The Falls City tribune., 1909-07-23

the Cult of California in old Mexico.
Next to an old ruin, an old tomb,
or an old ehurchyard, is some ancient
record or old doeuuument, or legen-
dairy story made or written by men
long dead, for somehow they bring
one in touch with lost lives, once
vigorous, intelligent, and forceful
who in a way swayed the thoughts
and actions of others and illustrated
the genius of the times in which they
lived.
| have before me an old record, but
not particularly of the class Just in
dicated, but one that brings back in
all its vivid and terrible reality a
tragedy that was enacted in this city
now nearly fifty years ago.
1t is the record of the coroner's in
quest held yer the dead body of one
7. j. Meek, who was killed in the
Minnick hotel, the one built by Jes-
sc Crook two years before, on the
10th day of April, 1860, during an
election then being held to perman-
emily locate the county sea- of this
county. This vas the second of the
three authorized, by the act of the
winter before and the one locating
the county seat at Falls City, to com
mence with. Rulo and Salem were in
combination against Falls City, and
certain parties from both these towns
were at Falls City that day, and with
the evident design to make trouble.
DR.. j. H. Davis, William Holbrook,
afterwards a citizen of this city, and
some others were here from Ruulo, and
DR.. t. j. Dunn, and probably one or
two others, were here from Salem.
All these parties were heavily armed,
and somewhat ~insolent in their CON
duet. Trouble was brewing all day
and it required very little to devel-
op it. The polling place was near
Squire D~orrington's residence, on
the corner where Sowles' candy shop
now is, and when the street duel
opened between DR.. Davis of Rulo
and T. j. Meek, a pistol ball struck
a window case near which Mrs. Dor
rington was at the moment standing,
though she did not know it until an
other struck the house in a different
nl9na M0aL We n mon Of fnnflnco
nature, had gone through the Kan
sas trouble, and been wounded in sew
eral parts Of his body in numer-
Gus fights down there. Davis shot
Meek in the hip in the street fight,
but whether Davis received his death
wound on the street or in an upstairs
room in the hotel was never known.
Meek though wounded and his re-
volyer empty, went into the Bur-
bank store and procured another
revolver, and learning that Davis had
gone to the Minnick hotel, followed,
revolver in hand, to finish the fight
with him. He went into the hotel
and up the stairway leading from the
door on the north to the second
floor. AT the top landing a door OPP
ened into the northwest room in
which Davis had taken refuge, and
it was at that door he received his
death wound. There was but one
witness to the last act in the tragedy,
his name was William McFarlalld.
1t is certain that two or more shots
were fired after Meek went upstairs,
but no evidence on that point appears
in the records before me, but | know
the fact from others who heard them.
into the country from Ohio, performed
the autopsy on the body of Meek,
and the following is his testimony as
i appears in the report of Sheriff
Keefer, who was acting as coroner.
Fl. O. Hanna sworn saith:
Omitting formal questions as to age
residence and occupation the doctors
evidence was as follows:
@. Were you acquainted with
deceased (Meek)?
A. knew him when l saw him.
@. Where and what is his condi-
ton?
A. I saw him less than an hour
since lying dead in the hotel.
@. Did you made an examina'
ton of the body?
A.. | did.
@. Did you perform a post NOR
tenn on the body of the deceased?
A. | did.
@. Where and by what manner
did he come to his death?
A. His death was produced by
a gun shot wound through the body
the ball entering the right side be-
tween the fifth and sixth ribs, about
four inches below and a little back