ANOTHER SHOOTING MATCH!
JACK O'NEIL DIES WITH HIS BOOTS ON!
Thirteen Months and Two Days between Dave Mullen's Death and O'Neil's
PADDY HALL THE ASSASSIN!
He Surrenders Himself and is Now in Jail
CORONER'S INQUEST AND VERDICT OF THE JURY.
General Feeling of the People
On Saturday morning last, between the hours of one and two o'clock, a few of our citizens were startled by the report of a revolver, which immediate investigation developed that a person well known here as Jack O'Neil had been shot and killed by a party whose general cognomen is "Paddy" Hall, the circumstances of which we give below:
It seems O'Neil and Hall had a little difficulty during the day, Friday, and came together in the afternoon of that day in the Exchange Saloon; they had a fisticuff round, in which Hall got the better of O'Neil. O'Neil "squealod," and the two were parted, O'Neil saying to Hall, "I will kill you for this." Both parties then went out, and shortly afterwards O'Neil returned to the Exchange Saloon, having with him a double-barreled gun, and a Navy revolver on his person. He made some threats at that time, of which little notice was taken. According to the testimony elicited from the witnesses during the inquest, the show is that O'Neil and Hall met several times afterwards, but no real trouble occurred; but about one o'clock O'Neil left the Exchange Saloon, quite drunk, saying "I am going home, and will be sober in the morning." He had hardly gone fifteen paces when Hall met him, and fired two shots at him from a Navy revolver, the first shot passing through the heart and body, the second striking the buttocks, and thus it was that.
Immediately after the shooting
surrendered himself to Constable Madden, saying "I have killed Jack O'Neil," and gave up his revolver. Hall was taken to jail and held for an examination.
A coroner's inquest held over the body of O'Neil, after close investigation, rendered a verdict that O'Neil came to his death from shots fired from a revolver in the hands of "Paddy" Hall.
Something over a year ago, the firm of Mullen & O'Neil existed here, they being in partnership in a saloon and dance house, situated on the corner of Fourth and Meigs Streets. It will be remembered by many readers of the Tribune, that Mullen was killed in a melee, in the dead hours of night, with some members of the 7th Cavalry. He, too, "died in his boots," and bravely, and now barely
have passed away and the earthly partner left has gone "Over Yonder" there, mayhap, to meet in the "Land of the Leal," his former co-workre and co-operator. The
as in all cases of a like nature, conflicts; but the general impression is that Hall acted from a personal sense of self defense. O'Neil had made threats against Hall's life, and it was only natural that Hall should be prepared in case of meeting O'Neil, and his own confession shows that he acted in that light, and with such impressions. Following so soon in the page of the cold-blooded murder of young Peterson, the mystery of which as of yet remains enshrouded in gloomy night, which had been a topic of conversation with all our citizens since its discovery, and its every surrounding and connection was of such a dark, deeply concocted, cowardly assassin-like nature, that nearly all have taken a lively interest in the case, and this second
changes the current but little. The prevailing desire and hpoe of the law-abiding, peacable citizens, however, is that some remedy for this growing evil of the too common use of fire-arms, may be speedily arrived at. No man feels entirely safe when such lawlessness goes unpunished or rebuked.
The Bismarck Daily Tribune, 12-16-1874
