| Show A SHOOTING AFFRAY bloody BUSINESS OVER DISPUTED LAND IN NEW MEXICO farmington FAK FAw rio elo arriba co new mexico Novem november bor 18 1886 editor deseret news one of the most serious shooting affrays d on the laplata laplaca La plata on monday the ath th last about aboul ei eight ht miles from here that the pope people ol of this section have witnessed for a ionic time in au august gust 1880 walter and his eldest aun W J stevens stevans formerly of holden utah bought out the claim of one goodenon Gold Gol denon euon the laplata laplaca La plata each holding half ball until the or 01 1886 the sou then theu buying his father out prior to the chase by the son the fai father her rented uis his duj cioll t alea 1 son bialker BW alker ol of I 1 I 1 lea zant grove utah in the purchase young stevens was to stand to the agreement the father made with walker for the current year in august 1886 chas E bigler made stevena Steven fc an offer for the farm which he accepted in october 1886 but bat as walker occupied the buildings on the farm arm bigler was wag unable to move his family on at once but still kept improving andl holding possession of 01 the same the tarm larm has contin tenuously been tilled aar the past five years there is on the place about 1000 bushels of grain not including walters walkers crop also at that time some household f furniture arul ture belonging to bigler walker was to vacate the place on monday toe the ath at noon as he had bad previously agreed iq do but instead of doing this he left earl early monday on morning at noon bigler big ler arrive arrived there with a load of f furniture urn itu re to hi bis surprise he found walker had gone and on anfe dennis hilton had bad taken possession haying having laid some poles belonging aront to the ranch in a square in front of the house with thereon mso also one on the door of f the dwelling and another on the that he be dennis bad located the xai this day esth ins fc etc Ue dennis having belt the place in charge of his brother sherman hilton came to this place to procure and ammunition to assist him in carrying out outtie the break he had bad made this party thought that as W astevens JS L stevens was 85 miles away running a thresher and a d hi his 8 bro brother th er alms alma was some 50 6 miles li es off they would have only bigler to te bontena contend against but bu to their surprise the stevens vens brothers brotha is were within five mileson the farm and hearing what had taken place hurried on they arrived at almas almaa s place I 1 e which joins Big lers on the sott if about soven seven p m took supper and then went over to Big lers some 80 rods distant jn in front of the house was a campfire campt lre I 1 and by it stood bigler and hilton W 3 J stevens baid good evening bo boss I 1 to dennis youve made quite a raise 6 yes I 1 said dennis how do you expect to make a break of this kind stick inquired stevens jS ill show you how ill make it stick II 11 said dinnis dennis 1 I want none of your your slang replied stevens 1 I came to see what reason you could offer foz for lumping this tarm farm a 6 ill 1111 show G d 11 you my reason by q replied Dennis 1 I want baut you to understand ill not take any of your aslaug said stevens taveus well said hilton youre holding land under balse pi pretense etense 11 stevens then proved this to be false by three witnesses present and that he had bad sold the place to bigler algle hilton continued to abuse and use rough language which was baoe than stephens could bear bar sa so he he pushed hilton over and held him him down lor for the space of live five minutes urging him all the while to produce some reason for or the step he had taken which lie he finally did then stevens let him up prior to this thi sherman and others went to supper a distance of three quarters of a mile and soon lon hilton and nels Iu dupuche luche returned from supper shortly after two other ruffians came from above john deluche and sam bowen lon hilton rode back to sher mans p place lace and in the meanwhile S D bluche and Denni retired from the fire in the same direction pro presently s the four sherman dennis lon hilton and john D cluche hove in sight from the way of the stacks and marched up to the fire with kuns guns and pistols in hand here they were joined by S bowen dennis polut pointing tog at stevens with his rifle said the man who choked me I 1 sherman says who I 1 dennis pointing as before says thavone Th that atone one 11 sherman days you d d sr bof n of a 9 gun I 1 I 1 to W J stevens at the same time firing at him this thi being toe the signal for the hilton party the firing bring became general and lasted lasted about a mi minute there being about 80 shots fired at very close range there were five of the hilton party who did the shooting while only the two stevens shot on the other side sherman hilton was mortally wounded and died cited the following thursday john deluche was killed on the spot alma stevens received three flesh wounds one ball passing through his left wrist between betwee ii the radius and ulna one passing through the fleshy part of his left forearm and ancl coming out just juit below tile the elbow joint the third lodging in his right thigh just below the groin W 3 sevens zi being in the heaviest of the fight received only powder burns in hia face and wrist he was the last roun man to leave the battle ground the nile next morning the hilton party withdrew from the place these holtons hiltons went before yie e justice of another precinct and procured warrants of arrest for the stephens charging them with murder also four others other s as access accessories oties who took no part in the fight there not being enough evidence eviden cZ brought to lo convict or bind them over they were discharged disc harned on the grounds of justification last december sherman hilton succeeded in jumping the ranch of J allen alien joining alma stevens he afterwards ter wards succeeded in getting ills his mother iri in law to 10 jump a claim joining A albeus Al leus es which had bad been previously taken take up by C CE E bigler who had bad a house uit sherman nan hilton dur iti ius glast last summer diew his gun two different times on 0 E bigler without provocation the sympathy among all honorable men of this section b in favor ol of tile the stever brothers yours truly SPECTATOR |
