Wm. Porter, aged 60, of
Crystal, N.D., met his death in an old well. In the dark, he stepped on the rotten planking which broke. For an hour and a half he fought with foul gases and fouler water, and was finally pulled out, but died soon after.
Ward County Independent, 6/8/1911
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A man was lately killed out near Deadwood, in the Black Hills, by a stroke of lightning. The man's name was
Coates Kinney—a party who was once a journalist of rare ability, but who became a stroller and an outcast by some misfortune. It will be a surprise to all tho read or sing when we inform such that this man, Coates Kinney—the victim of a thunderbolt in a far away, wild and desolate spot— was none other than the author if the sweet and tender little poem, commencing with the verses:
When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres,
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a joy to press the pillow
Of a cottage chamber bed,
And to listen to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!
Every patter on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand recollections
Into busy being start,
And a thousand busy fancies
Weave their bright hues into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.
Wichita Eagle, 7/5/1877
The Deadwood Pioneer is surprised to learn from Eastern journals that Coates Kinney, author of "Rain on the Roof", was recently killed by lightning in the Black Hills. Kinney also denies that he was killed in a card to the Cincinnati papers.
Bismarck Tribune, 7/9/1877
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KILLED BY LIGHTNING.
Wahpeton, July 13.—Clarence Goff, the eldest son of F. L. Goff, a farmer living eight miles southwest of Lidgerwood, was struck by lightning and instantly killed.
He and the hired man Ernest Lamb, were hauling manure and while unloading in the field the bold came killing young Goff instantly and setting his clothes on fire. The hired man, who was at the opposite end of the wagon had one shoe torn to shreds, his foot badly burned and was stunned by the shock. He soon recovered and and {sp} extinguished the burning clothing of his companion and notified Mr. and Mrs. Goff, who helped carry the corpse to the house. The young man's clothing was torn and burned, a watch in in his pocket was melted out of shape, and his body was badly burned.
Bismarck Tribune, 7/13/1900
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The Ball that Killed Wild Bill.
The ball that killed Wild Bill arrived in the city yesterday. It is in the wrist of Bill Massey, an old time steamboat pilot, who arrived from below yesterday. Massey is well known to all pioneer Bismarckers, and those who have read the history of the shooting of Wild Bill are familiar with his name. He was playing cards with Bill in Deadwood when the latter was shot, the ball passed through Wild Bill's head, lodging in Massey's wrist, where it still remains.
Bismarck Tribune, 7/15/1885
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E. House of
Willow City lost two fingers from the premature explosion of a giant cracker.
Bismarck Tribune, 7/12/1900
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One Arrest— Only one arrest was made in the city yesterday, which speaks well for the orderly character of the crowds.
Bismarck Tribune, 7/5/1904
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