The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1911-12-21
GOODSHOWINC
FOR S. PRUITT
Account of Killing Partner
No Doubt True-Rucker
Given to Bad Spells.

From the evidence Accumulate
ing at the sheriff's office. through
correspondence and otherwise
there seems little doubt as to the
absolute truthfulness of the story
related by Sam Pruitt the trap
per-miner, of the killing of his
partner &c. C.Rucker on the upper
Salmon river on Nov. 5th.
Some news items called in ques
tion Pruitt S version of the killing
but Sheriff Overman has letters
from II. W. Weidner, the Payette
taxidermist, and Ernest Penney
of Weatherby, Oregon, who went
with Pruitt to search for the BODY
of Rucker in the eddy of the Sal
mon river, and the former sends
with his letter kodak pictures of
the trappers cabin, the pool, and
all the surrounding places where
the tragedy took place. He furth
er speaks in the highest terms of
Prultt, while he says Rucker, the
dead man, was quarrelsome and
disagreeable.
Geo. III. Dodd, barber at Cres
ton, Wash, for whom Rucker
worked for sometime, having
seen an account of the killing in
the newspapers, wrote voluntarily
to Sheriff Overman, stating that
Rucker was a good enough fellow
when at himself, but was subject
to mental attacks which threw
him off, and he wrote, he said,
that this might be understood and
justice done the man who had kill
ed him. Numerous other letters
are on file in the sheriff $ office,
all OF which go to verify the
truthfulness of Pruitt s story.
The following from the Salmon
City Herald also has strong bear
ing on the case, and the relative
standing of the two men where
known:
According to Grangeville
papers, Sam M. Pruitt, a Lemhi
county man, has gone down to
that city and given himself up to
the officers, cOnfessing to the kill.
ing of one E. C. Rucker, at a
point on the Salmon river about
20 miles below the mouth of the
Middlefork. 1t appears that there
were no other witnesses to the
killing.
Both these men are well
known to number of people of
Salmon and about the coun-
ty. They operated with the rail
road surveying gangs down the
river, at which time Rucker was
a boatman. Persons here declare
that Fuckers finish is not sur
prising, as he was always regard
ed as bad man, with an ugly.
over bearing disposition. Many
have expected that Rucker, or
Slim Rucker, as he was called,
would kill somebody, unless the
latter fortunately beat him to it,
as the present incident looks like.
"Details of the case are not full
iy known here. But Pruitt was
locally regarded as a good citizen,
with fair mind and a generous
purpose. Persons here have al
ready volunteered to testify to
the rough and dangerous charact-
er of Rucker, and it is said that
several different parties, who
have had to be around him, have
in the past carried gun as
safeguard in anticipation of i'm
pending trouble"
Deputy Sheriff Charles Thomp-
son returned last week from Dix
ie, where he went with graphing
hooks and lines to have search
made for Rucker's body. He dep
utized w. N. Robinson and Ed
Cox of Dixie, to drag the river
at the point where Pruitt said he
had thrown the body in, weighted
down with stones. A report from
the searching party is expected
about Sunday or Monday. Al let
ter from the father Of Rucker, in
Ohio, to the sheriff says to bury
the body here, if found.
Fl. E. Rowe, one Of the prosper
ous farmers from the Denver Sec