Clark County Clipper, June 24, 1886

A Fatal Shooting.

Last Sunday night a shooting scrape occurred in Neutral, No Mans Land that resulted in the death of William Bickford alias Bob McCoy and the wounding of Dock Douglas, Charlie Rockhold and W. H. Boone.

It seems W. H. Boone kept a saloon and one or two soiled doves, in the same house which was a popular resort for the cowboys and what ruffs drifted that way, and was a general place for carousing and raising sheol, the boys making day and night hideous by the reckless use of their pops.  Boone had been warned to move his place but refused.  On last Sunday they were overbearing and McCoy especially indulged in the amusing pastime of making people dance with his little pop, and shooting near to and scaring women and children.  About mid-night or after, the citizens, as we understand, surrounded the building and for a half hour or more poured volley after volley of Winchester and pistol shots into the house with the above result.

Dock Douglas a cowboy had his arm shattered all to pieces near the shoulder and was brought into Englewood and had it amputated.

Only four men were in the building when the firing began.  Charlie Rockhold had a slight wound in the legs and on the head.  William Bickford alias Bob McCoy was shot through the hips and lived only a few minutes after the shooting creased.  He asked some one to write for him, and said, "I've been a bad boy.  Write my name which is William Bickford of Victoria, Texas and then say no more."  West the fourth man ran out of the house at the first volley and escaped with a bullet hole through his hat and hair.  Boone and the soiled doves were in a sod house by and not in the saloon, as was supposed by the citizens.  When the firing ceased he slipped out to where McCoy's race horse was roped near by and put on the saddle to escape but was discovered by the mob who opened fire in him.  He leaped on without a bridle and the horse being a spirited one ran away through some wire fences cutting Boone seriously and probably fatally and killing the horse.

It is another case where forbearance ceased to be a virtue and the citizens determined to rid the community of a nuisance through in a very brutal way.

Submitted by ~Shirley Brier~ in September 28, 2005.

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