John Emery, a prospector made an awful and fatal mistake
yesterday morning. He took a dose of aconite and died within
two hours.
Emery bought the poison the evening before of Eschman's Drug
Store and intended to use it in doctoring a sick mule. About
3 o'clock yesterday morning having worked with the mule all
night he lay down on his bunk. He had been suffering from
stomach trouble and soon after lying down the pain recurred.
He kept a bottle of Davis' Pain Killer in a box near his
bed and arising in the darkness he went to the box for
relief. He had put the bottle of aconite into the same box
and Fate directed his hand to it. He took a swallow and
lay down again but almost instantly the poison began its
work. He struck a light and saw the skull and crossbones
label on the bottle.
This happened at the Five Points Corral and he hurried
downtown, reaching the drugstore in a dying condition.
He threw his weight against the door awakening the night
clerk, Irwin Furl and attracting the attention of James
Rennie at the Sample Room next door. Emery was yet able to
describe the circumstances of his mistake. A physician was
sent for and hypodermic injections of nitro-glycerine and
other powerful stimulants were administered without avail.
Shortly before 5 o'clock he was out of pain and dead.
Judge Johnstone impaneled a jury consisting of J.C. Ryan,
James Rennie, James McNamara, A.J. Kent, A.C. Wilkins and
H.O. Eatherton. The verdict was death by accident.
Almost nothing is known of Emery here. He came to Five Points
Corral three days ago and from the circumstances that a poll
tax receipt from Yavapai County of the date of this year was
found among his effects it is known that he came from the
north. Beside the poll tax receipt there were found a bill
of sale for the mule signed by Andy Weirmurt and $37.90 in
coin and greenbacks. The dead man was about forty years old.
ED ENNIS
November 7, 1894
Ed Ennis died at the insane asylum at 3 o'clock yesterday
afternoon. The funeral will take place at 2pm today from W.H.
Smith and Company, West Washington Street.
The deceased was committed to the asylum about a month ago.
His mind gave way several months ago.
HORACE FILLEY
September 9, 1894
A horrible murder has been committed at Mount Reno, seventy
five miles east of Phoenix. The victim was Horace Filley, a
young man of Tempe and well known in this city. His
mutilated corpse was discovered on Thursday and a messenger
reached Tempe last night with the first news of the tragedy.
A message was received at the sheriff's office at nine
o'clock giving only meager details.
The murdered man had been in the employ of L.L. Harmon of
Tempe and left there on Wednesday to gather up some range
cattle belonging to the Thomas Graham estate which Mr.
Harmon had purchased.
The murder had evidently been committed the next day or the day
of his arrival at Mount Reno. He had been shot in the back
and his head had been crushed by stone. His horse was gone
and supposed to have been taken by the murderer. The body was
buried near the place where it lay and a messenger started
the next morning for Tempe.
The condition of the body suggests the work of the Apache
kid, as the bodies of all those known to have been murdered
by him were found similarly mutilated. There is nothing else
on which to base a supposition that the dead man may swell
the list of the Kid's butcheries. It is a fact that the
renegade was not supposed to be in that part of the country.
He was last heard from in Animas Valley in the vicinity of
the Hearst Ranch, but that was six weeks ago and all trace
of him was lost.
Mount Reno is not far from the White Mountain Reservation
and it is notorious that his visits to the reservation were
frequent while the most active hunt for him was being
prosecuted.
There is also a suspicion that the murder adds another to the
not less horrible list of tragedies of the Graham-Tewksbury
feud. It is true that night the murdered man nor his
employer were identified in the feud, but the fact that
the was engaged in handling the graham cattle may have
been sufficient identification in the eyes of his murders
to warrant the killing.
Mount Reno marks a point on the boundary between Gila and
Maricopa Counties. Though Filley has several acquaintances
here little could be learned of him last night. He came
to the valley two years ago with a brother who afterward
went away.
B.M. FLEISHMAN
May 10, 1894
Maurice Fleishman yesterday received a telegram from San
Francisco announcing the sudden and mysterious death of
his father, B.M. Fleishman, a prominent produce merchant.
He wired for particulars but none had been received at a
late hour last night.
Associated Press dispatches yesterday however stated that
the dead man had been found floating in the Bay at East
Oakland and that foul play was suspected. Fred Fleischmann
and his sister, Mrs. Charles Goldman left last night for
San Francisco.
FORD infant
November , 1894
A six months old child of Archie Ford of the Golden Eagle
Stables died yesterday morning of fever. The funeral
conducted by randal and Davis will take place this morning
at 10 o'clock.
GEORGE W. SPENCE, "FRENCHY"
August 26, 1894
The decomposed body of Frenchy, a character of Phoenix for the
past fifteen years, was discovered yesterday morning in a
hovel near the cemetery. When and how he died no one knows.
The body was undressed and lay on the ground near the foot of
a cot on which he slept. A mass of blood indicated a profuse
hemorrhage as the probable direct cause of his death.
Justice Johnstone summoned a jury consisting of Andrew Barry,
James Reline, Harry Chambers, T.W. Allen, J.F. Meador, J.P.
King, J.B. George and Dos Ray. After the body had been
formally viewed it was buried in potter's field and the
inquest adjourned until tomorrow morning.
Little is known of the dead man's life. His real name
was George W. Spence and he was about sixty years old and
serviced through the war on the confederate side. He
lived almost continuously in the hovel in which he died.
He made pitiful attempts to raise a supply of vegetables
sufficient for his needs.
