Son of Henry & Mary J. Arnspiger
Aged 20 years 11 months 20 days
The Sumner County Press
Wellington, Kansas
Thursday, May 9, 1878
page 3
The Fatal Rifle.
Early on Sunday morning, the 5th, inst., we were notified that the dead body of a man, had been found on the prairie about one and a half miles north-west of Clear Dale post office, in Guelph township. In company with Capt. L.K. Myers, Sheriff, we immediately repaired to the residence of Henry Arnspiger, fifteen miles south-east from this city, where arrangements were at once made for holding an inquistion upon the remains. A jury was summoned and the examination of a number of witnesses disclosed the following facts:
About 1 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst., the deceased, Geo. W. Arnspiger, took a rifle from the room in which the family were finishing dinner. In answer to inquiries made by his mother, he stated that he intended to shoot an antelope. A few minutes later, Mrs. Hope, an aunt of the deceased, saw him mounted on a mule, riding in a north-west direction. This was the last time he was seen alive. About 2 o'clock, the father, Henry Arnspiger, returned home from J.E. Howie's place and fount the mule grazing on the wheat near the house. Upon inquiring for George, he was informed as above. Thinking that the young man had turned the animal loose to follow the fame on foot, the return of the mule excited no immediate anxiety. After several hours had passed however, this continued absence began to arouse alarm; and the father mounted a horse and rose in the direction followed by George when he left with the gun. He visited several neighbors, and hearing nothing, returned to find his son still missing. Starting out again, he continued his inquiries and searched till near midnight; when still hoping that George had reached home, he returned to be again disapointed. Before daylight, he began to rouse the neighborhood, and before it was fairly light a score of men were riding in the search. Directed by their father, who remembered having heard the report of a rifle, about 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, Messrs. H. and A. Cummins, accompanied by their dogs, rode to Mr. Arnspiger's residence, and getting the direction in which George had departed Saturday afternoon, they at once began to search. They had moved west of north nearly a mile when one of the boys observed the shepherd dog acting strangely, whereupon he called to his brother, and directed him to return and ascertain what the dog had found. He did so, and in a few minutes came in view of the ghastly remains of his friend and neighbor George W. Arnspiger.
A signal announced to the other parties, who had but barely spread out in the search, that the body had been found. The father reached the spot just as the sun was rising.
The body was lying on the back, with the feet to the east, the left hand and forearm extended across the breast, right arm extended at a right angle with the body, which with the clothing covered with blood. An examination disclosed a bullet wound in the left breast, over the region of the heart, the ball having passed entirely through the body, discharging near the point of the left shoulder blade. The rifle was found at the feet of the body, discharged, the muzzle pointing north. A careful and scarching examination of the ground and surroundings was made, which resulted only in the discovery of two impressions in the ground apparently made by the breech of the rifle, and a mule track indicating that the animal had turned suddenly to right and rear. In the meantime a messenger had been dispatched for the Coroner. Before his arrival however, the body had been removed to the residence of the stricken family, where the inquest was held later in the day.
The jury, composed of six intelligent gentlemen, after hearing the evidence and viewing the remains, rendered a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to his death from a gun shot wound producted by the accidental discharge of a rifle in his own hands. The theory adopted by the jury, was that an attempt to dismount from the mule, scared the animal, which suddenly started to the right and rear, thus throwing the deceased to the left and forward on the muzzle of the gun, the breech of which he had rested on ground, to save himself from falling.
The deceased was a young man of much promise, of steady habits and manly deportment. He would have been 21 years old had he lived to the 15th inst.
The deepest sympathy is manifested for the bereaved parents and sorrowing friends.
The remains were interred Monday morning on the corner of the father's farm, which will hereafter be used as a family burial ground.
(transcribed by Judy Mayfield)
Aged 20 years 11 months 20 days
The Sumner County Press
Wellington, Kansas
Thursday, May 9, 1878
page 3
The Fatal Rifle.
Early on Sunday morning, the 5th, inst., we were notified that the dead body of a man, had been found on the prairie about one and a half miles north-west of Clear Dale post office, in Guelph township. In company with Capt. L.K. Myers, Sheriff, we immediately repaired to the residence of Henry Arnspiger, fifteen miles south-east from this city, where arrangements were at once made for holding an inquistion upon the remains. A jury was summoned and the examination of a number of witnesses disclosed the following facts:
About 1 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst., the deceased, Geo. W. Arnspiger, took a rifle from the room in which the family were finishing dinner. In answer to inquiries made by his mother, he stated that he intended to shoot an antelope. A few minutes later, Mrs. Hope, an aunt of the deceased, saw him mounted on a mule, riding in a north-west direction. This was the last time he was seen alive. About 2 o'clock, the father, Henry Arnspiger, returned home from J.E. Howie's place and fount the mule grazing on the wheat near the house. Upon inquiring for George, he was informed as above. Thinking that the young man had turned the animal loose to follow the fame on foot, the return of the mule excited no immediate anxiety. After several hours had passed however, this continued absence began to arouse alarm; and the father mounted a horse and rose in the direction followed by George when he left with the gun. He visited several neighbors, and hearing nothing, returned to find his son still missing. Starting out again, he continued his inquiries and searched till near midnight; when still hoping that George had reached home, he returned to be again disapointed. Before daylight, he began to rouse the neighborhood, and before it was fairly light a score of men were riding in the search. Directed by their father, who remembered having heard the report of a rifle, about 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, Messrs. H. and A. Cummins, accompanied by their dogs, rode to Mr. Arnspiger's residence, and getting the direction in which George had departed Saturday afternoon, they at once began to search. They had moved west of north nearly a mile when one of the boys observed the shepherd dog acting strangely, whereupon he called to his brother, and directed him to return and ascertain what the dog had found. He did so, and in a few minutes came in view of the ghastly remains of his friend and neighbor George W. Arnspiger.
A signal announced to the other parties, who had but barely spread out in the search, that the body had been found. The father reached the spot just as the sun was rising.
The body was lying on the back, with the feet to the east, the left hand and forearm extended across the breast, right arm extended at a right angle with the body, which with the clothing covered with blood. An examination disclosed a bullet wound in the left breast, over the region of the heart, the ball having passed entirely through the body, discharging near the point of the left shoulder blade. The rifle was found at the feet of the body, discharged, the muzzle pointing north. A careful and scarching examination of the ground and surroundings was made, which resulted only in the discovery of two impressions in the ground apparently made by the breech of the rifle, and a mule track indicating that the animal had turned suddenly to right and rear. In the meantime a messenger had been dispatched for the Coroner. Before his arrival however, the body had been removed to the residence of the stricken family, where the inquest was held later in the day.
The jury, composed of six intelligent gentlemen, after hearing the evidence and viewing the remains, rendered a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to his death from a gun shot wound producted by the accidental discharge of a rifle in his own hands. The theory adopted by the jury, was that an attempt to dismount from the mule, scared the animal, which suddenly started to the right and rear, thus throwing the deceased to the left and forward on the muzzle of the gun, the breech of which he had rested on ground, to save himself from falling.
The deceased was a young man of much promise, of steady habits and manly deportment. He would have been 21 years old had he lived to the 15th inst.
The deepest sympathy is manifested for the bereaved parents and sorrowing friends.
The remains were interred Monday morning on the corner of the father's farm, which will hereafter be used as a family burial ground.
(transcribed by Judy Mayfield)
Son of Henry & Mary J. Arnspiger
Aged 20 years 11 months 20 days
The Sumner County Press
Wellington, Kansas
Thursday, May 9, 1878
page 3
The Fatal Rifle.
Early on Sunday morning, the 5th, inst., we were notified that the dead body of a man, had been found on the prairie about one and a half miles north-west of Clear Dale post office, in Guelph township. In company with Capt. L.K. Myers, Sheriff, we immediately repaired to the residence of Henry Arnspiger, fifteen miles south-east from this city, where arrangements were at once made for holding an inquistion upon the remains. A jury was summoned and the examination of a number of witnesses disclosed the following facts:
About 1 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst., the deceased, Geo. W. Arnspiger, took a rifle from the room in which the family were finishing dinner. In answer to inquiries made by his mother, he stated that he intended to shoot an antelope. A few minutes later, Mrs. Hope, an aunt of the deceased, saw him mounted on a mule, riding in a north-west direction. This was the last time he was seen alive. About 2 o'clock, the father, Henry Arnspiger, returned home from J.E. Howie's place and fount the mule grazing on the wheat near the house. Upon inquiring for George, he was informed as above. Thinking that the young man had turned the animal loose to follow the fame on foot, the return of the mule excited no immediate anxiety. After several hours had passed however, this continued absence began to arouse alarm; and the father mounted a horse and rose in the direction followed by George when he left with the gun. He visited several neighbors, and hearing nothing, returned to find his son still missing. Starting out again, he continued his inquiries and searched till near midnight; when still hoping that George had reached home, he returned to be again disapointed. Before daylight, he began to rouse the neighborhood, and before it was fairly light a score of men were riding in the search. Directed by their father, who remembered having heard the report of a rifle, about 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, Messrs. H. and A. Cummins, accompanied by their dogs, rode to Mr. Arnspiger's residence, and getting the direction in which George had departed Saturday afternoon, they at once began to search. They had moved west of north nearly a mile when one of the boys observed the shepherd dog acting strangely, whereupon he called to his brother, and directed him to return and ascertain what the dog had found. He did so, and in a few minutes came in view of the ghastly remains of his friend and neighbor George W. Arnspiger.
A signal announced to the other parties, who had but barely spread out in the search, that the body had been found. The father reached the spot just as the sun was rising.
The body was lying on the back, with the feet to the east, the left hand and forearm extended across the breast, right arm extended at a right angle with the body, which with the clothing covered with blood. An examination disclosed a bullet wound in the left breast, over the region of the heart, the ball having passed entirely through the body, discharging near the point of the left shoulder blade. The rifle was found at the feet of the body, discharged, the muzzle pointing north. A careful and scarching examination of the ground and surroundings was made, which resulted only in the discovery of two impressions in the ground apparently made by the breech of the rifle, and a mule track indicating that the animal had turned suddenly to right and rear. In the meantime a messenger had been dispatched for the Coroner. Before his arrival however, the body had been removed to the residence of the stricken family, where the inquest was held later in the day.
The jury, composed of six intelligent gentlemen, after hearing the evidence and viewing the remains, rendered a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to his death from a gun shot wound producted by the accidental discharge of a rifle in his own hands. The theory adopted by the jury, was that an attempt to dismount from the mule, scared the animal, which suddenly started to the right and rear, thus throwing the deceased to the left and forward on the muzzle of the gun, the breech of which he had rested on ground, to save himself from falling.
The deceased was a young man of much promise, of steady habits and manly deportment. He would have been 21 years old had he lived to the 15th inst.
The deepest sympathy is manifested for the bereaved parents and sorrowing friends.
The remains were interred Monday morning on the corner of the father's farm, which will hereafter be used as a family burial ground.
(transcribed by Judy Mayfield)
Aged 20 years 11 months 20 days
The Sumner County Press
Wellington, Kansas
Thursday, May 9, 1878
page 3
The Fatal Rifle.
Early on Sunday morning, the 5th, inst., we were notified that the dead body of a man, had been found on the prairie about one and a half miles north-west of Clear Dale post office, in Guelph township. In company with Capt. L.K. Myers, Sheriff, we immediately repaired to the residence of Henry Arnspiger, fifteen miles south-east from this city, where arrangements were at once made for holding an inquistion upon the remains. A jury was summoned and the examination of a number of witnesses disclosed the following facts:
About 1 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst., the deceased, Geo. W. Arnspiger, took a rifle from the room in which the family were finishing dinner. In answer to inquiries made by his mother, he stated that he intended to shoot an antelope. A few minutes later, Mrs. Hope, an aunt of the deceased, saw him mounted on a mule, riding in a north-west direction. This was the last time he was seen alive. About 2 o'clock, the father, Henry Arnspiger, returned home from J.E. Howie's place and fount the mule grazing on the wheat near the house. Upon inquiring for George, he was informed as above. Thinking that the young man had turned the animal loose to follow the fame on foot, the return of the mule excited no immediate anxiety. After several hours had passed however, this continued absence began to arouse alarm; and the father mounted a horse and rose in the direction followed by George when he left with the gun. He visited several neighbors, and hearing nothing, returned to find his son still missing. Starting out again, he continued his inquiries and searched till near midnight; when still hoping that George had reached home, he returned to be again disapointed. Before daylight, he began to rouse the neighborhood, and before it was fairly light a score of men were riding in the search. Directed by their father, who remembered having heard the report of a rifle, about 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, Messrs. H. and A. Cummins, accompanied by their dogs, rode to Mr. Arnspiger's residence, and getting the direction in which George had departed Saturday afternoon, they at once began to search. They had moved west of north nearly a mile when one of the boys observed the shepherd dog acting strangely, whereupon he called to his brother, and directed him to return and ascertain what the dog had found. He did so, and in a few minutes came in view of the ghastly remains of his friend and neighbor George W. Arnspiger.
A signal announced to the other parties, who had but barely spread out in the search, that the body had been found. The father reached the spot just as the sun was rising.
The body was lying on the back, with the feet to the east, the left hand and forearm extended across the breast, right arm extended at a right angle with the body, which with the clothing covered with blood. An examination disclosed a bullet wound in the left breast, over the region of the heart, the ball having passed entirely through the body, discharging near the point of the left shoulder blade. The rifle was found at the feet of the body, discharged, the muzzle pointing north. A careful and scarching examination of the ground and surroundings was made, which resulted only in the discovery of two impressions in the ground apparently made by the breech of the rifle, and a mule track indicating that the animal had turned suddenly to right and rear. In the meantime a messenger had been dispatched for the Coroner. Before his arrival however, the body had been removed to the residence of the stricken family, where the inquest was held later in the day.
The jury, composed of six intelligent gentlemen, after hearing the evidence and viewing the remains, rendered a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to his death from a gun shot wound producted by the accidental discharge of a rifle in his own hands. The theory adopted by the jury, was that an attempt to dismount from the mule, scared the animal, which suddenly started to the right and rear, thus throwing the deceased to the left and forward on the muzzle of the gun, the breech of which he had rested on ground, to save himself from falling.
The deceased was a young man of much promise, of steady habits and manly deportment. He would have been 21 years old had he lived to the 15th inst.
The deepest sympathy is manifested for the bereaved parents and sorrowing friends.
The remains were interred Monday morning on the corner of the father's farm, which will hereafter be used as a family burial ground.
(transcribed by Judy Mayfield)
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