A Fence Dispute Turns Violent in Douglas County
A saloon-keeper from Spragua flees the law after shooting a neighbor over a boundary argument.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Wm. White, formerly a saloon-keeper at Spragua, is wanted by the sheriff of Douglas county, charged with attempting to murder Clay Mauntell. The two men owned neighboring ranches, and the trouble, which culminated in White’s shooting Mauntell in the thigh and face, grew out of a dispute over a division fence. After the shooting White sold his ranch and skipped the country.
“The trouble, which culminated in White’s shooting Mauntell in the thigh and face, grew out of a dispute over a division fence.”
Land disputes, particularly those concerning fences and boundaries, remain a frequent trigger for legal action and even interpersonal violence in rural Western communities.
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