10.

sides with the police and some with the Indian boye

George Snyder, who was the campus patrolman for a great number of years
and who was perhaps the best loved officer on Mt. Oréad, was one of tho officers
arresting the Indian ‘routh. Ralph Hubbell, the highly dependable and efficient
cefficer on the police force, was the other. It is interesting just how many sides
you can hear to a story.‘ This morning Mayor Russell and Chief Bliesner and I went
out for a conference with Mr. Solon Ayers, the supérintendent of Haskell, Mr, More-
lock, the principal, and Mr, Madison Coombs, the boys' advisor and athletic dir-
ector at Haskeli. You remember Mr. Coombs was formerly principal of the University
High School - old Gread, to you, 0

So many woird statements have been made about this peisode that I felt
constrained to tell of an incident that happened in our home some ten or fifteen
years ago to show the fallability of eye witnesses to an exciting situation. Our
statements are often colored and prejudiced. Nevor before have these officers
been criticized: for brutal treatment. But when the Indian boy struck, one of the
officers! night clubs cane into play ond some damage was done to the defendant,
But back to the story. At the time I mentioned, squirrels were a drug on the
market in Lawrence. Rabies were’ reported among them, and although the squirrels
are considered pets of Lawrence, they became a nuisance, at least they were a —
nuisance in my yard because we had a shellbark hickory tree in the front yard near
the sidewalk. It was along in July and the hickory nuts had just begun to form and
fill out. The squirrels descended upon that shellbark hickory in droves, and in
chewing the green outer covering off the nuts they made the worst mess imaginable.
It did no good to sweep the sidewalk, even every hour, because this debris rained
down on the pedestrians, and as the squirrels would chew some of the nuts would
¢rop down. I won't try to describe what I heard ‘from the pedestrians.‘ —

So I made up my mind that I would eradicate, so far as possible, the
nuisance. Realizing that a fellow who would shoot a squirrel in broad daylight be-
fore the sympathetic public, might receive severe treatmont,. I used the upstairs

- bathroom window as a point of vantage to exterminate some of the tree rodents. I
lowered the bathroom window and stuck the muzzle of the 410 shot gun out of the
northeast corner of the room, the muzzle being pointed toward the squirrels. When
I fired the squirrel came tumbling down into the front vard and fitfully fought its
way to the north parkway before. expiring. I put the gun down in the hallway and
walked outside in our front yard to recover the dead squirrel.

. In the interim ‘an automobilist passing down 8th street by the side of our
house, heard the shot and immediately clampod on his brakes, got out and walked
around and looked at all four of his tires for a blow-out. The motorist did not
see the squirrel lying dcad on the parkway. lle hazily got back in his car, wnder-
ing what in the world had happened, ee geek |

John Tom Reynolds lived in the house where Hovey Hanna now lives across

the street from me. He was lying in a hammock, tootling (should I say?) on his
Saxophone. He was one of those fellows that: believed in protecting the squirrels.:

He came charging across the street and said, "Did you see that guy?" I said; "what?"
as innocently as I could, although feeling a little guilty. He said, "Did you see
that guy get out of that ear and shoot that squirrel?" ‘I said,."No, I didntt,..John.?"
He said, "Well, he did." I picked up the squirrel‘and said, "The squirrel is dead
now, John. Do you want it?" He hesitated, and thon said, "Why, yes, I'll take it,"

me To this day, John Tom Reynolds does not know that I was the culprit, and
the motorist was the consused individual wrongly accused by John Tom who definitely.

saw him shoot that squirrel.