Diana Davis

  THE ARIZONA AFFAIR. Latest Particulars of the Murder of Mrs. W. N. Fife.

In a letter by Orson P. Brown, dated Indian Springs, A. T., Sept. 14th, to Jonathan A. Browning, of this city, we find some additional particulars of the recent assassination of the mother of our City Marshal W. W. Fife. It appears that on the day of the tragedy, Sept. 11th, Mr. Wm. N. Fife was absent from his home, being in Tombstone, and the boys, John and Walter, were at Mr. White’s ranch, making hay. The Mexican Francisco, who called at the house, got dinner and then sat down and talked till about 2 o’clock with Mrs. Fife. He got a water melon from her and asked her the price. When she told him it was 25 cents he said that was too much, he would give her 20 cts., whereupon she expressed her willing to take 15 cts., which he gave her.

The lady was, at the time, ironing, when the villain said to her, “Look there.” She turning her head to look out of the window, the arrant assassin pulled his pistol and shot her in the stomach, inflicting a wound which resulted in her death within two hours. The daughter Agnes, then in another room, ran out, when the Mexican snapped his weapon at her, which, however, did not go off. There was another Mexican about the place, a man in the employ of Mr. Fife. He was cutting wood in the Grove, but hearing the disturbance rushed to the rescue. He was shot at by the murderous intruder, the ball passing under his arm. The employee of Fife’s then got to scuffling with the assassin, from whom he succeeded to snatch the firearm without getting injured. The murderer then ran off, the trusty Mexican getting on a horse and alarming the neighbors.

The next morning, the murderer was found hanging to an oak tree, half a mile up the Grove from the scene of his dastardly deed. Aunt Diana (as the unfortunate victim is called by her friends) was buried on the 13th, at 12 o’clock. After this, the people went up to the Grove and took the subject of Lynch justice down. Someone put the rope around the horn of the saddle and dragged the corpse of the criminal about 200 yards to a spot where they dug a hole, into which they rolled the remains of the reprobate, covering them up with soil.

It is thought the intention of the scoundrel was to kill all the folks on the ranch and rob the place, then to take the horses and flee.¹

Sources

1 Article from Ogden Herald newspaper. https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/124842227?cid=mem_copy