Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1901 — The Smythe Shooting. [ARTICLE]

The Smythe Shooting.

William H, Smythe, grand secretary of the F. and A. Masons of Indiana, who was mysteriously shot at Indianapolis Thursday, has excellent prospects for recovery. His condition is constantly showing much improvement. There is still much mystery surrounding the shooting, which the detectives have been unable to solve. He gave out that he was shot by a “blond woman” who was mad because he would not let her use his office telephone. But she must have much more than “blonde” in fact “red-headed” to the last degree to shoot a crippled elderly man for that cause. The general impression is that Smythe, whose health was poor and spirits depressed, shot himself. But so far the great difficulty in the way of that theory is to find the revolver the shooting was done with.