MURDEROUS AFFRAY

HIXON, KRILE

Posted By: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert (email)
Date: 5/2/2006 at 20:50:44

The Chariton Patriot
Chariton, Iowa
Thursday, December 29, 1875

A quarrel occurred during last week between ISRAEL HIXON and PAUL KRILE,
both of Cedar Township, which resulted in the former receiving a serious and
what is expected to prove a mortal injury at the hands of the latter. The
facts in connection with the affray are, as we get them, as follows:

On Friday KRILE's hogs got into HIXON's field and were distrained by HIXON
for damages done by them. KRILE claimed that HIXON owed him a few dollars,
and wanted the account, or part of it, to settle the damages, but HIXON
insisted on receiving the money before releasing the hogs. The money was
sent by KRILE on Saturday, and the hogs taken home, when K. at once went to
Esq. Roseman and sued for the amount of his (K's) claim. On KRILE's return
home from the Squire's, (he was carrying a gun at the time, which he claims
to have borrowed during the day to turkey hunting the next day) and when
near HIXON's house he shot the latter's dog. Whither HIXON was aware at
this time that KRILE had sued him, and before this in addition to the
killing of his dog to exasperate him, how the conversation or inauguration
of such an encounter occurred, we have not learned, but on KRILE's arriving
at HIXON's house, the latter went out for the purpose, as he expressed it to
the family of "settling the matter at once," and the two came into contact.
Just what was said or which one of the parties first attempted violence is
not known, but the result was that HIXON received a blow over the head from
the gun in KRILE's hands, which fractured his skull badly. The gun was an
old army musket, and the blow was inflicted by the butt of the weapon, the
lock penetrating the skull.

HIXON was carried to the house in an insensible state and still remains in
that condition. Dr. Fitch was called on Sunday and removed a portion of the
skull from the top of the head about four inches long and two inches wide,
to relieve the brain from pressure by the fractured bone, but the doctor has
no hopes of his recovery. KRILE had a preliminary hearing before Esq.
Roseman, of Cedar Township, on Monday, and is now in the county jail. He
formerly lived north of Chariton, and for some time hauled coal to town, and
has heretofore, so far as we can learn, been considered reasonably peaceable
and quiet as a citizen.

Since writing the above we learn that KRILE had paid the damages done by the
hogs, but had not taken them away and stopped at HIXON's on his way home to
take them from the pen, and while he was taking the hogs out, HIXON came out
and began the altercation that led to the results recited. KRILE had shot
the dog in front of HIXON's father's house, about fifteen rods distant from
HIXON's, and while KRILE was taking his hogs from the pen, the father came
down to ISRAEL's house and told him of the killing of the dog. It is
thought that the news coming to HIXON of the killing of his dog had
principally to do with bringing on the encounter with its sad results.
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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
May 1, 2006
iggy29@sbcglobal.net