- SPP^f*PF*r , ?:jf
4'v.?BW5r'
THE FORT MILL TIMES, f
; : . 1 '-IS
16TH YEAR FORT MILL, S. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1908 NO. 39 p
TRAIN ROBBERS
Attomptto Hold up Train and
are Captured.
ONE IS BADLY HURT
l*y Being Shot by a Posse of Passengers
I<ed by the City Marshal ol
Sorrento. Illinois. When Ordered
to Surrender the Bandit* Opened
Fire, Which Was Returned ty
the Passengers With Good Effect.
A west-bound Pennsylvania train
was held up by two masked robbers
ut Smithboro. 111., on the Vandalla
division, early Friday, and after a
''?sperate battle, both men were capiured
and carried to Greeuville, ill.,
where they are now in jail.
The bandits opened fire when re
Istanee was offered, as they brought
the train to a halt just beyond the
Smlthboro station, but their fire wat
returned, and when the last of the
1 6 shots had been exchanged, one of
i he robbers was picked up with five
bullets in his body. He will prob
ably die.
City Marshal Emory Brown oi
iorrento. 111., led the passengers in
the fight with the two bandits, und
'i? was badly wounded. One of th?
robbers' bullets passed through hit
'tody. He was placed In the city
hospital. It is not thought that he it
fatally hurt.
The train was going about thirty
miles an hour and had started tc
slow down in passing througl
3mithboro when the two bandits
with revolvers drawn turned th?
signal. The engineer jammed on hit
brakes and he slowed up the ban
dita bade him throw up his hands
He stopped the train altogether and
was then ordered to quit the cal
with the fireman.
The two baudits ran to the reai
of the train, intending to go through
It orfm end to end but by this time a
number of the passengers were
awake and out of the berths. .City
Marshal Brown was standing on the
rc*r piunurm trying to see wnat wat
the matter.
As the bandits caught sight of him
they ordered him to throw up hh
hands. Instead, he whipped out hit
revolver and opened fire. One of tin
bandits dropped with a bullet in
hlB leg. But he continued to lire
By this time a number of paBsengei
had joined Marshal Brown 011 thd
rear platform and they accompanied
Brown in a sally in the teeth of further
Are from the bandits.
The unwounded robber took to hi:
heels, firing over his shoulder as he
saw the sally from the train, but h<
was captured a few yards further on
after he had put up a desperate
struggle. The other bandit was
wounded five times before he ce*?set
firing his revolver.
The two robbers were carried 01
the train, the one robber not wound
ed being bound to a seat in the
smoker. Then the engineer and his
fireman got back into the cab an<
the train was rushed to Greenville
Investigation after the train lef.
disclosed the fact that the two ban
dits had broken into the Smithborc
station and taken everything *hey
could find before the train arrived.
It is not known how much they secured.
but it is supposed the boot}
was left somewhere in the wood:
near the tracks, and search is now1
being made for it.
NHdllOKS LiKAYING.
They Were Told to Go and They An
(ininir.
CI
^ Negroes are rapidly lending Hen
rletta, Okla., where the lyoctiJuj o
James Oarden, colored, occuried 01
Christmas following the murder o
Albert Bates, a prominent whit?
bulsness man. The black were given
notice to leave town within 4!
hours. A second attack was madt
on the Jail early Thursday mornlm
by a mob of citizens who sought i
one-oyed negro named BUI Smith
charged with Inciting Oarden to com
* mlt the crime, Sherff Robertson
however, spirited the man away fron
the mob and took him to Okmnlgee
Jim Johnson, a negro, who gave Gar
den a rifle also was taken to Okmul
gee.
PHYSICIAN COMMITS StTCI DK
I>r. Thorn, of Gaston Shoals, Cut
His Throat.
Dr. J. L. Thorn, of Gaston Shoal
in Cherokee County, committed su
clde Christmas night by cutting hi
throat. He retired apparently in b
usual health, but about a quarter '
eleven o'clock he told his wife thf
he was oppressed by the weight t
the covering. She suggested that h
throw some of it off. He then aroi
and went into the next room. H
wife, hearing water dripping on tt
floor, asked him what was the ma
ter. He repM*d, "Come and see
As she entered the door he sank 1
the floor, dying in a few second
Dr. Thoru was about forty years <
age. and leaves a wife and two litt
children.
SHOT HIS WIFE
I Just Before Sitting Down to a
Christmas Dinner.
Or. Aiuesbury Kills His Wife in Kitchen
of Her Mother's Home Just
After Quarrel.
Dr. Walter R. Amesbury, of Milford.
shot and instantly killed his
wife, Anna, a teacher of music in
Roanoke College, Danville, Va., as
the family were about to sit down to
their Christmas dinner at the home
of Mrs. Jennie Rees, Mrs. Amesbury's
mother, at 220 Metropolitan avenue,
Hyde Park, Mass., Christmas Day.
Dr. Amesbury was placed under
arrest immediately after the shooting.
Mrs. Amesbury had "come from '
Virginia to pass the holidays with
her sons, Walter R. Amesbury, and t'
Ira R. Amesbury. who live with their :
grnndinother, Mrs. Rees. Dr. Ames
burg came from Mllford, where he
has practiced for some time, to the '
Christmas festivities with the fami- 1
ly. |
Accdordlng to the police, Dr. Amesbury
fired two shots, both of which !
took effect in Mrs. Amesbury's right 1
side. Her death was almost instan 1
eous.
After his arrest, Dr. Amesbury s
declared that the shooting was accidental.
He would not make any further
statement.
Mrs. Amesbury was 4 0 years old
and a native of Kentucky.
Since her marriage to Dr. Amesbury
they had lived at different
Limes in Kingston aud Tuxbury
Mass., and Corslcana, Tex. Some
time ago Mrs. Amesbury went to Virginia
and began tecahlng music in
Roanoke College. She was an accomplished
vocalist.
According to the police Dr. Amesbury
became engaged in a quarrel
regarding family matters. They
were conversing in the kitchen when
suddenly the other members of the
family, who were in the dining room
heard two shots fired.
Rushing into the kitchen the Amesbury
boys, the oldest of whom h
about twenty years of age, grappled
with their father and threw him ti
the floor. After a struggle the re- *
volver was taken away from hlui '
ind he was held until the arrival ol
the police.
Dr. Amesbury is forty-nine years '
of age. He was formerly a surgeon
in the British army stationed in
Jamaica.
FOUNI? INFKRXAI, MACHINK f
(
Dangerous Christinas Present Sent !
by Mall Detected in Time. i
A dispatch from Erie, Pa., says
while distributing Christmas bundle? j
in the South Erie sub-postoffici ,
Christmas Eve an employee becanu |
suspicious of a package, the end ol
which had been broken open, ani
upon making an investigation tht
package was found to contain an in
Ternal machine, so constructed thai ,
he opening of the box would cause (
in explosion that would have undoubtedly
killed all persona around
it. and set fire to everything in th<
building
The package was addressed to Ar hie
C rr. 2,208 Cherry street, ant
bad been mailed from that city. Th<
box was turned over to Poatmastei
Sobell, who called in Chief of Police
WiTRner. The chief cut out the aid*
>f the box aud exposed a bottle and
contrivances so arranged that the
opening of the lid would have loosen1
ad the cork and ignited severa.
matches.
The following inscription was or I
'he inside wrapper: "You may per
haps find the cover will catch a lit
Me when you open the box. Pay n?
lttentlon to it. Merry Christmas.'
f. W. Wright, health officer am
heinist, after an examination of the
.ottle said it contained a high ex
>!osive.
LEAVES SWAG BEHIND.
New York Man Gets Queer C'liri.st
mas Present from llurghir.
Santa Clans, .in a peculiar guise
>ald a visit to John Dlstler of Nev
York City. In the night Pistier wa>
vroused by a noise in the dining
room and he at once decided that
there was a burglar in the house
Rather than take any chances of be
ing shot Pistier made a great nols<
in his room for the purpose of scar
lug the burglar away.
He was successful In this and when
* he went downstairs he found thai
none of the family silver had been |
stolen. On the contrary he found 1
m the table in the dinning room r '
I large quantity of silverware, which j
, he had never seen before. He be-i
"loves that the burglar hajj obtain- |
'* >d It from some other houses and.
being Beared by the noise he made
\ fled, leaving It behind.
>1 .
I, Labor Trouble.
k Arcordlng to a statement Issued
Is officially the recent encounter? at
if Iquique. Chili, between nitrate stilkt
es and the police resulted in th<
killing of 210 men and the wounding
tc of about fifty. During one of the
s. encounters the troops fired partlcu>1
larly at the leaders of the strlkera,
< but their aim was poor aud the inon
. were not hurt.
A MINE HORROR. I
Over Two Hundred Men Sent to
Their Doom.
ONLY ONE ESCAPED.
Terrible Explosion in I>nrr Coal Mine
at Jacob's Creek Near Pittsburg.
A Celebration in the Greek Church
Saved Scores Who Wonld Have
Been in the Mine If They Had Not
Been at Church.
An explosion of gas in the Darr
mine of the Pittsburg Coal Company,
locnted at Jacob's Creek, Va., Thursiay
entombed between 200 and 250
'.liners, and there is scarcely a ray
if hope that a single one of them
* 111 be taken from the mines ullve.
Partially wrecked buildings in the
.'iclnity of the mine and the condl:ion
of the few bodies found early
n the rescue work indicate an explosion
of such terrific force that it
seems impossible that any one could
Have survived it.
This is the third mine disaster
since the first of the month in the
/lens of the bituminous coal underying
Western Pennsylvania and
West Virginia for the Naomi mine,
iea>- Fayette City, and the two mines
it Monongali, West Vrginia, in
which the earlier explosion happen- '
id, are in the same belt as the local
workings. Thursday's catastrophe 1
sweels the number o f victims of
leadly mine gas for the nineteen
lays of December to between 550 to 1
500.
That this disaster does not equal
>r even surpass in loss of life and
ittendant horrors the one in West- 1
Virginia is due to the devotion to 1
:hurch duties of a considerable num- 1
>er of the miners. In obbservance of 1
he church festival many of the four
mndred or more men regularly em- 1
>loyed at the mine did not go to
vork that morning. Those who es:aped
through this reason are members
of the Greek church and they I
tuspended work to celebrate St.
Nicholas Day.
As was the case at Monongah, the '
'xplosion followed a brief shut down '
he Darr mine having been closed (
Tuesday and Wednesday before the
explosion.. It was 11.30 o'clock when
he tenth trip of loaded cars had
men urougnt out to the tipple and
here came an awful rumbling sound
'ollowed immediately by a loud report
and a concussion that Bhook
learby buildings and was felt with- !
n a radius of several miles. At the
iume time there came out of the 1
uouth of the mine an immense I
'loud of dense smoke and dust that
loated across the Youghlogheny 1
Itlver.
Intutively every one in the vicinty
knew what had happened and all 1
charted for the one place the mouth 1
?f the mine. The river seperates
he mine and the homes of many of
:he minei-B, so that only a portion
>f those whi started for the scene
*ere able to reach it. there being
icant facilities for crossing the
stream. To those who could not
ross the water the smoke and dust
muring In from the mine's mouth
old a story of seething flames back
;n the workjngs and from this source
;ame reports that were persistent
intll late in the day that the mine
Mas burning.
The ventilating fans were kept in
perating almost without Interrupiou,
however, the power plant havng
withstood the force of the extlosion,
and the rescurers have
'ound no fire at any place in the
nine. As far as is known only one
nan who went to work Thursday
norning escaped. Joseph Mapleton.
pumper, emerged from one of the
side entries shortly after the explo>n.
He had left the part of the
nine where most of the men were
vorking and was on his way to the
ngine room for oil.
"I was near entry 21," said he,
'when I heard an awful rumbling. 1
darted towards the entry, but the
lext instant I was blinded and for a
ittle time I did not know anything.
Then 1 got to the side entry and
vorked my way out." Maple ton
vas somewhat cut and bruised, but
later returned to the mine and joined
the rescuing parties.
William Kelvlngston, superintendent
of the mine was not in the mine
when the accident occurred and he
luickly organized rescuing parties,
darting one force of twenty-five men
with reliefs at short intervals in the
main entry and a similar force at a
side entry It is hoped to reach the
ficrentor part of the victims through
the latter.
So far little trouble has been encountered
on account of the gas or
j lack of air by the rescuers. While
1 the officials and the rescuers have
' only the faintest hope that any of the
I inen may be living, all work is be|
ing carried on upon the ttieory that
some may have found places of safe:
ty and every point of the workings
! will be explored.
The main office of the company Is
j in Pittsburg and immediately upon
the receipt of news of the explosion
the officials hurried to the mine and
are leading and directing the rescue
work.
About 1,500 feet from the mouth
of the mine a heavy fall of roof was
SHIP HAD BAD LUCK.
|
Reaches 'Frisco After Tragic Voyage
from Baltimore.
Collided With Another Ship, Which
Was Sunk With Tart of the Crew
In Mid Ocean.
The American ship Atlas dropped
anchor at San Francisco on Christmas
eve night, 27$ days out from
Daltimore. It ended a voyage made
tragic by a collision off Cape Horn
attended by the sinking of another
vessel, the drowning of the ill-fated
craft's captain and the captains wife,
mutiny on its decks and death
nmnllff Ha rroar
On June 6, at 6 P. M., the Atlas
Btrijck the Norwegian hark Viking,
Capt. Petersen, hound from Hamburg
to Callao. Roth were badly
damaged by the contact, but the
bark fared the worst.
In the terror of the night 13 of the
crew of the Norwegian bark boardei
the American ship, crawling over
tangled shrouds and dangling booms.
Capt. Pearson and his wife were
not among those who made a dangerous
transit, but It was too dark
to render nid though the Atlas stood
by all night and nbxt morning the
Viking had disappeared.
The Atlas put into Rio De Janerio
for repairs, badly leaking. On the
way to this port a mutiny took place
among the crew over some trouble
with the mate, but it was easily
quelled.
Before the collision ofT Cape Horn
three of the ship'B company met
death. On May 23 J. Schumacher
and Charles Nolan seamen, fell from
the jlb-l>oom and were drowned. On
June 1? John Hook, sailinaker, died
and was buried at sea. When the
ship arrived the captain's son and
the third officer were ill and the vessel
was ordered into quarantine
The Atlas had a cargo of coal foi
(he United States Government. Tire
vessel had been 102 days out from
Rio De Janerio and was overdue.
Reinsurance had been ordered at 10
per cent.
The Vilking was a new hark oi
2.r. 4 1 tons. Nothing bad been heard
:>f it after it began its last voyage
until the Atlas brought in the tidings
Christmas eve night.
KIIXKD I1Y ROllltKRS.
Prosperous Negro Merchant Found
Dead iu his Store.
A dispatch from Sumter to The
State says Coroner S. F. Flowers returned
Tuesday afternoon from the
Statesburg neighborhood, where heInvestigated
the death of Waltei
Hlanding, colored. The negro was
the owner of a store and was found
brutally cut up in his store.
No one appeared to know anything
of the affair, and Coroner Flowers
did not empanel a jury. From all
appearances the murder was done for
the purpose of robbery. as only [*?,
cents was found in the store and the
deceased was said to have been doing
a good business and to be. well off.
The body was terribly mutilated
with gashes inflicted with a hatchet
and knife that were found near the
body covered with blood. The murder
is being investigated by the
county authorities, and further light
may be thrown on this horrible affair.
Famine in Turkey.
The American Hoard of Commissioners
for foreign missions has received
advices from the interior oi
Turkey, showing unusually severe
famine conditions. Dread is double
tlie usual price, and wheat and other
cereals are considerably higher ;han
last year.
encountered by the rescuers. It is
believd that most of the men will j
be found nearly a mile and a half,
from this point. How long It will
require to remove enough of the
imit'ii roui to open a passage T.o I nose
remost workings can only be conjectured
as It depends on how frequent
these falls are met with. It la hoped
from the progress made up to this
time, however, that the farther tecj
tion will be reached early. There are
! several side entries, trough which it
is expected some of the men will be
reached. Mrs. John Campbell, wife
of the mine foreman, whose home is
located about fifty yards froin the
mouth of the mine, graphically described
the explosion. She said:
"About 11.30 there was a loud
report and the dishes in ray cupboard
and on the table rattled and were
knocked out of place, while the
window were shattered. Instinctively
I knew what had happened. I have
for a long time feared an explosion
in the mine, for I knew it was gaseous.
My husband and I had talked
of it and he often referred to the
gas in the mPne. My husband was
Just about due for his dinner when
this loud report came, and I looked
out the hack door towards a'manway
from the mine through which
he came to his meals. Insteid of in>
husband. I saw a great cloud ?f dust
and Bmoke pouring out and through
the man-way. It floated upward and
disappeared across the river. I am
sure Mr. Campbell will be found in
the entry not far from the mouth of
the mine, for I know he must have
be?u on his way to dinner."
< *
BADLY USED UP
By Negroes Who Tried to Rob
His Store.
RESCUED BY SHERIFF.
The 8t?rek?4ier, Mr. T. L. Cares,
After Being Rescued, Was Taken
to the Hospital in Charleston for
Treatment. He Was Unable to
Give Any Account of the Trouble.
The Robbers Made Their Escape.
The following account of an out
rage that took place near Charleston,
we clip from the News and
Courier of Chrisuias Day. The News
and Courier says a telephone call
from St. Andrew's Parish yesterday
afternoon gave information of au
outrage committed and the prompt
response of Deputy Sheriff Joseph
Poulnot and volunteers was, no
doubt, the means of saving the life ol
Thomas L. Caves, who keeps a geueral
store in St. Andrew's, a short
distance from the Now llridge terminus.
across the Ashley Ktver.
The message was received in the
sheriff's office about six o'clock aud
it was to the effect that Caves had
been set upon and seriously injured
by negroes intent upon robbing hlb
store. Caves, it seems, was, to some
extent, able to defend himself for
some time and, though badly injur- '
ed, managed to get inside the store
when he barred the doors. He then
crawled to the telephone and called '
for the sheriff's office, Charleston. 1
The message sent was tb the effect
that he was being murdered and that
immediate help was needed.
Mr. Poulnot was in charge of the '
office and lost no time in starting
for the scene of the trouble. He
chartered one of the big touring cart '
from the Charleston Hotel garage, in
charge of Chaffeur Johnson, and
picking up Mr. Harry Lihustedt and
later Coustable R. L. Knox, sped ovei '
to St. Andrew's. The meu in the '
car did not know just what they were '
to face?but they asked no questions (
and were ready for any emergency. '
Arriving at Cave's store, which it 1
at the junction of the shell road and
the James Island road, they looked '
about for bellgerants. None was ir. '
sight, and then giving attention to '
the store, they succeded in roulsng 1
Mr. Caves, who was just ablbe to get ]
to the door and bnbar it; weeping
with joy at the sight of his rescur- 1
ers. He was so far spent with loss
of blood from an ugly wound ovei
the left eye, that he could give no accurate
account of the trouble, and
only the genearl details were learn
ed.
There was not a person In the
neighlKirhood when the automobile
stopped at the store, and seeing the
condition of the wounded man, Mr.
Poulnot decided to come back at
once. Within an hour and a half ol
the time of receiving the message
Mr. Caves was at the Roper Hospital
receiving the best possible attention.
He is getting along very well, although
not out of danger. Rural
Policeman Burton, responding to a
telephone call was coming across the
bridge when the auto returned.
There is as yet no clue as to the miscreants
who commited the murderous
assault upon the merchant.
MASHED THE MASHER
(airl from Alabama handed a Donkey
in the Ditch.
A dispatch from New York says
a danner vounc man on nnner
Broadway the other evening was
following a girl whose hands were in
a huge muffle. Suddenly, at Fortyflfth
street, one of her hands, clad
lit a two ounce boxing glove dashed
out and sent the masher rolling into
the gutter. Then the man picked
himself up and apologized to the
young lady.
"I beg pardon," she said, sweetly,
"I am a stranger Jiere. I came from
Alabama, and am a stenographer,
alone in town. But I'll tell you,
there is no man in town who can insult
me with impunity. I taught
women boxing in the south?and I'll
teach New York smashers boxing in
the north."
IIAMCIC.H f;OFS "DRY."
Decisive Vote for Prohibit ion in an
Flection Thursday.
By a majority of 54 7 Raleieh v
on Thursday voted out Its liquor
dispensary and becomes a prohibition
city. In the city there were
92S votes for prohibition, 381 for j
dispensary and two for saloons. The
dispensary has been in operation for
four years, twenty-four saloons having
been voted out in favor of the
dispensary. The sales have amounted
to about $250,000 a year, with
ibout. $75,000 profit, this being
ulaced to the credit of the school
fund, the road fund and the city ex >enae
account. It reduced taxation,
hut the voters felt that its influence
was not for the city's best interest
and voted it out. The election was
a quiet one.
AuI^RHKIHR :k * - -
REDUCE OUTPUT.
The Cotton Mills Declare Cloth
Market Need Relief.
Eighty IVr Cent of New England
Mills and One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Workers Affected.
The Arkwrlght Club, which represents
the cotton mill interests lu
New England, at a meeting at Boston
Thursday voted for the curtailment
of production 26 uer cent be
tween now and March 1, in order to
relieve conditions In cloth markets
of New York, Chicago. Boston and
other large entries centres.
It was stated several dnys ago
that a committee previously appointed
by the Club to canvass the situation
among the mills had found sufficient
sentiment to insure the success
of the curtailment plun. and
that a restriction of production was
regarded as a certainty.
The cotton mills of New England
employ about 18G.OOO persons undei
normal condition, and it is expected
that at least 150,000 will l?e nffoct-?
ed by the short time. The curtailment
agreement became operative
to-day, although numerous mills
have been shut down since Tuesday
night.
The agreement wJJl affect a large
majority of Fall Rlvjer print cloth
mills, the fine goods of New Bedford,
the Amoskege Corporation, of Manchester,
employing 13,000 hands and
most of the other New Hampshire
factories, the York Corporation, oi
Saco, Maine; Pepperill Mills, of Biddeford;
the mills of Lewiston,
Brunswick and of th?' points, those
In Lowell employing 20,000; Law
rence, Holyoke and Chicopee, Mass.,
and mills controlled by large Rhodt
Island interests.
The mills of Thorndyke, Bondsyille.
Palmer. Ware and Warren
Mass., nnd Greenville and New Tsp
Jrteh, N. H., controlled by Bliss Fy
ban & Co., of New York and Boston
adopted a short 1 time policy a
iiiuuiu ho uiu me jaonoaacK, 01
Claremont, N. H. T!->s** ?thei
:oncerns will reach the end ot theii
lurtailment policy before the factories
in the large centres.
More than 80 per cent of the spinlies
in New England are represented
in the agreement. The majority ol
the mills will run four day a week
luring January and February, closing
Thursday nights, thus including
Saturday, a short working day, in
the shut down.
Mills which have contracts calling
for delivery during the winter are at
liberty to reduce their production 2f>
per cent partially before March 1.
tind the remainder after that date.
The method of reducing is left large
ly to the discretion of the managers,
according to some of the officers ol
the texile unions, the operatives prefer
to work 4 days a week rather
than be continuously idle for a period
of nearly three weeks.
The curtailment movement originated
in New York commissior.
houses, wh'ch feared a congestion ol
goods and falling prices in thf
spring if the mills continued to operate
in full during the winter.
1>AHTAKI>IjY OlTKAt;E
Drunken Man Fired Into a Passenger
Train.
Augustus B. Stevens, aged 18.
baggage master on the Virginia and
Carolina Coast Railway, was sho'
and instantly killed Christmas Day
by John White, aged 20, while the
train was passing through Hobbsvilie,
N. C. White is under arresl
and has confessed. A group of aboui
25 men were in a field near the railroad
track and a Christmas frolicwas
in full blast.
Stevens was standing at the open
door of his car, when suddenly a
gun was fired from the group, the
charge striking Stevens in the head.
The train was stopped as soon uf
l>ossible, but when the crew reached
the scene of the shooting the mem
hers of the frolicking party hud fled
to the adjoining woods. Later,
however, a posse from Hobhsvillt
surrounding the woods and many ol
fugitives were captured. Among
these was John White, who confessed
the shooting. He said he had been
drinking and had no intention ol
killing anyone when ho fired the
fatal shot.
FATAL ACCIDENT
I
Caused by a Boy Having Dynamite
in His Pocket.
Dan Bradley, the 16-year-old son
of a widow at Pratt City, Ala., died
Thursday as a result or injuries re
celved in an explosion of dynamite
at a Christmas party. The boy carried
a piece of dynamite in his coat
pocket. While on the porch he was
Jarred, and the dynamite exploded
The hoy's right leg was torn off
and his body was thrown vlolentlj
through a window into the parioi
where the guests were assembled
Several boys and girls were knocker
down, and others were badly shaker
up by the explosion and by the bo>
stricking them. The house was bad
ly wrecked.
Hi:JL
WHO WAS SHE?
The Body of Unknown Woman
Found in a Pond
NEAR CITY OF NEWARK
A Night Watchman lU'coipitMn Feature*
ns Those of n Woman He
Saw Going With a Man in Dlrec*
tion of Pond Early Christmas Day.
Clothing Found Suggests Owner of
Refinement.
A murder combining the elements
of mystery and deliberate cruelty
was committed on the Hackensaw
Meadows, in the town of Harrison,
N. J., early Thursday, and the nude
body of the victim, a comely woman
of perhaps 30 years of age was found
nearly submerged in the icy waters
of a little pond. Only the feet projected
when chance passers-by broke
the icy In which exposed portions
were encrusted and dragged the
body ashore Thursday afternoon.
The dead womnn was finely featured;
her hair and nails gave evidence
of a recent scrupulous toilet
and such of her clothing that was
subsequently found suggested in texture
and style an owner of refinement.
The pond in which the body
was thrown is made by the overflow
from the Passaic lliver and is directly
across the river from Newark.
The body lias not been identified
but it was pretty well established
that is was not that of a resident of
Newark or Harrison. Two men. who
occupied a yacht near where the body
was found, are detained by the police.
but the most important clue
was furnished by Peter Coogan, a
watchman employed by the Marine
Kngino Company, who recognized
the body as that of a woman he had
seen crossing the meadows in company
with a man early that day.
Later he saw the man alone. He
I then carried a bundle iu his arms.
! The man was short nnd stout. Coogan,
whose duties keep him in the
nelghlK'i-huod of the murder, told
the police:
"While outdoors at two o'clock I
saw this woman in company with a
man crossing the meadows, going in
the direction if the pond.
They passed so near me that
I am able to recognize the woman's
features. Some time later, perhapB<
the man returned and again passed
me, this time in the direction from
which the two had come when I
first saw them. This time the man
was alone. In his arms he carried
a bundle which he had not had before.
in build he was short and
thick set."
Two girls returning to their home
in Harrison long after midnight
heard a woman's cries floating over
the marsh land. They seemed to
come from the direction of the n.ind
and sounded like "span* mo" and
"holp." Nearer the girls were approached
by a well dressed stranger
who accosted and followed them tinil
they met a policeman, when he
turned and fled.
The girls had .a good view of the
man under an electric light and while
he was well and neatly dressed his
hands showed either that he was accustomed
to manual labor or had recently
been engaged in work that
soiled his Angers.
Life had been extinct, the coroner
said, about twelve hours when
the body was found. A mark on the
neek Indicated thy* strangulation
was the manner ol' death. Scratches
on the legs and trunk, and pieces of
ciuder forced into the flesh showed
that the body had been dragged
along a cinder path, which skirts the
pond.
Along the path the police picked
up a white silk waist, a skirt and a
pair of silk garters. Following the
path the police came upon the yacht
"Idle Hour," which was tied up at
i point on the Passaic about. 300 feet
from where the body was found. On
the yacht the police say that they
found a seal skin and fur neck Dlece.
The occupants of the yacht were
Albert Thompson, 4 1 years old, of
Elizabeth, a boatman, and Frederick
Kirk man. 3 8 years old. Ftoth were
employed on the boat. Thompson
said that he found fur pieces near
the cinder path.
The police found on the boat
dishes enough for three dinners. The
men, however, said that they had no
visitor on the Idle Hour. The police
said they had practically nothing
against the prisoners, but would detain
them until further inquiry could
be made. An autopsy will be performed
as soon as it. can be ar,
ranged.
Fatal (turning.
Henry Meiser and Antonia Ober*
lln were burned to death and two
other men seriously Injured Thursday
in a fire which destroyed the
1 home of Andrew Raltow at Bradford
' Pa. The origin is not known.
Sorrowful Occurrence.
Al Clinton Mr. F. A. Dorrlty's lit.
tie son was burned to death ChristI
mas eve. The mother was dressing A
i the children to go away for Christi
mas. She went out a few minutes
and when she returned the little fel-^^M
low was in flames.
M