Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1910-05-13

Church.
Sundays tragedy in the county wa
i the main topic of conversation il
| STANTON Monday. Little els
Was talked off on the streets. The COLI
blooded murder Of Perry Hoy and til,
child Cletis Higgs and the woundinl
of Edward Higgs and Abe Hoy b,
Arch Brown has aroused great storm
of horror and Indignation. Repre-
Isentatives of the SUN visitet
the scene of the shooting, three mile
from STAUNTON on the Barterbrool
road, on Sunday afternoon and agar
yesterday and conversed with eye wit
nesses and members of the bereave(
families.
On Sunday morning, it seems, {
party of friends and neighbors gath
cred at the house which is occupied
jointly by the families of James RosI
and Edward Higgs. Among those
present were Abe and Perry Hoy and
| Arch Brown. In the midst of genera
conversation Abe Hoy and Brown left
the house for the purpose of engaging
in dice game in the field outside.
They quarreled it seems, and Brown
is alleged to have accused Hoy Of
robbing him of a quarter. They did
not have the dice game, but settled
their dispute and returned to the
house, apparently, on congeniai
terms They re-engaged in converse
ton until a short while afterward
Brown left the house and seated him.
self to the side of the road where, ac-
| cording to those he had left behind in
the house, he appeared to be engaged
in thought.
1t might be stated here that in an
interview with DISPATCH reporter
at the Jail Yesterday Brown denied
that he and Hoy had quarreled over
the crap game. According to him
their dispute was about some whiskey.
Brown returned to the house
and telling Mrs Ross that a
colored man who has just passed
along the road had informed him that
| logs were after the sheep in a
field nearby, asked for MI. Ross
gun. Subsequent developments show
that Brown must have borrowed this
gun purely for the purpose of getting
it away from those at the house.
With the gun in his possession the
man proceeded up the road and went
to the house of Mr.. John Montgomery
Irvine where he had been employed.
| There he left the gun which he had
borrowed and taking another one
which belonged to Mr. Irvine he
started back in the direction from
whence he came. When Brown re-
turned to the Ross home he stood out
side of the fence surrounding the yar6
and called for Abe Hoy. No one
answered him and he threatened tt
shoot in the house.
An instant later, Perry Hoy, evi
IDENTIFY, no longer able to stand Browns
alleged curses and abuse rushed out o.
the hout e, across the little yard ani
jumped the fence and as he came
Brown fired. The load passed through
Hoy's hat. Judging from his action
Hoy evidently did not believe tina
Brown was in earnest when he sait
he would shoot. AS soon as the first
shot was fired Hoy made off across tn
field and while he ran Brown fired tn
second shot and witnesses think
another. Brown came back to tn
house and bursting open the from
door which in the meantime had beer
locked shot Cletis Higgs and his faith
er as they passed into the rear room
in an attempt to get out OF the way
The child was instantly killed, ant
the father wounded in the side ant
hip, though not fatally. Mrs. Ros
hid under table in the kitchen an,
Abe Hoy passed out through the bacl
door. Excepting the house there i
not one single place or thing tina
would afford shelter, OH the premises
, not even tree and when Abe Ho
found himself out i'll the open ther
: was but one thing for him to d
which was to run and this he did. /
is generally believed that it was Will
, he was running across the field an
+ in the direction of the road that h
was shot. Hoy ran to the house c
Mr.. Irvine and was hidden there b
! Mrs. Glenn Irvine who happened to h
there alone with two children one {
whom is sick. The other members
the family were attending churcl
What happened at the Irvine hon
while Abe Hoy was hidden there a
the time he was being looked for /
Brown who is alleged to have swol
that he had started out to kill fl
and had finished four was told Il
DISPATCH reporter by Mrs. Irvine
III According to Mrs. J. d. Irwin
Mrs. Glen Urine was alone with Il
children when Brown came to tt
- house and got the gun. He was Ell
- ployed there, and was allowed the u
Of the gun by Mr.. Irvine for the pu
! pose of killing hawks and keepil
- dogs off the sheep At the same tin
he took all the shells in the house. t
!. exact number of which could not
- established. Mrs. Irvine noted tn
Brown appeared intoxicated and |
! came very much frightened and S
pleaded with the man to leave t
gun where it was. He told her I'll
u he would not harm her but that
IN was "going back down there to {