SETTLING A EAMILY DISPUTE WITH REVOLVERS.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3295, 14 July 1879, Page 2

SETTLING A EAMILY DISPUTE WITH REVOLVERS.

From Macleansboro, Illinois, a terrible case of the engineer hoist with his own petard is reported as the upshot of a family dispute. It appears that a mail named Mason Morris having , received foine offence from his two sons, Charles an 4 Frank, made over his property by deed of gift to two daughters, the wives of, William Hale and Mart .Craig; t This young jmen took umbrage at tHis arrangement and openly declared their resolution ,to have so'irie rof the property or somebody's blood. It might have been expected that they would assail the erring parent, but even their murderous intent drew a line at parricide, and they concluded to let the old man alone 1. Neither could they find it in their hearts' to kill their sisters, so that only the sister's husbands were eligible as . victims. Charles and Frank thereupon loaded their revolvers, and made no secret of what they were about to do, inasmuch as several friends went with them to see 1 the shooting. On reaching the joint residence of the brothers-in-law, Frank knocked at the doer and asked to speakj with Hale who went outside for that pur-! pose; while Charles slipped into the house; to dispose of Craig. [But it will appear! that; the doomed, men suspected the in-; tention of their visitors and had their re-j rolvers handy. The denouement mustj have been a surprise to the interested j lookers-on. No sooner did Frank stand; face to face with Hale than he fired, but missed, and quick as thought Hale sent \ a bullet crashing through his skull killing; him on the spot. Meanwhile, Charles fared no better within the house. He too missed his aim, and was answered by Craig with a shot through the lungs from which he died in ten minutes. In the opinion of Illinois connoisseurs this was " as pretty a bit of shooting " on the part of the brothers-in-law as the most fastidious ' could desire, and since it involved neither* loss of time, waste of ammunition, nor uncertainty of issue.