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About The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1904)
WITH DEADLY XEVOLYES Chester Keady Bans AmncK. Shoots Two and im Ttnm Fatally Shot. ; Chester Keady killed and 'ex sheriff David A. Osburn and ex Chief of Police James Dunn danger ously shot is the story of a tragedy enacted on the streets of Corvallis between midnight and one o'clock Sunday morning.' Keady was killed while resisting arrest, but not until after he had administered deadly wounds to Osbarn and Dunn and had fired a shot point blank at Sheriff Burnett. With his deadly revolver, he had suc cessfully held all on the streets at bay for nearly an hour, and was only slain at last because his bullet veered slightly from its mark when he turned his weapon on Sheriff Burnett at a range so close that why he missed is a mystery. A bullet from Sheriff Burnett's pistol brought Keady down, and two others f red by James Dunn after he had himself been shot by the desperate boy completed the work of destruction. Officer Osburn was shot down by Keady in the street immediately in front of the postoffice, and half an hour later on Madison just south of James Taylor's residence Dunn, Keady and Sheriff Burnett engaged in the terrible pistol duel in which Keady was killed and Dunn wounded. The surgeons at his bedside in the Occidental hotel had not yet finished dressing Qsburn's wound when the summons came for them to render assistance to the victims of the second shooting. Keady was still breathing when they ar rived, and a few feet away was his victim with blood streaming from a wound in. his abdomen, and his clothing afire as a result of the proximity of Keady's pistol when the Utter fired. The body of Keady was carried across the street to the morgue, and Dunn was tak en to s. room in the Occidental. Many Shots Fired It was about quarter past twelve when Osburn was shot, and about a quarter to one when the shooting at the Taylor house happened. In the first instance, but a single shot was fired, while in the last case there were six or seven, two by Keady, three or four by Dunn and one by Sheriff Burnett. The occasion for the shooting was the fact that Keady, an order ly enough young mn when -sober, got under the influence of liquor, went wild from the effeqts of it. and simply ran a-muck. He resisted and finally shot Officer Osburn when the latter attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct, and later wfaen.-Sheriff Burnett attempt ed to arrest him for shooting Of ficer Osburu, he resisted again. Sheriff Burnett's action was in self defense, and was not only wholly justifiable but was inevitable be cause the alternative open was either to shoot or be sbot, as the shooting of Osburn and Dunn made painfully and -dreadfully manifest . From a few minutes after the shooting of Osbtrn until far into the morning, three surgeons were with the wounded men. Dunn's wound is considered the most ser ious, and his condition is pronounc ed very critical. The ball entered the abdomea two inches to the left and slightly below the navel. It passed straight in, tearing through the intestines in its course, and is supposed to have lodged some where in the lower back. The sur geons made such search as was pos sible, but were unable to discover it. In its passage the ball made three perforations of the intestines. In the operation that was per formed, these were stitched ud. The chief danger in the case is the septic poisoning that may result from the escape of the bowel con tent into the abdominal cavity, from which peritonitis may arise, in which event a fatality may re. 6ult. The patient rallied well from the operation and up to Monday morning the prospects were not discouraging. His fine physique and healthy condition were large odds in his favor. Osburn 's Wound Hx-snerin Usburn s wound is in the neck. The ball entered at a point through the collar in the left side of the neck, passing be tween the carotid artery and the windpipe. It ranged backward and downward, and is supposed to have lodged in the region of the right shoulder blade. The upper portion ot the right lung Is sup posed to have been cut in the pas sage of the bullet. The unknown quantity in the case is the extent to which organs in the neck and elsewhere might be torn and the complications that may vet arise therefrom. With splendid courage, the patient himself declares that he is all right, and his friends are prone to believe him. The condition of the two men, has been a source of much concern about town ever since the tragedy. All day Sunday, crowds stood abotrt the Cirvafol where -?Burtt 4 Turner was coaled in jail ys. an accessoryjto the crime, whifc Main street was packed with people "dis cussing the affair, the? one , topic of conversation throughout the day being the tragedy in its various phases. Would Not go Home The trouble is the fruit of hood lumism in which a gang of Cor vallis boyS'have engaged at fre quent intervals for two ' or three years past. Keady was often the participant in the doings of the gang, and on one or more occasion tell into the hands of the author ities as a result. Though less than nineteen years of age, he was a yonng man of great physical strength, and the equal of any or dinary man in a fist fight. He was very courageous, and other mem bers of the gang always relied on him him to do the rough fighting. In the present instance, however, Keady was very little, if at all. as sociated with his usual companions. so far as known. He was under I the influence of liquor, and early in the evening began to talk 01 light ing. Jtsen timer, wno was one 01 tne victims of a raid by the gang north of the sawmill several months ago, was in town, and Keady and others talked much about fighting bim. Near midnight, someone fired a re volver in the vicinity of Broder's saloon, and Officer Osburn, a block away at the time hurried to the scene and surmised that either Keady or Turner' was the guilty party. He discovered Keady's condition, and once began an effort to indnce him to go home. Keady however, did not want to go, and as time went on became stubborn on the point, insisting on remain ing so that he could get a chance to fight it out with Outer. Trying to Arrest Keady At last Officer Osburn gave up as hopeless the effort to get Keady home, and determined to arrest him. It then developed that Keady had a gun, and this made his arrest all the more imperative in the mind of the officer, and he started out to do the job. Keady was placed w-a srreidter "and taken- to the hoteL. t"; H"- - ', '' What Adams Saw . Newton Adams was in Chipmari's restaurant when the shot at - Bro- ders saloon was fired. He came out of the restaurant and there was a crowd of a dozen people or more in front-of the saloon. He was with Osburn after that nearly all the time until the latter was shot and and taken to the hotel. His state ment is as follows: "The real trouble of the evening: began in front of the saloon door, a quarrel arose as to whether or not Keady could whip Ben Guier. Guier was in the crowd but a few vards from Keady. The latter pulled off his coat and hat and hung them on the hooks in front of the butcher shop. He handed his revolver to Burt Turner and his bunch of keys to me. Some of those present were talking about betting on the fight. Guier and a companion went south a short distance and soon returned in company with Officer Osburn Osburn took the coat and hat from the hook and told Keady to put them on. Keady refused to do so. He also urged Keady to go home. There was parleying of similar char acter for several minutes and finally Keady started south, passing through the crowd at the saloon and going southward saying he was going to find Guier and whip him. Osburn, meantime had endeavored to run Guier off the street, and as Keady left the crowd, Osburn said, 'We will have to arrest him,' and started off after Keady. He follow ed across the street to the bank cor ner, but there, Keady, who was several yards ahead of the officer, walked out into the street and drew his revolver. He advanced perhaps twenty feet eastward in front of the bank. J. here he stopped and as Osburn kept advancing, he said. 'Dave you know what I told you, don't you come any nearer or I'll shoot.' 'Don't be foolish' Osburn replied as he kept on advancing. Keady then began to back and move southward Osburn still following, both continued to talk to each other in a similar vein, Osburn counselling him not to use his smn. On the pavement in front of Hall's there then about Allen's drug store, and i was a crowd, and Keady, passed on when Osburn started after him, he crossed the street to the bank. Os burn followed and Keady, leaving the pavement went out into the street about twenty feet and drew his revolver. As Osburn approach ed, Keady warned him not to come nearer, but Osburn refused to obey, and Keady backed off. By this time Keady was flourishing his revolver in all directions, as he kept moving south in the street, Several of his friends tried to ap proach him, and pointing the pist tol at each, he warned them to come no nearer. A second warning of the kind was not, necessary. A groop of persons stood in front of Hall's and passing among them with his revolver presented, Keady took again to the street, going in direction of the postoffice. As Os burn passed through the crowd, James Dunn, who was not armed, joined him and both kept advanc ind on Keady, who was backing In the direction of the postoffice. When within lour ieet of the pavement, Jiea ay halted, and alter a warn ing, fired at Osburn, who was then but a few feet distant. Osburn was at once assisted to the hotel aud Keady, tfter holding several others at bay, left the street with Burt Turner, and after a detour ot several blocks, appeared on the sidewalk just south of James Tay lor's hcuse. A Second Victim In the interim, Keady had re loaded his revolver. At Taylor's, Turner and Keady were joined by Herman Breyer, the latter of whom endeavored to induce Keady to rive up the gun. Meantime, Chief L,ane and Sheriff Burnett had been sent for. While the trio talked at Tay lor s, Sheriff Burnett and James Dunn approached them from the di rection of the Methodist church As he saw them coming, Keady who had stated several times that he would shoot the sheriff if he at tempted to arrest him, stepped off the sidewalk, and remarked that he vould"drop those two fellows." He was perhaps, two feet from the walk ; when Sheriff Burnett stepped up and laid his hand on Keady's shoulder saying. "I want you Keady." The answer was a shot from Keady's pistol, aimed at Burnett, but it went wide of the mark. Dunn stepped forward at this moment, and Keady fired at him, the shot taking effect in the abdomen. Dunn staggered and dropped to his knees, Sheriff Bur nett fired, and Keady fell. Two or three shots were then fired in rapid succession by Dunn, one of them taking effect, it is believed as Keady staggered under Sheriff Bur nett's shot. Surgeons were sum moned and they at once pronoun- cea ft.eaay beyond help. He was taken to the morgue, and Dunn was 'more than was in that direction. Several friends of Keady's approached him with the purpose of getting him to give up the revolver, but he pointed it at each, and warned them . not to come near. James Dunn was mthe crowd and he tried to get Keady to give up the gun, meeting with the invariable defy. The pistol, in fact, kept everybody at bay, while Keady passed through the crowd. All the time Osburn. was following. As Keady left the crowd, he took to the street again, walking backwards towards the post office. This time both Osburn and Dunn' followed. They were perhaps io or 12 feet distant from Keady. When Keadv had passed to a point within about four feet of the postoffice pavement, he warned Osburn again not to come nearer or he would shoot. There, Keady halted, and as Osburn and Dunn continued to advance, he dis charged his revolver at Osburn. The latter crouched as Keady fired, and staggered about half around when Dunn caught him. Keady stepped at once on to the pavement in front , ot Vidito s barber shop, where he was joined bv Turner. Osburn was lifted to the pavement, and assisted by mends to the hotel, where physicians were summoned." AS TOLD BY OSBURN. In a voice made strange bv the effects of the wound in his neck, David Osburn told in brief, jerky sentences, the story of how he was shot. He was removed from the hotel Sunday evening to his pleas ant home at the corner of Jackson & Eighth. "I could have killed Keady several times, if I had tried," he said. "I did not think he would shoot me. I was on the best of terms with him. ' I could always do anything that I wanted to do with him. Several times while I was following him up the street, he told me to stop or he would fire. Each time I kept on advancing and on every occasion until the last, he lowered the pistol and got further away. A moment before he fired he told me. to stop or he would shoot. I thought he would do as he had done before, but he didn't. I was then in five or six feet of him, and was watching for a chance to close in. His shot put me out of business, but I will soon be all right again." The story was told with many a pause between the sentences, and an occasional quick stop as though there was sudden pain. The same courageous spirit that was with Mr. Osburn, however, in the trying circumstan ces of the early Sunday morning, is with him in the sick chamber. and unless complications arise, he is likely to pull through. 'iuring tho evening. He was taken m custody after the second shooting and held as an accessory, the sih mise being that it was his revolver that Keady used in shooting Osburn and Dunn. He had soent the' ear ly portion of the evening in Keadys company, and at 1 1 :30 along with Dell Strong, was with him in Chip man's resteurant. At first, Officer Osburn surmised that it was Turner who fired the . shot near Broder's saloon, and he searched Turner for the gun, but did not find it. Tur ner, Strong and Keady left the res taurant shortly after 12, and it was soon afterward that the first shot was fired. Turner's story told to a Times man in the presence of Chief Lane corrobe rates the details of Osburn' s effort first to get Keady to go home and then to arrest him. He was a close observer of the chase across the street from Allen's drug5 store to the bank and south in the street to the crowd at Halls. He was also near when Osburn and Dunn followed Keady out of the crowd as the latter backed asross the street. In all these details, he tells the story exactly as it is told by Adams. Turner was standing wTith others on the pavement when Keady shot Osburn. He tells this story: "After Keady shot Osburn he stepped quickly on the pavement in front of the barber shop, where I was standing. He came close to me, with the revolver in his hand. About that time John Vinyard step ped out of the barber shop to see what the shooting was about. Keady saw him, and at once advan ced towards Vineyard. There was an old grudge between them Keady always claimed that on a former oc casion Vineyard had threaiened to cut Keady's insides out. Keady half raised his gun, so that it poin ted at Vineyards knees and said. "So you will cut my insides out will you?" Vineyard immediately turned back into the barber shop. Keady raised the gun as if to shoot him in the back, and seizing his pistol arm I said, 'Don't shoot a man in the back,' Keady did not fire, and I proposed then that he should go home.' At first he re fused, saying he wanted to whip Guier, but at last he consented to go with me andwe Started southward. We turned west at the first corner this side of Wades, and went-out to Fifth street. Others say that the turn to the westyard was past Graham & Wells corner.' We. were soon joined by Byron Taylor, who commenced to talk to Peer about giving up the gun, and going home ' Feg turned at once and stuck the muzzle of his revolver against By ron' s body as if to shoot. Byron said, "you would' nt shoot me, would you Peg," and Keady burst into tears and said: 'No you are too good a friend to me.'- iboth Byron and I kept talking to Keady as we walked along about giving up the gun, but Keady wouldlnt do it, At last, Bryron left us. Keady and I kept going north on Fifth street until we came to the north side or college street, and there we turned east, passing the Methodist church. Near Taylor's house we saw a man coming, and Keady rai sed his gun and said, 'whoever you are don.t come nearer than 10 feet or I'll shoot.' The man was Her man Breyer, and he said 'Ah Peg; dont shoot a mend: take a fools ad vise and put up that gun.' "'After some talk Harman Breyer came up to us, and began to talk to Keady, advising him to give up the gun and to surrender to the officers. Keady said he would never do it. Soon after that two men came from the direction of the Methodist church. Keady jumped off the side walk and said he would fix 'em. I thought there was going to beshoot- mg, and as the sheriff reached for Keady, I jumped back about twenty feet and stood there while the shoot ing was going on. From that dis tance I could not distinguish the men, and I don t know who fared the first shot. The shooting was very fast, and it was all over in a few minutes. After that two men came running up to me and said 'Throw up your hands,' I surren dered, and was taken in custody. The trouble began early in the eve ning over the question of wheather or not Keady could whip Ben Guier. Hyland the pain ter and Keady also talked about fighting, and at one time both of them had off their coats." LATEST STYLES BURT TURNER'S STORY. Burt Turner was any with other Keady person ' Breyer's story. There were five persons in the group when the final shooting took place. These were Sheriff Burnett, Deputy Dunn, Keady, Burt Turn er and Herman Breyer. It was a dark night with such light as was afforded by the arc lights at the Methodist church and at the Oc cidental. Persons a few yards away were unable to identify the actors in the tragedy. Adams and Fruit were across the street, but neither could distinguish the movements ' of the men. With Keady dead and Dunn too ill to give an account of the affair, only Turner, Breyer and Sheriff Burnett Continued on page 4. IN . LADIES BOOTS AND OXFORDS. S. L. IvLLNES Our showing on this sea sons Boots and Oxfords for women includes mere- ief resentative lines than evear before including, such makes as the Ping ree, Gloria, Queen Quality & Veino Women Soots. In all the popular leath ers, heavy and light soles welts and turn?, new heels and toes, $3.50. 1 Women Oxfords. 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