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H. F. Sills, of Las Vegas, Nevada, a
locomotive
engineer for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. On furlough
and
visiting in Tombstone. (Q) [Question rephrased.] (A) I saw four or five men standing in front
of the
O.K. Corral, talking of some trouble they had had with Virgil Earp, and
they
made threats at the time, that on meeting him they would kill him on
sight.
Someone of the party spoke up at the time and said that they would kill
the
whole party of the Earps when they met them. I then walked up the
street and
made enquiries to know who Virgil Earp and the Earps were. A man on the
street
pointed out Virgil Earp to me and told me that he was the city marshal.
I went
over and called him to one side and told him the threats I had
overheard this
party make. One of the men has a bandage around his head at the time,
and the
day of the funeral he was pointed out to me as Isaac Clanton. I
recognized him
as one of the party. (Q) Questioned on the shooting. (A)
A few minutes after I had spoken to the marshal, I saw a party start
down
Fourth Street. I followed them down as far as the Post Office. Then I
got sight
of the party I had heard making those threats. I thought there would be
trouble
and I crossed the street. I saw the marshal and party go up and speak
to the
other party. I wasn't close enough to hear their conversation, but saw
them
pull out their revolvers immediately. The marshal had a cane in his
right hand
at the time. He threw up his hand and spoke. I didn't hear the words,
though.
By that time, Billy Clanton and Wyatt Earp had fired their guns off and
the
marshal changed the cane from one hand to the other and pulled his
revolver
out. He seemed to be hit at that time and fell down. He got up
immediately and
went to shooting. The shooting became general at that time and [I]
stepped back
into the hallway along the side of the court house. (Q) How did you know it was Billy Clanton? (A) I saw him after he was dead, and
recognized him as
the one who fired at Wyatt Earp. CROSS
EXAMINATION (Q) When did you come to Tombstone? (A) I came here on the 25th of the month. (Q) How did you come? (A) I came in a bullion wagon of Wells Fargo,
in
company with another passenger and the driver. I knew one man was a
driver, and
one was a passenger. I could not recognize them on the street. (Q) Where have you been since? (A) In Tombstone. The first few days I was in
town I
stopped at a lodging house below Wells Fargo and Company's stage barn.
I cannot
[give the name of the lodging house.] I stayed there 10 nights and then
went to
the hospital. I remained there until today. I am stopped there now. I
walked
there now. I walked here from the hospital. [Doesn't remember or know who the man was he
asked
regarding Virgil Earp, after hearing the threats at the O.K. Corral.
Says,
"I don't know, just a man I met on the street. I don't think I would
[recognize him], as there were a great many men on the street at that
time."] (Q) About the threats he said he heard. (A) I merely told him
[Virgil Earp] it was a party of armed men I met on the street. I didn't
know
the men at the time. There were four men in the party. I can't say they
were
all armed because I could not see the arms of all the party. Of two,
the
pistols were in plain sight. I was within four or five steps of them. (Q) Was there anybody else around there? (A) There were men standing back in the
corral, and
some were walking by and some were 15 or 20 steps back in the corral. (Q) Describe the men you saw with arms on them. (A) One of the men I saw with arms was a
youngish
looking man about nineteen or twenty years old. I don't just remember
what kind
of clothes he had on. I did not pay much attention to him. I don't know
what
kind of hair he had. He seemed to [be] red in the face, not very light
or very
dark. He had no beard or moustache. I don't know whether he was clean
shaved or
not. I don't know what kind of a hat he had on; did not notice his
clothes. The
other man looked to be about 30 years old. He had a moustache. His hair
was
dark. I cannot be certain, but I think his face was shaved, except his
moustache. I did not notice his clothes particularly; don't know what
kind they
were. (Q) Which was the taller of
the two men, the first one described, or the last one? (A) The first one, to the
best of my knowledge. (Q) You say one of them had
a bandage around his head. Were there not two of them with bandages
around
their heads? (A) No sir, not that I
saw. I only saw one. I did not notice the color of it. I only saw it
hanging
down under his hat. I could hardly say [as to his complexion] because
he had
his back to me. (Q) You did not see his face then? (A) No sir, not at that time. (Q) When did you first see his face? (A) On the day of the funeral. (Q) Can you positively swear that the man you
saw at
the funeral was the same man that you saw with the bandage around his
head in
front of the O.K. Corral? (A) Yes sir I can, by his appearance and by
hearing him
talk. (Q) You recognized him by his appearance and
by his
voice as being the same man? (A) I recognized him by his appearance and by
hearing
him talk with this party in front of the O.K. Corral and with other
parties at
the funeral. (Q) You state that his back was toward you and
you
didn't see his face; it was by the appearance of his back and his voice
then,
that you recognized him (A) I took it to be the same
man because he had a bandage on his head the day of the funeral and by
his
voice. [COURT
ADJOURNED TO MEET AT 9:00 O'CLOCK A.M. NOVEMBER 23, 1881] In answer to obvious
questions: (A) I am 36 years old. I was
born in Kingston, Canada. I lived there until I was 20 years old. I
went from
there to Calinlle, Canada. I lived there about 3 years. I then went to
Omaha,
Nebraska. I lived [illegible] served my time in the Union Pacific
shops. I was in
Omaha and on the line of the road between eight and nine years. I was
[in that
time] an apprentice in the machine shop, a locomotive fireman, and on
the road
as locomotive engineer. Some of the persons who had charge of the
machine shop
were: Mr. Congdon, General Master Mechanic, and Mr. McConnel was
foreman. I was
in the shops three years. For about a year and a half I boarded at the
Pacific
Hotel and about a year and a half my mother kept house for me. A man, I
think
by the name of Jordan, kept the house where I boarded. I ran, as
fireman and as
engineer, about six trains. I run the train to Grand Island and Omaha.
I run
between Cheyenne and Laramie and between Laramie and Rolling Springs. (Q) Who were the conductors of
those trains? [Prosecution objects as
being too remote. Overruled.] (A) It would be hard for me to tell. I
remember one man
named Frank Fuller, another man by the name of Kelly, I think. I run on
engine
75 about two and a half years. Q) Did you ever know on that
road, A. A. Bean? (A) The name is familiar. I
think there was a Division Superintendent under or over Mr. Clark; it
was out
of my department. (Q) Did you know General
Kimbell, the General Superintendent of the U. P. Railroad? (A) I knew of the man, but
was not personally acquainted with him. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) When I left that road I
went to Las Vegas, New Mexico. I have lived in Las Vegas since last
March. I
left the Union Pacific road last January. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I am still in the employ
of that road. I left the line of that road on the nineteenth of last
month. I
went from there to Tucson. I had no business there. Am going back to
take up my
employment on the tenth [of] next month. I got four cents a mile on the
A. T.
& S. F. road; the division is 100 miles long. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I came here on the 26th of
last month. I came on the Wells, Fargo express wagon with the driver
and a
passenger. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I did not ask the driver
his name and don't know who he was. He was a middle aged man with
whiskers on
his face. I did not pay any particular attention to him. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I think there was a white
horse and one bob-tailed horse in the team between Benson and
Charleston. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I would not know the man I
came with. I sat right behind him. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I am so positive that I
came here on the 25th of October last on the bullion wagon, as I am of
anything
else I have testified to here. I stayed in Benson about half an hour, I
do not
think I would know the driver again, who drove the wagon I came in on,
although
I have seen him here on the street and spoke to him. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I had no conversation with
the lodging house where I stayed nine or ten days, about the difficulty
testified to here. On the night of October 25th I stayed at this
lodging house
I speak of. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) No I did not see anything
in the hands of Virgil Earp when I went up and spoke to him on the
street. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I saw him on the comer of
Fourth and Allen Streets, on the further comer of Fourth Street. I
should judge
it was about half an hour before the difficulty. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) There were four or five
men standing [near the O.K. Corral] together. I think there were four.
I saw no
horses with those men. I was four or five steps from them. I stayed
there
probably three or four minutes. (Q) Did you see any other
parties as near the party as you were yourself? (A) There was men walked right
by them on the street. [Correct, same as original] I did not know the
parties
at that time. (Q) Where did you next see the
same parties? (A) I saw them on Fremont
Street between third and fourth, near the comer of Third, standing in
the
vacant lot. There were five men in the party when I first saw them on
Fremont
Street and one of them left and walked off. I saw the Earps and Doc
Holliday
when they went down Fremont Street. I was right behind them. I went
down behind
them as far as the Post Office. I then crossed the street in front of
what I
believe is the courthouse. That is [as] near as I was to the scene of
the
difficulty during its occurrence. (Q) Where are you working now,
and for whom? (A) At the present time I am
on a lay-off from the A. T. & S. F. road. I am not working at all. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I am at present in the
hospital. I went there on the sixth or seventh of this month. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I haven't told anybody
direct what I know of this difficulty. The
first word I spoke of it to anybody was to Jim Earp I
believe. I
have not told any person at the hospital what I know of this
transaction. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I first knew I would be wanted here as a
witness
sometime last week, about Thursday or Friday. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) I did not see any
person on the side of the street I was on when the shooting was going
on. I was
standing close to the building and then stepped back into the hall when
the
shooting became general. (Q) [Question not given.] (A) The Earps and
Holliday started from the corner of Fourth and Allen Streets. I did not
see the
other party at that time. I saw the marshal pick up a shotgun when they
started
from alongside of the building and hand it to Doc Holliday. Doc put it
under
his coat and the marshal took his cane. (Q) During the time you
were working in the machine shops and running on the U. P. or A. T.
& S. F.
roads, had you a nickname? (A) Yes sir, it was
Curley. (Q) Where do you layoff
at, and at whose place do you stop in New Mexico? (A) I layoff at Las
Vegas, and stop at my own house. [Signed] H.
F. Sills |
