3 Shots at a Bully

San Francisco California Monday July 16, 1894

THREE SHOTS AT A BULLY.

Cornelius McManus, “The Gossoon,” Fatally Wounded by Charles Sweeney.

No Cause for the Quarrel.

The Sheeting Done to " King" MeManus’ Third-Street Saloon-Sweeney says the Shote Were Fired in Self-Defense and That He Had Given No Offense-Both Men Were Considerably Intoxicated.

Cornelius McManus, brother of Frank McManus, “King of the Potrero,” was shot yesterday afternoon by Charles Sweeney, the once famous ball-player, and will probably die.

The shooting occurred at 2:30 o’clock in the afternoon in Frank MeManus’ saloon at 16 Third street, known as the Grand Central Wine Rooms. McManus and Sweeney were supposed to be fast friends, and their quarrel with its tragical termination was a surprise to their associates. Both men had been drinking heavily and McManus was a very quarrelsome mood. He is a physical giant, standing over six fee in height and weighing 220 pounds.

According to the story told by eyewitnesses the men were standing in front of the bar when the quarrel reached its height. McManus struck Sweeney and then made as if to pull a pistol from his pocket. Sweeney backed away, and, drawing his own weapon, fired three shots at McManus.

The only persons in the saloon at the time, besides the combatants, were the bartender, Sam McCarty, and Patrick Lynch, a coal dealer, who was sitting in a private room attached to the bar. At the sound of the shots Lynch ran out into the saloon, when Sweeney seized his hat from his head, and jamming his revolver into his pocket rushed out on to the street and disappeared down towards Mission.

Attracted a Great Crowd.

The sound of the firing attracted a large crowd and the policemen who came up a few minutes later were compelled to use force in order to make their way into the saloon.

McManus, who was lying on the floor groaning, was conveyed to a bedroom on the second floor and messengers were sent out for surgeons and a patrol wagon.

Dr. Charles E. Farnum was soon on the spot and saw that the wounded man was in a precarious condition. A messenger was dispatched for Dr. Robert E. Bunker, and the arrival of that gentleman an examination of the wounded man was made.

It was found that two bullets had struck McManus. One had hit him in the right arm above the elbow, and ranging around the bone lodged in the muscles near the shoulder. The other had entered on the right side, above the eighth rib, penetrating the pleural cavity, and lodged in the liver. There was very little external hemorrhage, and the doctors pronounced the wound a most serious one and said that it would probably terminate fatally.

Gives Himself Up

After leaving the saloon Sweeney went to his home on the corner of Sixth and Shipley streets and told his wife what had occurred. He then went out and surrendered himself to special policeman John Dougherty. He was taken to the City Prison and locked up, though no charge was placed against him. He was somewhat under the influence of liquor, but when asked for a statement told of the occurrences of the afternoon with the air of a man who was conscious of the full weight of what he was saying.

“Con had been drinking heavily all day,” he said, “and I never saw him in such an ugly mood. In the morning he and his brother Frank McManus had a violent quarrel that almost resulted in a fight. Con asked me to tend bar for a while, and I consented. This was at 10 o’clock this morning.

“He went into a back room and went to sleep on a lounge. He woke up shortly after noon, and at once began to abuse me. While I was serving drinks in the card room upstairs he came up and struck me. He then threw me on the floor and choked me. After that he broke pitcher and some glasses and threw things around the room like a wild man.

“I did not want to have any trouble with him and begged him a dozen times to let me alone. He would not do it, however, but followed me down stairs and struck me again. By this time Dan McCarty had relieved me bebind the bar and i was out in front. I would have left the saloon and thus avoided further trouble had I been in a presentable condition. My collar and necktie had been torn off by McManus and my clothes were all dirty where he had rolled me on the floor.

“He kept on quarreling with me and finally went behind the bar and got his pistol. He placed the muzzle of it against my stomach and held it there for at least minute and a half while he called me all the names he could think of. I did not say a word because I knew he would kill me if I did. I afterward went back into the card-room and when I came out again McManus tackled me again. He struck me in the face and then threw his hand back to his hip pocket. I thought he was going for gun, so I drew my own pistol and fired. He kept coming for me ard I fired two more shots. Of course am sorry it occurred, but I know he would have killed me if I had not shot him. We have always been good friends, and he is a good fellow when he is sober.”

The Bartender’s Story.

Dan McCarty, the bartender, who was the only witness to the affray, was very reluctant about telling what he had seen. When questioned he said that McManus and Sweeney were “fooling” and “joshing” and he did not pay any particular attention to them.

“The first thing I knew,” he said, " was hearing the shots fired in rapid succession at the other end of the bar. There was no quarrel, but heard Con say a man was n coward who used a gun, and then the shots were fired.”

He afterward admitted that MeManus had threatened Sweeney with a pistol a short time before the shooting occurred, but said the weapon had been returned to place behind the bar while Sweeney was in the back room.

Heard the Shots Fired.

Patrick Lynch, the coal dealer who was sitting in the private room of the bar, is an intimate acquaintance of the two men who figured in the affray.

“I heard the shots fired,” he said. “and ran into the barroom. As I did so Sweeney grabbed my bat, and putting it on, ran out into the street. I made no attempt to stop him, as I did not know what had occurred at the time.”

“King” MeManus, who owns the saloon, was absent at the time the shooting occurred. When he returned about 5 o’clock in the afternoon and learned what had happened he became very violent and made all sorts of throats against Sweeney. He and his brother, William McManus, became involved in a violent quarrel and friends had to separate them. The “King” said that if his brother died he would have Sweeney’s life.

Cornelius McManus, known as “The Gossoon,” has a reputation among the tough element south of Market street of being a “bad man” and a fighter. A little over two years ago the McManuses and the Welch boys kept rival boarding houses in the Potrero. One day Frank McManus and Cornelius McManus were in the city and sent word to Jack Welch that a man wanted to see him at Third and Hunt streets, When Welch drove up in a cart the McManus gang jumped him.

A general fight ensued, in which Welch was stabbed in the side, and he in turn shot Con McManus in the left breast. Both men were taken to the Receiving Hospital, and while Welch lying on the operating table Frank McManus came in and attempted to beat his brains out with a club.

Something About Sweeney.

At one time Charles Sweeney was perhaps one of the best known professional baseball players in the United States. He played with the teams here as a pitcher until his work attracted the attention of Eastern managers, who were always in search of talent. Baseball was then the reigning out-of-door sport in this country, and the stars of the diamond field were better known than the most eminent of statesmen. Sweeney went East under engagement to the Providence club of the National League. He made a great hit at his first appearance, and when the Providence and Boston teams came together Charles Sweeney’s pitching was something the Boston players could not understand. In one game he established a “strike out” record that stood for years and brought him before the public in a most prominent manner. The name of Sweeney, the California wonder, was heard in every city of the United States and his salary he commanded was something enormous for a ballplayer. His next engagement on the ball field after having finished with the Providence Club was with the celebrated St. Louis Maroons, an organization of ballplayers gathered together by a St. Louis millionaire named Lucas. The team was made up of the best ballplayers in the country. Lucas clothed them in silk, doe them about the country in palace cars and fed them on the best in the land. As a result they seldom won, though Sweeney pitched with all his wonderful speed and skill. It was during the progress of the game in Chicago that Charles Sweeney lost his “arm”. He was pitted against Corcoran, one of the best pitchers of his time. The game was nearly over and the score 1 to 0 in favor of the Maroons. While delivering a ball Sweeney’s arm gave out, Chicago won and Sweeney’s career as a high-class professional pitcher was over. Time and time again he tried to reagin his prestige on the ball field, but without success. He would go in and for a short time would pitch as he pitched where with Providence, but his arm was never able to stand the stain. From the East he returned to his State and played with most of the teams of the California League. After his retirement here from baseball he stated in the saloon business, but never made much of a success.