The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1911-10-12
HELD FOR SHOOTING
HUMAN BEING
DR.. Brooks Given Hear :
ing Monday
lie Was Arrested For Carelessly and
NegligentIy Shooting Harold Hight
While Hunting Last Saturday.

1T is an awful sensation to shoot
human being" remarked Dr
Charles f. Brooks of Rutherford
New Jersey, Monday afternoon. He
was placed under $4,000 bonds lat,
Monday evening for the action OF
the Grand Jury at the December
term of court, at a hearing given
him in the Municipal Court before
Judge F. F. Lawrence. He furnished
| bonds and left for his home this
morning. The warrant charged him
with carelessly and negligentlx
shooting a human being while on a
hunting trip, when he shot and in
stantly killed Harold Hight, his
guide, at the foot of Mosquito Noun
tain, few miles from Noxie station
Saturday forenoon. The state, which
was represented by County Attorney
J. II. Haley. introduced as witnesses
eight of the % men who, late Satur
/ day night, went and searched for
Hight's body The first witness was
Robert Hilton, father of the de-
ceaseds widow, he having made the
complaint for the doctors arrest.
He was taken in charge, Saturday.
by Deputy Sheriff Frank J. Durgin.
of The Forks, and Sunday he was
formally arrested under a warrant
DIR. Brooks was represented by
Hon s. J. Walton. The doctor was
the only witness in his defence, and
the drift of his testimony was that
his guide was careless rather than
himself He. in substance. said tha;
after walking up the track they
i started up the mountain, and after
/ having gone nearly to The base of II.
they agreed that Hight should 90
farther up, and should all the time
/ keep in sight Of the doctor. Will
the doctor would work around ths
mountain. at the same level. he
said Hight had given him double
toned whistle that the doctor shou'f
blow in case he wandered off ron
out of sight, or he was in doubt as te
where he was.
He testified that his guide bad
heen gone from him about 90 minutes
when ahead of him on the same level
that Hight had told him to stay, he
saw an object. 1t appeared to him
like an animal on four legs, but as
he said it must have been Hight.
stopped down, walking on his hands
and feet. picking up beechnuts. /
never occurred to him that il could
he Hight. for Hight had told MIN
that he would stay up the mountain.
hut thinking that it might be some.
body else, before he raised his gun
he blew the whistle. when almost
Immediately he saw something flash.
white. that suggested to him, the
raising Of the flag of a deer as
hunters term it, and having received
no response from his whistle he
fired. He heard something fall, and
when he got to where the object
stood. he found his guide just gasp
ing. He rendered him what medical
aid he could, placing him in more
humane position than he had fallen
in. The doctor took his gun an6
fired II shots from it to attract at
tention He then fired five from his
guides gun, but got no response.
The doctor said he was consider
ably dazed and worried He hasteneC
| down the mountain to go TO the
, camp. He had to cross a lake anG
! 1t was past l o'clock when he arrived
his guide having been shot about
I11.30 in the forenoon. AS he had ar
rived at the camps he telephoned to
Sheriff Mooers and the guides relat-
i ives. and went back into the woods
to watch over the body A posse OF
men was gathered and they immedi-
ately went in search in the direction
the doctor had left for them to go
hut 1t was o'clock that night before
the body was found.
DR.. w. S. Stinchfield, Count!
Medical Examiner, testified that th'
bullet went through the middle o
Of the neck. at the base of the skull
and out through the mouth. withou
breaking any of the teeth. The doc
tor said that he used Remington
rife, 35 caliber, and when he fire.
stood about 25 rods from his object
DR.. Brooks is a regular practicinl
physician in his home town, havint
been there II years. This is hi
seventh years hunting trip Il
Maine, and he had known Hight 70
several years, and had been on sev
eral hunting trips with him. The,
were close friends and liked eacl
others company.