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

Brown was drunk and had the gun.
Mr.. Huggart Irvine had scarcely ar
rived when Abe Hoy came running
up the hill which leads to the place.
He was out of breath and exclaimed
that he was shot and begged for a
place to hide He was secreted with
| in the house, and not moment too
soon, for another moment and Brown
put in his appearance from around a
bend in the road. Brown asked for
Hoy and was thrown off the scent by
Mr.. Irvine who informed him that the
man he was looking for had gone on
past the house. Brown once out of
the way Mr.. Irvine told Hoy that he
had better be off. In the meantime
the other members of the family in
Guiding MI. J. M Irvine had return
ed from church and when an instant
later Brown returned still on the hunt
for his intended victim he encounter
ed his employer to whom it seems
he is devotedly attached. Mr.. Irvine
it is learned, has been good to Brown
and one occasion had him released
from Jail by paying his fine. Brown
told Mr.. Irvine that he would not
give himself up to constable or
officer, nor would he surrender the
gun, in fact he kept the weapon cock
ed while he talked, but stated his
Willingness to go to town and there
allow himself to be taken into custo-
DIV, provided Mr.. Irvine accompanied
him. Mr.. Huggart Irvine came to
town with him a short while after
ward in buggy, and he was placed
in Jail
I The scene of the tragedy is about
three miles from STANTON, on
what is best known as the Barter
brook road and this side of Christians
Greek. There is little white house.
1t stands to the left going out and
where brook crosses the road. There
is lite yard il front which ex-'
tends alott ten feet from ths dwell
ingiand is pieketed off by a fence.
This no se is owned by Mr. Irvine.
and is occupied by James Ross and
Edward Higgs and their families
There are two rooms on the lower
floor : a sitting room in the front OF
the house and kitchen to the Tear
Gathered Ill the sitting room on Sun
day morning as had been the custom
was party of friends and neighbors
which incililed Arch Brown and tn
Hoys-Perry and Aseh III the words
of Mrs. Ross they We're talking s.Doul
ordinary things" till either Abe or
Arch brought up the subject of a dice
game. When Arch Brown returned
to the house after having been to Mr..
Irvines' and secured the gun he stood
outside of the little yard. He could see
directly in the house and in the room
where the Hoys, the Higgs and Mrs.
Ross were sitting and was on dead
line with the door which was open.
1t was just at this fence that Brown
fired the first shot at Perry Hoy and
it was in the field somewhat to the
left of the house that he-killed him.
When Cletis Higgs was killed and
his father wounded they were passing
through the door which led from the
sitting room to the kitchen. The
childs body fell in the doorway. Those
who were there at the time differ as
to where Abe Hoy was when he was
shot,, but it seemed the impression
that it was while he was in the house
and again as he ran across the field. in
the direction of Mr.. Irvines. The
front of the house bears evidence OF
the cannonade, as does the inside of the
sitting room Possibly, dozen
buckshot are imbedded i'll the weather
boarding while within the walls are
torn and damaged Several of. the
pickets of the fence are splintered,
supposedly by the same discharge of
the gun that killed Perry Hoy. Over
in the field beside the house is large
pool of blood which shows where
Perry Hoy, the first victim
paused in his flight from his
pursuer,- then fell dead, while the
kitchen floor is marked with the blood
of little Cletis Higgs.
The story of the shooting as told
by Mrs. Ross to a reporter yesterday
morning is as follows: We were all
sitting here in this room Sunday
morning about IL O'Clock. Edward
Riggs and Cletis Abe and Perry
Hoy, Arch Brown and myself. We
were talking about ordinary things
when Abe Hoy and Arch Brown
started to talk about having a dice
game. One of them suggested that
they go outside of the house and
"shoot for a quarter. " My husband,
explained Mrs Ross, always welcomed
the boys, but he never allowed them
to gamble in the house. They went
around to the side of the house and it
seems that Arch accused Abe of steal
ing quarter from him. They had
some woods, but did not fight. though
Arch called Abe very bad name,