An Armed Mistake on the Road to Walla Walla

A rather ludicrous error made by county officers a few days ago was brought to light when Frankie Dooley, aged 12 years, a son of the late John Dooley, and Fritz Shonlever, aged 16, employed by the Dooleys, came into Walla Walla Monday evening and reported that they had been held up by Deputy Sheriff Kees at the point of a gun three miles east of the city on the supposition that they were cattle thieves. The boys were delegated by Mrs. Dooley to bring several cows with calves from Starbuck to Walla Walla and were leisurely making their way along the road when Deputy Kees and Deputy Gilliam drove up in a buggy. Frankie Dooley says that Deputy Kees jumped from the rig, grabbed hold of his pony's bridle and, drawing a revolver, stuck it into his face with the command to throw up his hands. The revolver was switched into Shonlever's face with the same remark. Both boys, scared nearly out of their senses at the sight of the gun, hastily obeyed, while the deputy searched them for guns. Shonlever finally recovered speech sufficiently to inform the deputy who they were and whose cattle they were driving. Admitting that he had made a mistake, the deputy allowed the boys to move on. A member of the Dooley family verified the boys' statements this morning and also stated that Frankie had been ill all Monday night as a result of the scare he had been subjected to. A dispatch to the sheriff's office Monday stated that two cows had been stolen from Dayton the day before and were supposed to have been driven in the direction of Walla Walla. Mr. Kees apologized to the boys and members of the family for the unintentional fright he had given the boys.