William A. "Will" Shannon

SHANNON, Will - Fayetteville, Aug. 28.- Will Shannon was shot and

killed at Evansville, in this county, this morning by Albert Ricker. Two

boys were in a difficulty and a justice of the peace had deputized Ricker t o

stop them. Ricker was endeavoring to restore order when, according to

reports, Shannon interfered and was shot by Ricker. The deceased was a

farmer and was formerly a merchant. He was a lineal descendant of the

Shannons who were parties to the celebrated Shannon-Fisher feud of forty

years ago. Mr. Keys of the First National Bank is a brother-in-law of

his......Ricker was arrested and his preliminary trial was held at Evansville

Tuesday. He was bound over to await the action of the grand jury and

is now confined in the county jail at Fayetteville. The particulars of the

affair as brought out at the preliminary trial are given by the Fayetteville

Daily as follows: Two young men got into a fight on the porch in front of the

store of West & So. and Will Shannon asked another man to help separate

them. They did so and Shannon was holding one of the belligerents when

the Justice of the Peace, whose store is nearby, called to Albert Ricker and

another party t o arrest the boys and bring them t o his store. Ricker had

just come in from a squirrel hunt and had his shot gun in his hands. He

brought his gun down and commanded the fighters to fall in line and march.

Shannon, using an adjective, asked if he wanted him to go. Ricker replied,

using an adjective, that he must also get into line. Shannon retorted that

he had done nothing and would not go. Ricker approached him and jabbed

him with the cocked gun. Shannon started into the store and Ricker told

him if he went in there he would kill him. There is a row of posts in the

middle of the store room and Shannon dodged behind the first and after

passing the second post attempted to cross over to where Mr. West was

wrapping up goods when Ricker fired, the shots penetrating the breast.

Shannon sunk down and died at once. Shannon had a pistol on his person

but it was empty. The feeling between the two men had not been good.

[The Springdale News 9/3/1909]