Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 March 1905 — GIRL POSED AS A BOY [ARTICLE]

GIRL POSED AS A BOY

DEATH REVEALS HER IDENTITY IN CINCINNATI HOSPITAL. Masqueraded in Male Attire the More Easily to’ Make Her Way in the World Alystery in Double Murder in Homer, Mich. _ -A Frances I.a Mouehe, or "Frank W illianis,” a handsome young woman of 20 years, who for the most of Ijer life has masqueraded as a boy. died at it hospital in CiiKinnnti of paralysis. The discovery that she was in reality Frances La Mouehe was made when the girl was taken to the hospital. Dressed as a boy. ■she-had-been doing odd jobs as a porter s assistant at the Grand hotel Tor severa l months, until she became sick. A g.rl companion, who shared her room, guarded the secret of her sex. Previous, to working at the hotel the gjrl tried to earn a living by selling boks and canvassing. Her story, told at the hospital, and believed. was that she was the daughter of French people who wese actor*. Her mother is dead and her father was accidentally killed in Chicago during a saloon row in which he was not a participant. For a time Frances attended a boys’ school at Keokuk. lowa, whore she was the premier athlete. The girl was later placed in a Catholic institution near Columbus, but became dissatisfied with the life and ran away to make her own living. She said she wore boys' attire “because it was easier to get along.’ MYSTERY IN DOUBLE DEATH. Hueband and Wife Are Found with Bullet Holes in Bodies. Louis M. Hardy and wife, aged about 40 years, were found dead in bed at Homer, Mich. Each had been shot once In the head and once under the heart. The police are working on a theory of murder, as the position of the bodies seemed to deny the possibility of either the husband or wife having fired the fatal shots. There was no evidence of a struggle, the bodies being carefully covered with bed clothing. The dead mfin is a brother of George Hardy, .who has been for twenty years a life prisoner in the State prison at Jackson. The dead woman was the wife of the convict, but secured a divorce and married the brother after her first husband was imprisoned.

Illinois Man for Public Printer. Oscar J. Ricketts, foreman at the government printing office in Washingington, will be made public printer upon . the retirement of A. W. Palmer. lie is an Illinois man and entered the government office when young. Although Mr. Palmer has not announced when he will retire, it is understood in Washington that he will stop out. 23 Killed in Mine Explosion. Twenty-three miners are supposed to have lost their lives by an explosion in No. 1 shaft of the United States Coal and Coke Company at Wilcoe, W. Va.. and it is possible the number of dead may be much larger. The cause of the explosion, which shattered glass in windows a mile distant, has not been determined. Double Murder and. Suicide. Abe Couch, one of the best known officials in that section, shot and killed Mrs. Dell Patterson, his housekeeper; fatally wounded Mrs. Maude Watts, a woman who was rooming at the house, and then killed himself. Jealoiisy is supposed to have been the cause the trag y. Marries Bedridden Bride. With the bride, unable to leave her bed on account of illness, the Rev. William R. McKim, dean of Christ Episcopal cathedral at Salina. Kan., was married in Little Falls, N. Y.. to Miss Sarah E. Wheeler. The wedding was to have been in Chicago. New Orleans Has'ss,ooo,ooo Fire. The Illinois Central terminals at New Orleans, covering' nearly a mile of river frontage, with fifteen cottages. hundreds of cars and immense quantities of merchandise, were burned, with a loss that may exceed §5,000,000. Decision of North Sea Commission. The North Sea commission in Paris decided that Admiral' Rojestvensky's Baltic fleet was not justified in firing on the Hull trawlers, ami that there were no hostile torpedo boats about at the time. • Tetanus from Tooth Paste. Martha Helms, 10 years old, after suffering intensely from tetanus, is dead ut a New York hospital. Surgeons assert tlrat tlie fatal lockjaw was caused by creosote in u toothache paste. Hot Springs Is Fire Swept. Fire in Hot Springs, Ark., caused the death of three persons and a property loss of more-than Two thousand persons were made homeless. The fashionable hotel section escaped damage. Battle South of Mukden. A battle south of Mukden was caused by an advance on Kouropatkin's part to secure the fords of the Taitse River and resulted iu a disastrous setback, although the Japanese losses were heavy. Men Whistle Hymns. Whistling of hymns by men who can't sing has been introduced in Emmanuel Methodist Church in Evanston, 111. Town Destroyed Third Time. For a third time In two years the entire business section of Lawrenceville, Pa., was destroyed by fire. It is believed that this fire, as well as the two previous ones, watt of incendiary origin. The estimated loss is $50,000. Vardaman Avert* Lynching. Gov. Vardaman prevented a lynching in the State cu.uta) in Jackson, Miss., by forming n provisional regiment ami secretly remoTUig from the jail Stewart Johnson, a negro who had Ix-en identified •a the ilurt df ti.young woman. ,