The following article covers the preliminary examination of Billy Oswald who shot and killed Patrick McWeeney on New Year's Eve 1885.
THE LATE TRAGEDY.
An Exciting Week Over the Oswald-McWeeney Affair.
Synopsis of the Testimony Before Judge Wishart.
An Interesting Three-Hour Talk by Mr. Erwin.
A Decision to be Rendered This Morning.
The killing of McWeeney has been the sensation of the week, and an extra edition of 300 INTER-OCEANS was consumed before Monday night. The coroner’s inquest was very searching and resulted in the following verdict:
We find that said Patrick McWeeney came to his death from the effects of a wound made by a leaden bullet fired from a pistol then and there held in the hands of John William Oswald, at Devils Lake, Dec. 31, 1885, and the said Patrick McWeeney, through the said means, then and there came to his death feloniously from the effects of the said would inflicted by the said John W. Oswald, as aforesaid, with elonious intent to kill and murder the said Patrick McWeeney.
Frank Converer
John J. Cooke
G. W. Percival
Oswald’s father and mother and two sisters, accompanied by W.W. Erwin, the St. Paul criminal lawyer, arrived by Monday’s train from Minneapolis. Mr. and Mrs. Oswald are well along in years and have the sympathy of everyone here. The preliminary examination of young Oswald commenced Tuesday morning at the rooms of Clerk of the Court Saunders, adorning the cell where the prisoner is confined. District Attorney Morgan is assisted in the prosecution of J. F. McGee and Messrs. Erwin and Nash appear for the defense. The courtroom had been thronged with spectators each day of the trial.
The first witness was E. R. Davie. He was in Boeing & Doyle’s saloon half an hour before the shooting; Oswald had a hunting knife seven or eight inches long; he stuck it in the counter several times; Boeing asked him for the knife, but he refused to give it to him; afterward put the knife in his pocket, stepped back from the bar, drew his revolver and fired into the west wall about ten inches from witness’ head; Boeing and witness asked him for his revolver, but could not get it. McWeeney soon came in; Oswald put his arm over his shoulder, and said,”McWeeney, you Irish s-- of a b----, have a drink.” McWeeney replied, “Don’t call me that.” Then Oswald struck him with his revolver; did not see where he hit him. McWeeney then knocked Oswald down and advanced toward him to within three feet; Oswald fired, and McWeeney turned his back; Oswald continued to fire, shooting four times; McWeeney turned facing Oswald and said, “Billy, you are way off,” and backing to the corner of the room fell to the floor and died in two or three minutes. Oswald got up, said something to Boeing and passed to the rear room where he asked Taylor for his gun. I went out and started for the rink; met Oswald on Kelly Avenue; I notified the sheriff, and returned to the saloon.
Donald Blue and Sutliffe Potts testified substantially as above, except that Potts did not think Oswald hit McWeeney “in a fighting manner” with the pistol; that McWeeney hit Oswald a heavy blow; that Oswald raised to his hip and knees to fire, and that the firing was very rapid, Mr. Blue heard Oswald say, after he had fired the four shots, “I will shoot your G-- d--- brains out,” or “ G-- d--- you, I will shoot you dead;” also that Oswald, after snapping and finding his gun empty, ran behind the bar and asked Boeing for a revolver; that he then rushed into the gambling room and asked Taylor for a gun.
Robert Boeing, one of the saloon proprietors, was called. Saw Oswald the day of the killing at 4 o’clock in the afternoon; Oswald was in the saloon from 7 o’clock until shortly after the shooting; saw him with a hunting knife and tried to get it from him; Oswald was flourishing the knife; after Oswald put the knife in his pocket he drew a 38-caliber “bulldog” pistol; MeWeeney entered after Oswald fired into the wall. Boeing’s testimony corroborated that of Davie’s relative to the epithets used by Oswald; witness testified that McWeeney told Oswald he would not be called a s-- of a b---- by anybody; that Oswald replied, “If you think you are a better man than me wade right in.” This was said while Oswald flourished his revolver; after firing Oswald snapped his pistol before rising from the floor; McWeeney did not get on Oswald’s back while the latter was down; after killing McWeeney Oswald asked witness for a gun; did not give him one. On cross-examination witness said he did not think Oswald aimed at Davie when he shot into the wall; thought Oswald’s salutation to McWeeney was in “fighting words;” Oswald had used it to others that evening; did not know of any prior difficulty between them; could not say that McWeeney had been drinking; Oswald was drunk; McWeeney’s blow struck Oswald on the left eye; it was not a clean knock-down; Oswald stumbled and fell.
John McDougall’s testimony brought out several new points. Witness was within three feet of Oswald when he fired; after Oswald had called McWeeney a s-- of a b---- McWeeny said, “Billy call be anything -- an Irish rascal” --Oswald interrupting Pat said, “That’s what you are.” Pat stepped back; could not say that Oswald had the pistol in his hand when he fell; when the first shot was fired McWeeney was standing erect; after Oswald got up heard him say “Throw yourself loose.” On cross-examination witness said he did not know if McWeeny and Oswald were friends; the flashing of the pistol in McWeeney’s face the witness would call a blow; there was no time for mental deliberation, but was time for witness to deliberate not to interfere. Being asked what Oswald had been drinking, witness said down east it would be called poison.
George McDougall was called and reaffirmed the evidence he gave before the coroner’s jury, which was corroborative of his brother’s; he went into the saloon out of curiosity; got out very quick after the shooting; Oswald first struck McWeeney with the pistol with a waving motion, and afterward struck him square in the face.
Fred D. Locke being sworn, said he was Oswald flourish a revolver in McWeeney’s face; think the pistol was held in the right hand; there was a little struggle; Oswald’s pistol was in his hand at the time; saw McWeeney draw back and knock Oswald down; Oswald fell on his right side; McWeeney was within three or four feet of Oswald when the latter was down, but did not have his fists clenched; McWeeney made no effort to get on Oswald; heard some one say to Oswald after the shooting that he had no right to do that; Oswald snapped the pistol at McWeeney three or four times after the shooting. On cross-examination witness said McWeeney had no time to kick Oswald after the latter was down and before the shooting; before the shooting there was a difference in the countenances of the men- McWeeney appeared as usual; Oswald was under the influence of liquor; he had asked two or three persons to drink; Oswald did not appear angry when he had his knife out; Oswald did not stagger at any time he saw him.
Harry Nicholson testified that he was looking on in the gambling room when the shooting occurred; when he went into the saloon the shooting was over; Oswald was standing by the stove flourishing his revolver; heard Oswald say, “You have been a friend of mine, Pat;” Oswald then passed to the gambling room and told Taylor that he had shot his best friend; did not notice anything peculiar about Oswald’s gait; heard a single shot fired before the general firing.
John McDevitt testified that he saw McWeeney’s remains the morning after the shooting; saw a scar on the left cheek -- that is, the skin was broken; had the appearance of being recently done.
Rev. T.H. Sheckler testified that he saw the remains the next morning; noticed a wound about an inch long on the cheek; wound looked like a fresh one. On cross-examination witness said no one called his attention to the wound.
Counsel for the prosecution asked to have H. M. Creel subpoenaed to show that defendant shot down Emmett Orr two years ago. Objected to. Objection sustained.
At the afternoon session Thursday H. C. Hansbrough was called, and testified to having gone to the saloon in his capacity as a newspaperman immediately after the shooting; several men were lifting McWeeney’s body from the floor to a chair; noticed a fresh abrasion of the skin just below the left cheekbone; the wound was bleeding very slightly; saw McWeeney twelve or fifteen minutes before the shooting, but was not near enough to notice the appearance of his face.
George W. Percival testified that he noticed the abrasion on McWeeney’s cheek; it appeared to be a fresh injury; saw McWeeney a few moments before, and he did not have the mark on his face; there was blood below the wound.
G. W. Potts was recalled and stated that Oswald said to McWeeney, after hitting the latter with his pistol, that if he wanted anything of him he could “wade right in.”
W. J. Hurst testified that he saw the remains soon after the shooting; there was a small would just below the cheek bone; the blood was fresh; also saw three other wounds on McWeeney’s body; one was even with the third button of the vest from the top; another was in the left hip, while the third was in the small of the back.
Dr. C. C. Ellis, who assisted at the post mortem, testified and said the fatal wound was in the heart; the bullet did not go through the heart; could not find the ball; the bullet passed through the right ventricle; the cavity of the heart was filled with extravasated blood; bullet may have been carried through the pulmonary artery to the lung. The witness gave an interesting scientific theory relative to the result of such a wound.
Sheriff Wagness testified relative to the capture of Oswald. The testimony is very similar to the story of the capture detailed elsewhere on this page. Witness said the pistol Oswald had and which he gave Taylor was a 45-calibre; did not hear that the small pistol was handed to “Alice;” on the way to the jail Oswald said that McWeeney had no right to strike him in the jaw. Oswald wished to retain the revolver to protect himself, but did indicate against whom.
At yesterday’s session of the court Sheriff Wagness was recalled and said it was between five and ten minutes after the shooting when he arrested Oswald.
The prosecution then rested its case. Mr. Erwin, for the defense, asked counsel on the other side to define the crime. If it is manslaughter I shall ask to have the defendant admitted to bail.
District Attorney Morgan referred briefly to the facts of the killing as shown by the evidence both at the coroner’s inquest and at this examination. Upon this evidence the prosecution was content to submit its case.
Mr. Erwin followed, making an interesting and impressive argument, in which he admitted the killing, but claimed that the deed was done in the heat of passion while in combat. There was no premeditated design; the crime under the code was manslaughter, not murder. The testimony showed that the parties were friendly, and that Oswald had said, immediately after the shooting, that he had killed his best friend. Erwin’s argument lasted three hours.
Mr. McGee followed Mr. Erwin in a forty minutes talk in which he claimed that all the evidence went to show premeditation; that Oswald was determined upon the killing
of McWeeney as soon as the latter struck him. He closed with the argument that is was high time an example be made of someone of the class of men who have so frequently walked roughshod over the rights of peaceable citizens and made our city’s name a byword and a disgrace.
The court reserved its decision until 9 o’clock this morning. 1
Other articles included on the front page include the funeral of Pat McWeeney, the detailed arrest of Billy Oswald, the background history of lawyer, Bill Erwin & the interview of Oswald’s parents, Henry & Theresa Oswald.
To be continued in Part 3 (already posted).
1. Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]), 09 Jan. 1886. p. 1. Col. 3,4,5,6. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88076514/1886-01-09/ed-1/seq-1/>
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