There are so many conflicting stories as to how the fuss began that it is difficult to get at the facts but one thing is certain and that is that Oscar Crawford shot one of the musicians, and while it is not considered fatal the wound was sufficient to cause alarm and the wounded man is in the care of Wichita surgeons and his recovery is not yet wholly assured. Oscar's gun was a 22 caliber and he used short cartridges. The bullet struck the man between the first and second ribs, ranged upward and lodged near the shoulder. Dr. Kociell was called and dressed the wound before the man was taken away.

The friends of the boys say that the difficulty started when one of the show outfit attempted to short change Jim Quick at a lemonade stand. Jim's brother, Oliver, and Oscar Crawford took it up and there was a general "scrap." Oliver got a bad blow under the eye and was disfigured and the last act was Crawford's shot and a hasty retreat followed. The show men were furious after the shooting and the boys were proportionately nervous. If Crawford had been caught there would have been a hanging then and there. They did get Quick but when they found all the cartridges in his gun they did him no further violence but about 50 of the outfit searched the flats for Crawford but failed to find him. After they subsided he came up town and gave himself up to Deputy Sheriff Kinkaid and both boys were committed to jail. It is the general opinion that if they had found Crawford they would have done him great violence before the authorities could have interfered.

The show people claim that the boys had been raising a disturbance all evening and that they had not been mistreated in any way, and it is also claimed that they had taken on a good supply of the "Oh be Joyful."

The boys were released from jail on Monday noon for the reason that no one appeared to press a prosecution, but it is said that later an action will be brought. Friends of the boys, however, say that a settlement has been reached and that it will not reach the courts. Time alone will tell what the final solution will be.

The occurrence is deplored by all our people. These young men come from excellent families who enjoy the esteem and respect of all who know them. Mr. Crawford's case, especially is a quite serious one and we hope he will be able to show that he was not in the wrong.

This ought to be a lesson to others - guns are dangerous things to carry and especially so when they are in the hands of those who uses them indiscreetly.

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