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Yoakum's
Soda-Pop War by
Murray Montgomery |  |
It
seems that people will often fight over some mighty ridiculous things. I remember
a while back seeing a story, in the Hallettsville
paper from well over 100 years ago, where a fellow shot and killed his partner
just for playing the wrong domino. People in the old days took things pretty seriously,
to say the least.
Not long ago, while researching some old issues of the
Halletsville Herald (they spelled Hallettsville with one "t" back then), I came
across several articles about two men in Yoakum who were competitors in the manufacture
and sale of soft drinks. They both kept cutting prices until it got to the point
where neither of them could make a profit and each one blamed the other for the
problem.
It was only a matter of time before the competitors, J.N. Fagg
and C.A. Pelzer, would have a physical confrontation. Both of the men published
their views in the Yoakum Times newspaper and as was bound to happen, they came
face-to-face on a city street one day and the fight was on.
The newspaper
article described it this way: "The two met on Grand Avenue in front of E. Grieder's
Saloon. No sooner did they get in speaking distance till one spoke to the other
in a harsh manner, the other responded with his good right arm and a fight was
on. Fagg being the heaviest and strongest punished Pelzer severely, striking him
heavy blows."
The newspaper reported that Pelzer put up a good fight
but Fagg was just too overpowering for him to handle. Like something out of a
John Wayne movie, the soda-pop competitors slugged it out all the way down the
dusty street until they were in front of John McCarty's Saloon.
It was
at this point in the scrap that Pelzer found his wagon and the gun which was concealed
under the seat. Fagg, who had anticipated Pelzer going for a weapon, stood in
the doorway of McCarty's Saloon and drew his own .45 six-shooter firing twice
at his adversary. Both bullets struck Pelzer's wagon but missed him completely.
At this point police officers W.P. Davis and Holly Ray placed the two men under
arrest.
This ruckus was reported in the August 10, 1899, issue of the
Hallettsville paper and after placing the aged article in my files I thought that
was the end of the story. But lo and behold, the next paper I researched was the
August 17, 1899, edition and there I spotted the headline titled: "Assassinated!"
With that kind of emphatic headline, I had to read on and it didn't take
but one paragraph for me to realize that the soda-water boys were at it again.
According to the paper: "Yoakum was the scene of an assassination last night.
J.N. Fagg, who has been doing a soda water business in Yoakum, is the victim and
the assassin, at the time of this writing is unknown."
Fagg was leader
of the Yoakum band and was instructing one of his students upstairs over a steam
laundry when he decided to go downstairs. Witnesses said that he hardly had time
to get downstairs when they heard the bark of a .45 six shooter and someone utter
the words, "there now." Again, the story was picked up by the Halletsville Herald
from the Yoakum Times. The Yoakum paper ran the piece on August 12.
Although
the paper said the assassin was "unknown," it really doesn't take a rocket scientist
to figure out the killer's identity. And later in the paper I found the obvious;
"Deputy Ike Griffith's blood hounds were secured from Shiner and runners were
sent to Halletsville," reported the Yoakum Times. "Deputy Smothers reached Yoakum
early Saturday morning."
They even brought in bloodhounds from Gonzales.
The article stated: "The Shiner dogs took a round-a-bout trail and after taking
a circuitous route halted in front of Adam Pelzer's home. This was done twice.
The Gonzales dogs did likewise, but lost the track a few steps from Pelzer's home.
Pelzer was arrested on suspicion and is in jail here."
So far, I haven't
found any information about any trial being held or just what became of Mr. Pelzer
but one thing is clear; it didn't take much for a fellow to kill another in the
old days, and they would fight for some mighty peculiar reasons. |
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