Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 June 1906 — A CLOSE CALL. [ARTICLE]

A CLOSE CALL.

“ John Barleycorn ” Gets Busy In flilroy. ONE MAN WAS ALMOST KILLED. Struck Over the Head With Fence Post and Rendered Unconscious for Several Hours. Last Sunday was children’s day at the Milroy Baptist church, but notwithstanding the day a couple of young men of that locality came to the church and marred the pleasure of the occasion by their actions. Joe Burley, of near Wolcott, and William Day, a young man employed by Ed Oliver, drove to the church in a buggy together. It is stated that both had beeu drinking, and they got into a dispute when about to leave that resulted in Burley striking Day over the head with a heavy club or fence stake, knocking him from the buggy and injuring him in such a way that for several hours his life was despaired of. It is reported that Burley engaged some young woman at the church to go buggy riding with him and that Day refused to leave the buggy, saying that Burley brought him there and must take him home. After knocking Day out of the buggy Burley picked up his unconscious form and drove him back to Oliver’s, where Drs. Cronk of Wolcott and Besser of Remington were oalled and worked over the injured man for several hours, finally bringing him around and it was found that his skull was not fractured, as at first feared. He is now reported doing nicely and will be out in a few days. Warrants were sworn out for Burley’s arrest and City Marshal Parks went out from Rensselaer to get him. He b«4 bail, however, and skipped out. If is though the went to Seafield early Monday morning and took the east-bound Panhandle train. It is is now reported that be is in Logansport, where he has a brother, and will no doubt be brought back shortly to face the charge against him, and he is fortunate indeed that the charge is not murder.