OBIT: William A. STRAYER, 1895, Blair County, PA

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TOO FREE WITH HIS GUN. 

W. A. Strayer of This City Was Shot at South Fork Yesterday by Officer
Block.

A resident of Altoona, W. A. Strayer by name, whose home is with his
mother at 1907 Fourth avenue was shot in the lower region of the back,
at South Fork, yesterday morning, by Special Officer Christ H. Block,
of Dale borough, a suburb of Johnstown. 

The wounded man was seen at the hospital and says that he had been in
Johnstown on Saturday evening and while there took a pleasure drive
with Mr. C. C. Blake of this city.  The two men had been working as
carpenters at Dunlo which is about 12 miles east of Johnstown, and
they had gone to the latter city to have a good time.  As a result of
their evening's pleasure a warrant was sworn out against them for fast
driving.

They were standing in front of the home of a friend in South Fork
yesterday morning when Officer Block was seen approaching.  Being
warned by their friend the men started to run down the street.  They
had not gone more than half a square when the officer, without making
any ado about it, discharged his revolver at the fleeing men.  Strayer
being hit of course could go no farther.  Blake, however, continued on
his way and escaped.

Mr. Strayer says that after he was shot nobody paid much attention to
him.  He however managed to get aboard a train at South Fork and came
to this city, where he was taken in charge of by Officer Fasick and
conveyed to the hospital in the patrol wagon.

Upon examination it was found that it was no fault of the officer that
the man had not been killed.  The ball struck the large bone at the
base of the spinal column.  It probably then rebounded and came out,
as it could not be found, although the doctors probed diligently for
it.  While the wound is not necessarily dangerous his physical
condition may make it hard for him to recover from the shock.

He says that the officer treated him with insolence even after he had
shot him, and wanted to arrest him, although he was unable to walk a
step without enduring almost unbearable pain.

Strayer is unmarried and aged 33.  He has been working at Dunlo since
June 6.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, July 4, 1895, page 5

WM. A STRAYER DEAD. A Coroner's Inquest Will Be Held to Determine the
Cause. POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION MADE He is the Person Who Was Shot in
the Back By Special Officer Block at Dunlo, Cambria County, on
Wednesday. FUNERAL TAKES PLACE TO-MORROW

William A. Strayer, who was shot in the back at Dunlo on Wednesday
morning by Special Officer Christ H. Block, of Dale borough, died at
the hospital yesterday morning at 5.15 o'clock, probably principally
on account of the injuries he received at the hands of the policeman.

The resident physician at the hospital made a post mortem examination
after life became extinct.  The result of this examination will be
made public at the coroner's inquest, which will be held at the office
of Mr. John Clingerman on Monday morning at 9 o'clock.  Constable Tate
left yesterday morning for Johnstown to subpoena witnesses for the
coroner's inquest.

The Johnstown Tribune says that an information was made yesterday
afternoon before Alderman Lehman by Constable Isaac Harris, on
instructions from District Attorney Murphy, of Cambria county,
charging Block with murder.  He was arrested about 3.30 o'clock by
Constables Harris and Waters, and is now in the lock-up pending a
hearing and the result of the coroner's inquest on the remains of his
victim.

Block, who is about 45 years of age, is married, but has no children. 
He was an officer for ex-Burgess Horrell for a short time after the
great flood, and in April, 1893, he served as a special officer for
Mayor Boyd.

William A. Strayer was born in Altoona July 24, 1863, and has lived
most of his life in this city.  He was a son of George Strayer
(deceased) and Mrs. Sarah Strayer, of 1907 Fourth avenue.  He was a
carpenter by trade and had been working at Dunlo since June 6.
Besides his mother, he is survived by four sisters, Mrs. Joseph
Lingenfelter, of this city; Mrs. A. V. Price, of Steelton; Mrs. Susan
Filler, of Altoona, and Miss Emma Strayer, at home.

After the post mortem examination of the deceased at the hospital the
remains were taken to the home of his sister, Mrs. Lingenfelter, of
1801 Fifth avenue.

Funeral services will be conducted on Sunday afternoon at 2, at 1801
Fifth avenue, by Rev. W. J. Grissinger.  The remains will be interred
in Oak Ridge cemetery.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Saturday, July 6, 1895, page 5

WILLIAM STRAYER'S DEATH. RESULT OF THE INQUEST HELD YESTERDAY MORNING.

It Was "Caused by a Bullet Wound Shot from a Revolver Held by the
Hands of C. H. Block."

On Wednesday morning, July 3, at Dunlo, Cambria county, William A.
Strayer, a resident of this city, was shot in the back by Christ H.
Block, a special officer employed by Dale borough.  Mr. Strayer was
removed to the Altoona hospital, where he died at 5.15 o'clock on
Friday morning, July 5.  His funeral took place Sunday afternoon.
Immediately upon being informed of the death Coroner Poet empaneled a
jury in the case, which, after viewing the body, adjourned to meet
Monday morning, July 8, at the office of Insurance Agent Clingerman,
on Chestnut avenue.

The jury met according to adjournment and took the testimony of Jacob
Wendell, Frank Duly, Lemon Knepper and Charles Blake, all of whom were
witnesses of the shooting, Mr. Blake being the companion of the
deceased.

The principal points in the testimony were as follows:  On June 30
Messrs. Strayer and Blake drove into Dale borough and Special Officer
Block endeavored to stop the team, but Strayer whipped up the horse
and they got away.  Dale's chief of police, learning that Strayer
worked at Dunlo, on July 3 sent Block and a deputy named Bender after
the two men.  When they reached a point between South Fork and Dunlo
they got out at a store kept by John Miller and asked whether the men
had been seen.  It was here that the officers met Knepper, Duly and
Wendell.  The reply was that they had not. Soon after, however, the
two men came down the street.  The two officers started after them,
Block remarking he believed they were the ones wanted.  Strayer had
seen the buggy by this time and suspected who was in it.  He
counselled with Blake and finally both started back the way they had
come when they saw the officers after them.  They then started on a
run, when Officer Block fired after them without giving them warning. 
Stayer stopped, but his companion continued on and finally escaped.
Deputy Bender had in the meanwhile taken charge of Strayer and took
him back to the store.  He was asked if he had a warrant and replied
he had not.  Block by this time had also returned, and, after some
conversation with Strayer, said he was sorry he had shot him; that he
only shot to frighten them; that a warrant was not necessary, and that
they could both go free.  Finally Block took Strayer to a physician in
South Fork.  The witnesses all agreed that Block did not call on the
men to halt.

A. F. Peters, nurse at the Altoona hospital, said that Strayer had
told him of his wound and that it would kill him.  He also wrote the
name of "C. H. Block" on a slip of paper and remarked he was the man
who killed him.

Resident Physician Alexander, of the Altoona hospital, read his
testimony, which was as follows:

Having been duly authorized by Coroner Michael Poet, of Blair county,
Pa., to perform a post-mortem examination of the remains of William
Strayer, deceased, and having acted accordingly as authorized, I have
to submit to you the following report:  The remains having been
identified by Messrs. Alexander Carney and Martin Johnston to be those
of said William Strayer, deceased, the research was begun in the "dead
house" in connection with the Altoona hospital, the temperature having
been noted to be sixty-nine degrees Fahrenheit at 2 p. m. July 5.
External inspection revealed nothing of importance, save the wound in
the sacral region, at the lower part of the back, which exploration
showed involved in its course the entire thickness of the bone,
technically known as the sacrum, at a point about an inch to the right
of the middle line of the body, and which inspection and touch showed
to be an abnormal channel of recent establishment.

Inspection of the bowels showed them to have been punctured at several
points and an abundant exudation of lymph had made them to adhere at
several points, and evidences of an extensive local inflammation in
the line of the punctures were manifest.

The condition of the body generally was respectively as follows:  The
right lung was bound down by what was probably the remnant of an old
pleurisy.  The heart wall was thickened on the left side and thinned
on the right as regards the muscle, but at points, especially on the
right side, there was a copious amount of fat which at several points
equaled the muscular element in thickness.  The large artery
technically known as the aorta, in its ascent after its exit from the
heart, showed evidences of degeneration.

The liver was much enlarged, hard to the touch, somewhat mottled in
appearance exteriorly, reddish yellow interiorly; on cutting, the
sensation to the touch and ear was harsh and suggested writing with a
right soft lead pencil; the harshness on cutting was so marked as to
be perceptible to the ears of the coroner and my assistants at some
distance from the body.  The lining of the stomach at the end of
entrance was red and probably somewhat thickened.  The organs not
mentioned, except the lining of the abdominal cavity, corresponding
with the line of punctures, which was perforated at that point, were
not positively abnormal.

The injury to the bowels was probably necessarily fatal, but the
suddenness of his death was probably the result of his previous
physical condition imposed upon by the effects of the injury.

The foregoing examination was finally concluded on the afternoon of
July 6, 1895. - J. NEWTON ALEXANDER, M. D.

Dr. Alexander in reply to a query said that although the deceased was
not in good physical condition, the wound would have killed a healthy
man.  The bullet was not found.

The jury found the following verdict: "Death was caused by a bullet
wound shot from a revolver held by the hands of C. H. Block."

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Tuesday, July 9, 1895, page 7