Rensselaer Republican, Volume 28, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1895 — SOUTHERN. [ARTICLE]

SOUTHERN.

News'comes of a tragedy that occurred in Pike County, Ga., in which eight or nine children-lost their lives, by poison administered by their father. It seems from the best information Thomas Speer, taking advantage of his wife’s absence, and being prompted by jealousy, administered the fatal drug to his children. The fiend is now behrad=tbe bars. There is no doubt at Austin,-Texas, that the grand jury will return indictments against Corbett and Fitzsimmons for conspiring to violate an article of the State penal code. But it is intimated that the State officials do not care to prosecute the pugilists further than to secure iudictments which can be held over their bends to keen them out of the State. This method is taken as the easiest way by which the State bit I'exas cjm aToiil-eom-plicated legal contentions. Wednesday afternon a terrible explosion occurred in the Merchants’ Opera House, Corsicana, Texas, where the “Devil’s Auction” company was preparing to play. Harry Cooleridge, master of transportation and manager of the calcium lights company, was testing a cylinder. There arose some doubt as to whether or not it contained black gas. and a bystander suggested that he try it with a match. He struck the match and touched it to the cylinder, and the explosion followed, wrecking the scenery and tearing out two windows thirty feet distant. One man was instantly killed and several hurt.