News & Tall Tales

Card Alley
February 1, 1856, Daily Alta California, San Francisco
More Shooting -- A Man Killed by His Wife
-- Surrender of the Woman.
A fatal shooting affair occurred last evening, about seven o'clock, at the house of Patrick Duffy, in Card's Alley, a small street near the corner of Stockton and Vallejo streets.
The parties to the affair were Mr. and Mrs. James Ivers, and the husband was shot through the head by the wife and killed instantly. The particulars, as we gather them from the friends of the unfortunate woman, are about as follows: Ivers was a ship carpenter by trade, and was in the habit of drinking pretty hard, and they had lived quite unhappily together for some time past, residing most of the time at the house of Mr. Duffy, above referred to. They were persons of limited means, and Mrs. Ivers has been for several weeks laboring as a house servant for the family of Mr. Little, on Mason street.
During the day, yesterday, Ivers went to the house of Little, and created considerable disturbance by quarreling with his wife, and interfering with her household duties; so much so, that she was.orgpelled to leave her situation, and go home to the house of Mr. Duffy, where the sad affair occurred. The difficulties continued last evening, at Duffy's house, and Ivers was found to have a pistol in possession, and manifested a disposition to use the same upon the person of his wife.
Duffy and his brother-in-law wrested the weapon from him, and threw it into the house, where were Mrs. Ivers and the family of Duffy.
Mrs. Ivers took up the pistol, and remarked that she did not think there was any ball in it. She then stepped to the door and fired it into the air. She again cocked it and fired a second time, and at this moment Mr. Ivers came round the corner of the house, and was about stepping into the door, when he received the ball of the second discharge in the forehead, immediately over the right eye. The wounded man fell and died in about an hour. The body was removed to the Coroner's office, and an inquest will be held this morning. Mrs. Ivers came down to the Station House, about 9 o'clock, last evening, and surrendered herself to the authorities.
The house where this tragedy occurred, is the same one at which Mrs. Murphy was shot and killed, about a year ago, during a squatter difficulty. The case will probably.orge up for examination before the Recorder this morning, when fuller particulars will be developed. We have simply given the representations of the friends of the wife, who are not supposed to have been very friendly with the deceased, as they represent his conduct towards her as unkind. It is a very unfortunate affair, and if the shot was an accidental one, it can do but little towards allaying the feelings of regret and remorse that must of necessity prey upon her, at the reflection of having caused the death of her husband.

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