TERRITORY OF ARIZONA        SS       Springerville, A.T.
COUNTY OF APACHE              January 12, 1901
IN THE MATTER OF THE INQUISITION UPON
THE BODY OF MONTIE SLAUGHTER, DECEASED

Sam J. Saffell, after being duly sworn, deposes and says; That he resides at Springerville, Apache County, Arizona, age 45 years.
I was in my Saloon today with Mr. Montie Slaughter and Mr. Ben Slaughter and Mr. Wardner and Mr. Peery and Mr. Beeler and Claud Saffell.  Mr. Beeler and Peery first got into a quarrel.  Beeler throwed down on Peery with his gun.  Peery showed him that he was disarmed and Beeler gave up his pistol to someone, and they gave the pistol to me to put behind the bar.  And I think the pistol is there yet.  Then Slaughter and Beeler got into words; And Peery taken Slaughter and I taken Beeler and we tried to seperate them.  Peery took Slaughter away from the Saloon, and Mr. Wardner and me went outside and seen Slaughter and Peery come out of Slaughter's house with a Winchester.  Mr. Wardner and me went over and met them and stopped them and tried to get Slaughter to drop the matter and let it go.  And Wardner and me started to the Hotel to get dinner and they called us and said, "Come and go with us" and we went back to the Saloon, and Wardner and me stopped within 5 feet of the Saloon door. Peery and Slaughter went on in front of the door, as far as I can recollect, and talked to someone on the inside.  I taken it to be Beeler from his voice.  I did not see anyone.  Peery and me then got a hold of Slaughter and persuaded him, after we went some thirty or forty feet, and insisted on Slaughter going with us.  And he says, "No." "Let us go back and get a drink."  Slaughter and Peery and myself then turned back and went towards the Saloon door.  And Slaughter and Peery were just going into the Saloon when I heard someone halloo and said, "Look out" or "Hold up" or something.  And then I think two shots were fired.  I ran around the house to the back door and says, "Boy", "Don't shoot, It is me."  And Beeler then came out with a gun in his hand.  And I looked in towards the front of the house and seen Slaughter laying on the floor.  And I told Ed, I says, "Drop it or there will be more trouble." And I went around back to the front door and called to Montie.  I says, "Are you hurt?" and he didn't answer me.

And I turned and ran over to Dr. Rudd's office and summoned him to come and told him that Montie was shot.  And I went back to the Saloon and I believe Mr. Jones came up about the same time.  And the doctor came in and we turned him over on his back and put a pillow under his head.  Mr. Jones said, "We cannot do anything for Montie.  Let's go and see what we can do for Peery.  He is shot." There was a Winchester laying under Slaughter and I picked it up and laid it on the table.  There was an empty shell laying on the floor.  I do not know where it came from.  The gun had a loaded cartridge in the chamber.

Q. What did Slaughter say in relation to Beeler being warned as to what he himself would do?
A. Beeler says, "I am not armed." And Slaughter says, "Go and arm yourself."
Q. Did you have a shotgun or was there a shotgun in the Saloon?
A. Yes Sir. I had a shotgun in the Saloon and it was loaded the last time I saw it with buck shot.  And I did not know that anyone knew where the gun was but me and Claud.
Q. State when and where it was you saw that shotgun first, after the shooting took place?
A. I saw Beeler come out of the Saloon with a shotgun in his hand
but I am not sure whether that was my gun or not.  I afterwards looked for the gun and found it missing.  All this occured at Springerville, Apache County on January 12, 1901.

Signed, Samuel J. Saffell.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of January, 1901. Anthony Long, Justice of the Peace and Acting Coroner.

TERRITORY OF ARIZONA         SS            Springerville, A.T.
COUNTY OF APACHE                 January 12, 1901

Benjamin C. Slaughter after being first duly sworn, deposes and says; That he resides in Apache County, Arizona, age 28 years.
I was in Sam Saffell's Saloon when Mr. Beeler and Mr. Peery had a quarrel.  Shortly after the quarrel, Mr. Peery and Montie Slaughter stepped out of the Saloon.  Mr. Saffell and Mr. Wardner walked out a few minutes afterward, and Mr. Beeler says, "I have to get a gun" and started behind the bar.  And I knowing that Mr. Saffell had a shotgun there and taken it out of the rack and Mr. Beeler says, "Give me the gun." And I says, "Don't do it Mr. Beeler!"  And he says, "I will take it away from you then."  And I told him he would not and to go away.  And I walked out into the back room of the Saloon and hid the gun.  After I hid the gun I walked out of the Saloon over in Becker's Corral. Claud Saffell and I walked out together leaving only Mr. Beeler in the Saloon.  This was probably 20 or 30 minutes before the shooting.  I heard Mr. Beeler ask Mr. Saffell for a gun, and Mr. Saffell turned to Mr. Beeler and he says, "I would not let anyone have a gun when he is drinking."  Both barrels of the shotgun were loaded with buck shot when I hid it.  All this occured at Springerville, Apache County, Arizona on the twelfth day of January, 1901.

Signed, Benj. C. Slaughter
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of January, 1901. Anthony Long, Justice of the Peace and Acting Coroner

TERRITORY OF ARIZONA         SS         Springerville, A.T.
COUNTY OF APACHE             January 12, 1901

Allen Wardner, being duly sworn, deposes and says; That his residence is Springerville, Arizona, age 28 years.
I came into Mr. Saffell's Saloon about 2 O'clock and found Mr. Saffell, Mr. Peery, Mr. Montie Slaughter, Mr. Ben Slaughter and Mr. Saffell's son, Claud and Mr. Beeler.  We had a drink and I sat down.  And in a few moments Mr. Beeler and Mr. Montie Slaughter had some high words.  Mr. Peery persuaded Mr. Slaughter to leave the Saloon.  After this, we all went out in front of the Saloon and set down on the bench.  I saw Mr. Peery and Mr. Slaughter come out of Mr. Slaughter's house, Mr. Slaughter carrying a gun, and Mr. Peery still endeavoring to keep him from going into the Saloon.  Mr. Saffell and I then walked over to where Mr. Slaughter and Mr. Peery stood and all three of us tried to make Mr. Slaughter let the matter drop, and put up his gun, telling him that Mr. Beeler was not around.  Mr. Slaughter said that he would not shoot anyone who was not unprotected but only wished to go over and settle the matter.  Mr. Saffell and I then started to Mr. Saffell's house.  Mr. Slaughter called to us and said that he would like to have us come with him, which we did.  Mr. Perry, Mr. Slaughter, Mr. Saffell and I going to within about five feet of the Saloon door.  Mr. Slaughter talked to Mr. Beeler who was standing inside whom I could not see but recognized by his voice.  And I heard him say that he was not armed.  And he also said, "Montie, you are wrong," when Mr. Slaughter accused him of ill treatment.  I, thinking there would be no trouble in as much as I did not believe Mr. Beeler would be able to get a gun and not careing to hear the quarrel walked over to Mr. Saffell's Saloon and heard, I think, two shots.  All this occured at Springerville, Apache County, Arizona on January 12th 1901.

Signed, Allen Wardner
Subscribed and Sworn to before me this 12th day of January, 1901. Anthony Long, Justice of the Peace and Acting Coroner

TERRITORY OF ARIZONA            Springerville, A.T.
SS
COUNTY OF APACHE January 12, 1901

Clarence V. Peery, after being duly sworn, says; That my residence is Springerville, Apache County, Arizona, age 33 years.
Montie Slaughter started in the Saloon and I went in with him.  I had a hold of him trying to keep him from going in and just as we got to the door, Beeler, spoke something.  "Look out!" or "Hold up!" and just about the same time he shot.  I suppose it was he that shot.  I did not see anyone else in the Saloon but Beeler and I was shot at the same time Montie was, and I suppose that it was with the same gun that killed Montie Slaughter, and I staggered back and Montie staggered in.

Q. Do you know of any trouble existing between Beeler and Montie Slaughter at the time of the shooting?
A. Yes. I came in the Saloon and there were Sam Saffell and Claud Saffell and Montie Slaughter and Ben Slaughter and Ed. Beeler. And Beeler was jarring or having some words with Claud Saffell.  And I took it up with Beeler, and Beeler drew his pistol on me.  And Montie then took it up with Beeler.  I then took Montie off to his house.  Then Montie got his gun and we started back to the Saloon.  When we got to the door of the Saloon we met Mr. Beeler and Montie then had some words with Beeler and told him that he thought he had done wrong.  And Beeler acknowledged that he had done wrong.  Montie and Mr. Sam Saffell and myself then started to go away from the Saloon.  We tried to keep Montie away.  Montie then said; "Let us go back and take a drink."  We then started back to the Saloon and when we got to the door the shooting occured.

Q. Was Montie making any angry demonstrations toward Beeler at the time he entered the door?
A. I don't think that he was making any demonstrations.  He just said, "Let us go and take a drink."

Signed, Clarence V. Peery.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 12th day of January, 1901.
Anthony Long, Justice of the Peace
and Acting Coroner.

TERRITORY OF ARIZONA                   Springerville,A.T.
SS
COUNTY OF APACHE                   January 12, 1901
IN THE MATTER OF THE INQUISITION UPON
THE BODY OF MONTIE SLAUGHTER, DECEASED
VERDICT

We the undersigned Jurors, summoned to appear before Anthony Long, Acting Coroner, of the County of Apache and Territory of Arizona, on the twelfth day of January, 1901, to inquire into the cause of the death of Montie Slaughter, found dead in Sam Saffell's Saloon in the Village of Springerville, in said County and Territory, and having been duly sworn according to law, and having made such Inquisition after inspecting the body and hearing the testimony adduced, each and all upon our oaths do say, that we find the name of deceased was named Montie Slaughter who was a native of the United States, aged about 26 years, that he came to his death on the twelfth day of January, 1901, in this County by the hand of Edward Beeler, and we further find that we believe, Edward Beeler, to be the person by whose act the said Montie Slaughter is occasioned by shooting the said Montie Slaughter with a shotgun loaded with gun powder and leaden bullets, all of which we duly certify by this Inquisition in writing by us, signed, this twelfth day of January, 1901.

In the District Court, Forth Judicial District,
Territory of Arizona, in and for Apache County.
Verdict of the Coroner's Jury at Inquest held
Jan. 12, 1901, over the body of Montie Slaughter deceased.
Filed, Jan. 16, 1901. John T. Hogue, Clerk.

TERRITORY OF ARIZONA                       Springerville, A.T.
COUNTY OF APACHE                   January 12, 1901

To any Sheriff, Constable, Marshal or Policeman in this Territory: Inquisition hearing, this date being found by Coroner's Jury, before me, stating that Montie Slaughter has come to his death by the act of Edward Beeler by criminal means.  You are therefore commanded, forthwith, to arrest the above named, Edward Beeler, and take him before the nearest or most avaiable Magistrate in this County.  Given unto my hand this twelfth day of January, 1901.

                          Anthony Long
WARRANT                   Justice of the Peace
                          Acting Coroner

In the District Court, Forth Judicial District, Territory of Arizona, in and for the County of Apache.