100 years ago in Ferry County: Sheriff, agents accused by jury in shooting death

A coroner’s jury in Keller accused two federal Prohibition agents and Ferry County Sheriff I.L. Moore in the shooting death of Ernest Emily of Wilbur.

Apparently, Emily had been under surveillance for some time by agents. They confronted him outside of the Keller smelter and ordered Emily to stop his auto.

The agents said that “instead of stopping, (Emily) tried to run over them.”

“It was after Emily had refused to stop and gone on, the officers said, that they opened fire,” said a correspondent who attended the inquest. “It was not determined which officer’s shots took effect.”

The sheriff testified that he shot in the air “and tried to hit no one.”

No charges had yet been filed in the case and no arrests had been made.

From the rainmaking beat: No rain had yet fallen in the Ephrata district, despite the efforts of Charles M. Hatfield, a professional rainmaker.

Hatfield had contracted with area wheat growers to produce three inches of rain within the next two weeks. His exact methods were unspecified, but it apparently involved the building of towers.

But Hatfield confidently predicted that he “looks for rain tomorrow” because of improving atmospheric conditions.