to Get Brother Away
When Victim Appeared.
WAS CAPTAINS GUARDIAN
Once Dragged Him to Prevent .
Meeting at Army Post.
Always Armed.

NEW YORK, November 7.-Thornton
Jenkins Haines, in his cell In the Queens
county Jail. today made statement IN
which lie gave additional details of Tho
circumstances Immediately preceding and
leading up to the murder of William l..
Annis by his brother, Capt. Peter {.
Hams, jr.. at Bayside. L. I.
Thornton Hams was present at the time
OF the shooting and Ii charged with
having assisted his brother I'm the COM
mission OF the crime by holding off at
the point OF a revolver members of the
Bayside Yacht Club who had attempted
to go to the assistance of Annis. Both
brothers are under indictment for murder
in the first degree.
While Thornton Hams, unshaven, col
larless and with a strand of rope about
his waist doing duty for a belt. was re-
and unkempt stood less than ten feet
away. his long monkish bath robe trailing
the floor. his eyes staring fixedly ut the
white walls OF his prison. He took no
part in the conversation.
There have been so many untruths
circulated concerning Peter and myself
said Thornton Ilains that | must ask
the Associated Press to set us right in
the eyes of the world l am not a des-
perado. and neither is Peter.
ION the day of the shooting I i'm
agined Annis to be in Mount Vernon.
Neither Peter nor l had any idea that
we would run across him at Bayside.
Ever since the terrible night when my
brothers wife admitted her wrongdoing
with Annis, 1 had been Peters constant
companion. Gen. Hams feared that
Peter would kill himself. and so he gave
him over into my keeping. Il took him
with me to live and in order TO take
his mind or his troubles took him
out with me whole days at time. cruis-
ing In little motor BOAT / had
Thornton Hams then told of his plan to
buy site along the water somewhere.
and this led him to Bayside.
They have made much Of the fact that
we went armed" die continued. AS far
| as Peter is concerned l did not know no
had gun with him. 1t was not until at
ter he had used 1t on Annis that / realized
the situation. As for me. the gun ! had
with me is the same carried for fourteen
years. Most of my life has been spent at
sea- where. primitive passions rule and
where men in their cups need more than
words to subdue them.
Denies Asking for Annis.
They have also said that when we ar
rived at the yacht club our first move
was to ask where Annis was. There was
never anything said farther from the
truth. We had not been on the ground
long, however. before the name of Annis
came to our ears. ] Immediately began to
urge Pete to come away. he could not
be persuaded, however, and after awhile
l gave up trying.
1T was SO unexpected and 1t all hap
pened SO quickly that | was powerless to
interfere. As soon as Annis came up to
the float Peter opened fire. 1t was over
in a second A dozen men made q rush
hitr
man grab him by the throat and swing
his fist to strike him. 1t was then L
pulled my gun.
II certainly had no feelings of affec-
ton or regard for Annis but / had saved
him from being shot by Peter once be-
fore, and l would have done again
had l had the chance.
Dragged His Brother.
THE night that Peters wife made the
written acknowledgment of her miscon-
duct with Annis she asked that l get
word to Annis of what had happened. An
mis- was expected at the fort the next
day. and she wished to warn him to stay
away. She wrote the letter and gave It
to me to mail. Peter had seen her give
me the letter, however. and guessed to
whom 1T was addressed. Before | could
remonstrae with him, he had torn IL
open and read it's contents. 1t said: All
is over between Peter and me. He knows
everything. Don't come tomorrow Peter
put the letter in his pocket and said: i
want him to come ! have something ~
saw to him. From his tone I knew that
he meant TO shoot Annis Oh sight.
II determined that the only way 10
prevent a meeting between the two WAS
10 drug Peter. I went to DIR. Wilson, the
post surgeon and got him to give me a
double dose of choral When 4 got back
to the house | persuaded Peter to take II.
keeping him III Ignorance OF what it
was When Annis came the next day,
peter was still under the influence of the
opiate. Annis saw Peters wife and left
again for New York. Twenty minutes
after he had gone, Peter awoke.'