This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Saloon Patron Bites The Bullet
Written and contributed by Ben Feld
Based on
article in Watertown Democrat, 06 29
1876
In the 1870’s the area around
Watertown Junction, the area in which the east-west and north-south railroads
crossed, had the reputation of being not exactly the very best part of town.
It was a small community all of its
own, made up of a few small hotels catering to the railroad travelers, many of
them salesmen, or “drummers “ as they were sometimes called, working their
territory and dwelling, temporarily, finding lodging in the hotel facilities at
the Junction. In addition to food and
lodging, the area provided entertainment to occupy their free time;
entertainment such as well-stoked saloons and some other houses not frequented
by the more gentile class of people. It
was generally agreed by the solid citizens of Watertown that “something should
be done about “the Junction” but little was ever done, in reality.
Although a shooting in that part of
town was not anything unusual, and only rarely did a shooting result in the
loss of a life, the people of Watertown sat up and took notice of what was
going on out there at “the Junction” when, on July 23, 1876, while the
all-absorbing topic of concern was still the purchase of a new fire engine.
Strangely, the shooting incidence
did not involve any of the bored transients but, rather two individuals who
were owner-operators in two separate businesses in the areas; the one, William
Cummings, the keeper of a boarding house in the area was also one of the better
customers of Lee Whalen’s saloon, directly across the street. For quite some time, Mr. Cummings had
followed a routine of appearing at Whalen’s salon in early evening, asking for
a drink of whisky paying for it, and then returning to his place of
business.
On July 23 his routine varied just a
bit. On entering his favorite watering
spot, Cummings demanded a drink of whisky, which was promptly served him, and,
after gulping down that drink, which, according to some reports seemed to have
been taken from a decanter holding several shots, he demanded another
Since Cummings had on many occasions
asked for more than one shot of whisky and had never caused any kind of
disturbance, never had become argumentative or obnoxious in any way, Whalen,
without any hesitation, served up the requested drink, which Cummings drank
quickly, as he always did. But at that
point Cummings departed from his familiar routine and, uncharacteristically,
told Whalen to “chalk it down” -- put it on the charge tab, to be paid later.
However, having had considerable
experience with transient salesmen, deadbeats and rascals, it was Whalen’s
policy to operate on a cash only basis; once you had consumed your drink, you
didn’t depart the premises until the uttermost farthing had been paid. Surely Cummings, being a more or less
permanent resident of the area, knew about that policy, perhaps even having
adhered to the same code in his eating establishment.
In any event, Whalen informed
Cummings all drinks must be paid for on the spot; no charges were allowed. Cummings took exception to the rule and,
after pondering the situation for a moment, reacted by requesting yet another
drink -- which was refused him. Whereupon
Cummings became a bit more obstreperous. He seized Whalen by the throat, forcing
him against the bar, and a serious struggle ensued.
It very soon became apparent to
Whalen that Cummins was the stronger of the two, and, rather than risk losing
the match and being put in an untenable situation, Whalen grabbed the revolver
he always kept in a convenient place should it be needed for just such an
occasion as this, and with gun in hand, warned Cummings to cease the struggle
or he, Whalen would shoot.
The recently consumed alcohol having
kicked in to bolster his courage and dim his good judgment, Cummings struggled
all the harder while Whalen tried to get his firearm into an advantageous
position, which was such, as the Watertown
Democrat reported, that when Whalen pulled the trigger, “landed a ball
plump into his opponent’s mouth”.
One would think that such a shot
would certainly produce a fatality; but it didn’t. The intended victim, very much alive, merely
released his hold on Whalen, shook his head and spat upon the floor a number of
broken teeth along with the now shapeless piece of lead which had been the slug
fired from the pistol.
Not surprisingly, witnesses gave
conflicting accounts of the fray; some claimed one shot had been fired, others
reported more than one; some said the shooting took place inside the saloon,
some said outside. But all seemed to
agree that Whalen left the saloon almost immediately, commandeered a horse and
buggy, and proceeded at top speed, fleeing, not from the law, but to report the
incident to the proper authorities. If
that truly was his intention, he apparently had second thoughts, for he made a
stop at the saloon run by J. C. Cordes for some liquid courage, and maybe some
advice from the friendly bartender there. While refortifying his courage and
receiving legal advice from his fellow-saloon operator, Marshal Cunningham
walked in and arrested Whalen.
Whalen’s immediate defense was he
had acted in self-defense, his life having been threatened by Cummings. The Justice of the peace charged him with
intent to kill, setting his bonds at three hundred dollars. The case was scheduled to be heard by Justice
Krebs the first of July, but for various reasons it was delayed until July 11
when Justice Krebs, after thoroughly questioning both the defendant and the
plaintiff, ruled that Mr. Whalen had indeed done the shooting in self defense
and, accordingly, he was acquitted.
In this day and age some
enterprising individual would have recovered the misshapen slug which Mr.
Cummings had spat upon the floor, mounted it in a suitable frame, and hung it
in a place where it would be seen by many and would have elicited a recounting
of the fracas which took place in Lee Whalen’s saloon, near the Junction on
July 23, 1876.
Maybe someone did just that. Maybe there is a family in Watertown which
has been wondering, for years, just what is the significance of an odd blob of
lead Grandma and Great-Grandma kept in that bureau drawer all these years.
1907
07 25 1907
The saloon keepers, who attended the
State Convention at Oshkosh Wednesday, returned yesterday and were well pleased
with the convention. Several important
questions were discussed and suggestions made toward raising the standard of
the saloons.
The abolition of stalls in saloons
and the exclusion of minors and inebriates were subjects which were discussed
at the second annual convention of the State Liquor Protective association, which
was called to order at
Notice of the meeting was sent out
late last week . . . no preparations had
been made to entertain the visitors, aside from those made by the Oshkosh Retail
Liquor Dealers association . . . The number of delegates present was about 100
and various parts of the state were represented . . . The state association was
formed at Appleton a year ago . . .
