Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1899 — DEATH PROM POISON. [ARTICLE]

DEATH PROM POISON.

STRANGE CASE REPORTED FROM | ARKANSAS Jit Moantain Home Six Persons Die fSnddenly—Said to Be the Work of an Enemy Nebraska’s Quick DiTorcc Record. 1 Fatal Drinks of Whisky ■ News has been received from Mountain 'Home, Ark., of a poisoning case in which six men are already dead. Mountain Home is far from railroad or telegraphic communication. No less than six sturdy mountaineers in that vicinity have been suddenly stricken and died in great agony, while others who have been attacked in like manner have only been saved by | prompt medical attention. James Wilkins, a farmer, died. His death was fol- : lowed by three others in different places , near Mountain Home, and one day E. L. Hayes, a prominent zinc-mine owner, died in almost the same manner as the others, while at nearly the same hour and only a short distance away John Font died in the same sudden and mysterious way. I Those wlio_ witnessed the death struggles were convinced that the men were the victims of some powerful poison. An investigation showed that in every case the | men had been prostrated immediately after drinking what was supposed to be | whisky procured at Mountain Home. As there is no saloon at that place the source ; from which the poisoned whisky came is not known, and many of the people believe that a deliberate attempt at wholes' sale poisoning has been made by some m secret enemy of the victims. A flask from which one of the hieu drank has been found and the contents examined by a physician, who pronounces it a strong solution of wood alcohol and other poisonous liquids. DIVORCED IN HALF AN HOUR. Chadron, Neb.. Claims a Record for b Speedy Court Work. Nebraska holds first place in point of speed in the granting of divorces, a decree being granted in Dawes County in : exactly thirty-five minutes from the time the proceedings were started. W. B. Backus of Chadron was one of the attorneys in the case, the caption of which I was Susie Ramage vs. William Ramage. The plaintiff alleged in her petition cruelty and non-support. It was just 2:15 when the petition was filed with Judge Fawcett 5 in the Court of Equity, and five minutes later answer was filed by defendant’s as- - tomey. At 2:40 the case was on trial, i and ten minutes later the decree was signed. Ramage is a prosperous contractor, * living in Chicago, and was anxious for a quick divorce, owing to his desire to im- | mediately venture again into matrimony. When this fact was mentioned to the ' plaintiff in the case by Attorney Backus, die remarked: “He hasn’t much the start : of me, for I’m engaged.” | DOUBLE MURDER MYSTERY. | Couple Killed at Their Home in MisV souri by Unknown Guest. I Authorities are unable to find a clew ji sufficient to justify arrest in the case of 1 George W. Anderson and Lizzie Wisebach, who were found murdered in their home at Linn Creek, Mo. The murders wore committed with an ax. Hogs had mntilated the body of the woman. The table indicated that the couple had enV tertained a third person at supper and it | Is supposed that the guest was the mur--1 derer. Anderson, aged 55, and the Wisebach woman, aged 18, had been living together for eighteen months, though the ? former’s wife and several grown children ’ lived in the neighborhood. r Philippine Investigation Committee. E. President McKinley has appointed a ’’ special commission to investigate condi- : lions in the Philippines and to keep him Informed of the needs of the islands until £ Congress shall have made some disposi- % lion of them. The members of the com- ; mission are: Rear Admiral Dewey, Maj. ? Gen. Otis, Col. Charles Denby, Prof. J. “ G. Schurman of Cornell University and PjQte&n C. Worcester of the University of I Michigan. ' ————— jj£;. Turkey Orders Krnpp Gnns. S An imperial irade has been issued at Constantinople ordering the purchase of 162 Krupp field guns and 30,000 shrapnel Isbells. This is undoubtedly the outcome «f the act of Emperor William on his re- | turn from the Orient in presenting the ISultan of Turkey with a perfect model of | the most modern Krupp field gun introduced into the German army. ■j y - P Dies Rather than Fc.ce Failure! Jacob N. Zook, who has been engaged ;In the grocery business at Lawrence, |Kan., for many years, was found dead in a room at the Blossom House in Kamil was City, having taken morphine with sui- | uddal intent. He had failed to secure fur- £ ther time from Kansas City creditors, | Who were pressing for their money. K Attempts to Burn Hotel. An attempt was made to bum Jerry I ’Flynn’s hotel, a noted hostelry, at OnIptario Beach, X. Y. A Tew hours later flpohn Curran, a one-armed constable of P|ju village, was arrested on the charge of mji Hi up fire to the building. Curran adramtted starting the fire. Revenge is said Wf/lp bare been Curran’s motive. fe. Burns to Death in a Wreck. 801 l 'A' collision between a freight train Mlhd a locomotive on the Philadelphia and ■pteading Railway at Glenside, Pa., sevr*ra! ears were overturned, and John Ruth, Klwakeman, was pinioned under the timPftrrr and burned to death. Eg:, Nineteen Men Drowned 6 ,The British bark Andelina, 2,395 tons, jpg’ Nova Scotia, sank in twenty-two fathipris of water in front of the St. Paul mill ■Httgrf at Tacoma, and the captain, mate Hp seventeen of the crew were drowned, one witnessed the accident. Loses Money on Railroads. L The last year has been an unfortunate Kp£ for the Government system of railKgsys la Canada, the net deficit of the operation being $212,460.

FOUR KILLED BY A TRAIN. / j Accident Results Because the Express Ran on Wrong Track. Tour persons were run down the other morning and instantly killed by an express train near Larimer Station ou the Pennsylvania Railroad, twenty-five miles east of Pittsburg. The list of dead is as follows: Mary Miller, Thomas Miller, Albert Wilson, Walter Brown. The train dashed into the group of unfortunates at full speed aud the bodies were terribly mangled. After being gathered up, the remains were taken in charge by friends. On account of a freight wreck near Larimer it was necessary to switch the westltound passenger trains to the east-bound track. The express was running at full speed and the engineer blew the whistle, but the alarm was unheard, as the victims evidently thought the train wo&ld run on the west-bounfl track as usual. They wore all residents of Larimer. BISCUIT COMPANY SUBMITS. Settlement of the Onster Suit Recently Begun in Ohio Is Arranged. The National Biscuit Company, through its president, B. F. Crawford, met Attorney General Mon nett at Columbus, Ohio, and a settlement of the suit of ouster recently filed in the Supreme Court was arranged, under which the proceedings are expected to be dropped. The company complied with the first and second clauses in the action by paying into the State treasury a foe of 81.100 for the privilege of doing business in the State. President Crawford assured the Attorney General that if the company’s mode of doing business was in violation of the Ohio trust laws it would modify the ! system so as to comply. This will satisfy the remaining clause in Mr. Monnett’s action. BATTLES A HIGHWAYMAN. Tailor Mortally Wounded on a Busy Street in St. Louis. John J. Lahiv, a well-known tailor nt St. Louis, was mortally wounded in a desperate street encounter w r ith a man who, he says, attempted to hold him up. Lahiv fought a running fight with the highwayman for six blocks, each man shooting as fast ns he was able. The police ar<? inclined to look upon the affair as an assassination, and advance the theory that the tailor’s assailant was a man who harbored a grudge. Lahiv is 35 years old, married and has one child. He was not robbed. His assailant escaped. Lively Work of Robbers. Two bandits kidnaped a policeman, took him a mile into the dark woods, bound him to a tree, gagged him and then returned to town and held up nine guests in a prominent hotel in the principal business street of Fort Scott, Kan., the other morning. A mob of railroad men has been seeking them to avenge an assault made upon Ed R. Meade, a locomotive engineer, whom the robbers robbed and shot. Two others were wounded during the pursuit of the outlaws. George Young was mistaken for one of the fugitives and was shot through the arm. He then fell over a dump and broke his shoulder. Later two men who had entered a box car of a south-bound freight were taken prisoners. The car was set out at Pawnee and guarded until officers arrived. Jealousy Causes a Crime. Robert Nelson, a wealthy Montana ranchman, killed Harry Bell on Pumpkin creek, sixty-five miles north of Miles City, Minn., the other afternoon. Bell and Mrs. Robert Nelson were riding on horseback along the creek, when they met Nelson, who, after riding past them a few rods, wheeled his horse and rode at a gallop back to the couple, firing at Bell as he came abreast. The ball pierced Bell’s body near the heart, killing him instantly. Bell was a young man of considerable prominence in the neighborhood where he lived. Nelson had not lived with his wife for the past six months. Russia’s Big Debt Payment. A well-known Russian diplomat, now in Stockholm, speaking of the endeavor on the part of his Government to place a loan on advantageous terms, said that the finances of the empire never were in better shape. The Czar, he says, has just ordered M. de Witte, minister of finance, to pay off in full the debt of 75,000,000 rubles (836.750,000) contracted by a former issue of currency. Cloak Company Fails. Isaac S. Plant and Ralph Plant; formerly in business with Samuel Kahn as the Mercantile Cloak Company, filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy in New York City. Liabilities, 8155,341, incurred in 1890. Isaac C. Plant has individual liabilities of 812,989. Petitioners have no assets. California Crops Saved. The worst storm in years raged recently on the California coast. Telegraph and telephone wires were prostrated in many sections, and railroad and steamboat travel interrupted. The rain was worth $1,000,000 to the State, as it insures good crops of grain and fruits. Another Nortb Carolina Lynching, Mrs. Nancy Welch, a widow’with five children, near Harper's Cross Roads, N. C., was murdered by Henry Jones, a negro. Joues wak found at his home near Richmond. He confessed his guilt, was carried back to the scene and hanged by a crowd of fifty men. Whites aud Blacks in Conflict. In a fight between non-union white miners and negroes in the Springside mining district at I’ana, 111., several men on both sides are reported to have been badly injured. The fight originated over a white miner taking exceptions to a negro loitering around his home. Thirty Buildings Burned. A serious fire visited the town of Bridgewater, N. S. About thirty business places were destroyed, including the postoffice, music hall, savings bank, hotel and telegraph office. A number of residences are also reported burned. Elevator Fire in Minneapolis. Minneapolis had its third grain elevator fire within a fortnight early the other morning, the annex of Woodworth elevator, with its contents, being entirely consumed. The loss on building is about $12,000 and on grain $6,000. King Chosen in Samoa. Mataafa has been elected King of Samoa to succeed Malietoa. Official information to this effect has been received at Washington. The election was held without trouble. Big Mill Absorbed by Trust. The Woodman linseed oil mill in Omaha, the largest of the kind in the world, formerly the property of the trust, has been transferred to the reorganized company.