LeMars Sentinel
September 7, 1896

A SAD ACCIDENT
Geo. Foster, Son of W. A. Foster of Preston Accidentally Shot.
DEATH RESULTS INSTANTLY.
As the Result of Dee Lester and Geo. Foster, Two Young Boys, Fooling With a
Loaded Rifle the Latter Loses his Life--The Other Too Badly Frightened to
Tell How It Happened.

Thursday afternoon about 5 o'clock Geo Foster, son of W. A. Foster, was shot
and instantly killed by the accidental discharge of a rifle, the ball
entering the top of his shoulder and supposed to have penetrated the heart.
The Lester family and the Foster family are neighbors in Preston Township
and Thursday afternoon Dee Foster, a lad about 12 or 13, went to the Foster
home accompanying by his sister on an errand. When they got to the house
they found Mrs. Foster away from home and only George, a lad of 8 years, in
the house. The sister went on up to a neighbor to see if Mrs. Foster was
there and shortly after she arrived at the neighbor's her brother came
running up and said George had been shot. At first he said a tramp did the
shooting but afterwards acknowledged he did it accidently. He is so badly
frightened that he cannot or will not tell just how it happened.

Mr. Foster had a rifle in the house that had not been loaded for over a year
until last Wednesday when he took it down and loaded it to shoot a hawk. He
did not get a shot at the hawk and returned the gun to its proper place,
loaded. The supposition is that the boys got the gun down and went to
fooling with it. The ball struck the Foster boy on top of the shoulder and
went down and it is supposed the other boy must have been on a chair with
the gun and the Foster boy either sitting down or on his knees when the gun
went off. The course of the ball was straight down and it is thought went
directly through the heart so that death was instant.

The accident is a sad blow to the parents and the whole community, George
was a bright little fellow, one of a pair of twins. He and the Lester boy
were the best of friends and playmates which makes the accident additionally
sad.

The funeral was held Friday in Preston Township.

THREATENED TO KILL HIS WIFE.
Friday night the police took charge of Wm. Boland, who lives over in the
addition. His wife complained that he had threatened at various times to
kill her and then kill himself. She was afraid of her life and wanted
protection. The man was kept over night in the City refrigerator and
Saturday morning was committed to the County Jail by Justice Jones in
default of bonds to keep the peace in the amount of $100. The general
opinion is that Boland is insane. He will be taken before the Commissioners
of Insanity. He has no relatives in this part of the country but his wife.

THE CASE DISMISSED.
The case brought against George Hodam on the complaint of John Kiefer was
dismissed by Justice Jones Friday afternoon. It was brought out in evidence
that the Kiefers had put slops and other vile things into the well out of
which Hodam and his family get water for use in the house. Numerous other
matters were also brought up to show that Hodam had been greatly annoyed and
that the other parties had been the aggressors in various ways.

OUR NEW MAYOR.
Owing to the absence of Mayor A.P. Brown, the city council according to
custom elected a mayor pro tem. This honor was bestowed on Hon. Ed
Thomarson, the senior alderman from the First Ward. Mayor Thomarson wears
his new honor with dignity. It remains to be seen how he will win his
laurels as presiding Judge of the police court when the peace and dignity of
the municipality has to be upheld.