Shot at Miss Abbott

New York, 1895

Miss Annie Abbott, who lives with her widowed mother in Farmingdale, had a narrow escape from injury Friday evening. She took a lighted lamp into the front room and was drawing the window shades when there was a report of a pistol and a bullet crashed through the window above her head. Only one shot was fired.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 11, 1895, p. 1.

Arresting Three Bears

1916

A great fondness for sweet things not long ago spoiled the vacation plans of three bad bears, who were touring the western coast with their trainer. Though not very dangerous, the bears were full of mischief, and needed careful watching. One day, however, they cleverly escaped from their cage, and made straight for the nearest woods. While the three chose a certain spot in the woods as their headquarters, they did not spend all their time there, but made several foraging raids before they were captured. The people near were filled with terror. The bears' trainer was also worried. They were valuable bears, and he wanted them to come home.

Suddenly a friend remembered one of the tricks the three had often performed together — eating cookies and drinking sweetened water from a bottle. There wasn't anything they liked better than sweetened water, and they never failed to scent it long before it reached them. Perhaps the rogues could be trapped by this same treat; there was no harm in trying it, at any rate.

Loading an automobile with a number of bottles filled with sweetened water, one of the men set off toward the bears' rendezvous. Long before the man was within hailing distance, the three thirsty bears scented the treat in store for them and rolled rapidly up to the car. The man in the car slackened his speed, and the clumsy beasts climbed in, seated themselves, and greedily snatched the bottles they found. The car moved slowly off, and three cheerful prisoners were carried back to their cage. — Kings' Treasuries.

Small Lads Confess Murder

1916

Brothers, Aged 11 and 12, Rob and Shoot a Teacher.

BOISE, Idaho. — Lynn and Harold Lovelace, brothers 11 and 12 years old, have confessed to authorities at Twin Falls, Idaho, that they murdered F. Thomas Hamill, a teacher from Carson, Nev., whose body was found at his ranch recently. The lads, first taken into custody as runaways, were found in possession of Hamill's horse and wagon, pocketbook, provisions and eight guns and a revolver. Both have admitted the killing, which occurred when Hamill surprised them robbing his cabin.

He ordered them away, but they retreated into the house and covered him with his own guns. He parleyed and asked for food, and after they came out Lynn stood guard over him while Harold entered the cabin to get him some bread. Hamill grabbed the younger boy, and Harold then shot him in the head.

The boys then left in the wagon and drove 120 miles over a trackless country in six days, camping out at night. They were headed for Lebanon, Oregon, where they say a grandfather lives. The elder boy is moody and shows no regret, but the younger cries now and then and says he is sorry.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 5.

Insane Man Clings to His Blind Wife

1919

WILL BE RELEASED FROM ASYLUM TO JOIN HER.

Love Keeps Sightless Girl and Mad Husband Together Despite Obstacles Imposed.

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Lying in the Home for Homeless Women, a blind woman smiles. She smiles the smile of expectant motherhood.

In the City Hospital for Mental Diseases, a man smiles. His smile is that of a man about to be freed of the charge of insanity and allowed to return to his blind wife.

Dr. Earl Joseph Vollentine, graduate of Tulane College of Dentistry, will not be returned to the Southwestern Insane Asylum in Texas, if Charles H. Patterson, secretary of the Charity Organization, can prevent it.

Dr. Vollentine, says Secretary Patterson, will be released from the City Hospital for Mental Diseases in time to be near his blind wife when their expected child arrives. Instead of allowing Dr. Vollentine to be returned to the insane asylum in Texas, it is Secretary Patterson's plan to start the little family on their way to Vivian, La., where the husband has been assured work.

Not Dangerously Insane.

In the opinion of Dr. Henry Daspit, of the City Hospital for Mental Diseases, the young husband is not dangerously insane. He is merely the victim of nervous attacks said to have been brought on by overstudy.

And then there is the charge of his blind wife that her husband was sent to a Texas insane asylum by his rich father because the youth dared to marry her.

The story of the blind wife and the alleged mentally deficient husband verges on the dramatic — even melodramatic.

The girl was blinded when a child. One eye was lost when she fell on a pair of scissors. The other was shot out accidentally by the wad from a blank pistol. She was sent to the Blind Institute in Austin, Texas, by her father, of moderate circumstances.

It was while she was visiting her sister in Yoakum, Texas, that the young doctor first saw the helpless blind girl. First it was sympathy. Then it was love.

Marriage Was Annulled.

They were married. Then, says Mrs. Vollentine, her husband's father interfered and had the youth sent to the Southwestern Asylum in Texas, saying that he could be cured of his nervousness in about a month. The marriage was annulled.

The blind child wife waited. Her husband was not released. She grew impatient. So did he. He escaped. They journeyed to Vivian, La., and were remarried.

The husband obtained employment as a boilermaker. They saved money. Then the search for the cure of the wife's blindness began. They came to New Orleans to consult specialists. They applied to Secretary Patterson, of the Charity Organization, for help.

Making no attempt to conceal anything from Secretary Patterson, the young husband informed him that he had escaped from the Texas Insane Asylum.

Ask Return to Asylum.

Learning of the young wife's condition, Secretary Patterson had her sent to the Home for Homeless Women. He communicated with the Texas authorities, who requested that Doctor Vollentine be held until a representative of the asylum arrive to return him.

When informed by Dr. Daspit that young Vollentine's mental deficiency is of a minor nature, Mr. Patterson determined not to allow the young husband to be returned to Texas without a fight.

"If Vollentine refuses to accompany the Texas authorities back to the asylum," said Mr. Patterson, "I do not think they can take him forcibly."

Charges Father Opposes Her.

"My husband is so sympathetic toward the afflicted. It was when I lost the sight of my second eye thru an unfortunate accident that he was drawn toward me. He read in the papers how I completely lost my sight and told my sister he would like to know me.

"He was so kind and attentive that I loved him. We married — and then his father interfered. They tore him from me; sent him to an insane asylum and left me helpless. My husband was determined. He escaped. As our marriage had been annulled, we remarried and made our way to Vivian, Where my husband was employed.

"When we saved a little money my husband insisted that we go to New Orleans so my eyes could be treated. We came and then came our present trouble. But thank God there seems to be a silver lining to our dark cloud. He will be released. Our baby will be born and then we will go back to Vivian and happiness."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 11.

Note: Dr. Daspit's name in the first instance (in the original newspaper printing) was spelled "Despit." But the correct spelling is Daspit. He's referred to in books at Google Books, and was working at the City Hospital for Mental Diseases just as in this article.

Rats Lured Into Traps by Rodent Leader Who Acts as "Pied Piper"

1919

SHERMAN, Texas. — Sherman's Pied Piper, an aged, bewhiskered and tailless rodent, is no more. A frisky terrier, unaware of the importance of the tailless wonder, pounced upon him one day this week as he was leaving a trap where he had led hundreds of rats to their doom, and brought his useful career to an untimely end. And Sherman folks are sad. They feel like wearing mourning. Meanwhile rats which have infested the city have become "leery" of traps and are multiplying.

It was several weeks ago that the rat killing campaign was begun here. They were trapped by the hundreds. The killing was done by dogs assembled about the traps to pounce upon the captured rodents as they were turned out. One day what appeared to be the "daddy of all the rats" was found in one of the traps. One of the wise citizens suggested that this rodent's tail be amputated. He declared the old rat was the leader of the others and that his pride in leadership would make him leave the city. when his long tail was cropped off.

The operation was performed and the old rat turned loose, and admonished to leave the city.

But did he? Not much. The following morning the old rascal was found in one of the traps with forty others. The others were killed and the "leader" turned loose again. The following day he was back in the traps with more than a score of others. This continued from day to day. The people began to believe they would soon have the rats exterminated.

But the unusual happened. One morning this week in letting the captured rats out of a trap the "daddy" rat ran out with them. The terrier failed to recognize the "leader" and leaped upon him. Before any assistance could be given the old rat was killed. Since that time but few rats have been found in the big municipal rat trap.



Bullet Knocks His Hat Off

POTTSTOWN, Pa. — Only by the narrowest margin, John Stoudt, conductor on a trolley line, missed death when a bullet passed thru the number plate on his cap and knocked off his headgear. It is thought the bullet was fired by a would-be robber, who was scared off by the arrival of night-shift men.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 5.

Bold Pirates Attack Ships Near Mexico

1920

Modern Red Rovers Recall Days of Captain Kidd — U. S. May Act to End Ravages

Buccaneers and pirates are swarming in the Pacific off the west coast of Mexico — freebooters in high leather boots, who swear terrible oaths and carry huge swords. Just as if they had stepped out of the pages of story books or had come to life again from the days of Captain Kidd, these marine highwaymen are waging their nefarious trade much as did the pirates of the old Spanish Main. From Mazatlan the Mexican government has dispatched a naval expedition equipped for two months' service and which it is hoped will be able to rout the outlaws.

From time to time into the ports on the Pacific coast of the United States, in the places where sailormen gather, there have come rumors of these bands of pirates. Mostly they have been put down to overindulgence in forbidden liquor or a desire to shine in the spotlight with wild and improbable tales. But now the discovery has been made that these pirates actually are infesting the seas and the stories that once were sneered at or dismissed with a pitying smile are avidly listened to.

Small Vessels Their Victims

In wild and almost inaccessible caves on the lonely islands off the Mexican coast these buccaneers have their hiding places. Tramp steamers, coastwise trading vessels and sailing ships with small crews are their victims. They appear at the break of dawn, sail boldly up to their prey, swarm over the sides, battle the crews and loot the ships. Then they sail away with their holds loaded with booty, to hide it in their caves until a favorable opportunity presents itself to smuggle the loot into the United States at some lonely point on the coast or into one of the less usually watched parts.

Who are these men and where do they come from? They do not seem to belong to any one nationality. Americans, Europeans, Mexicans, a Jap and a Chinese or two — these make up the motley crew of the pirate ships, according to J. C. Robinson, who recently arrived at San Francisco, Cal., with a thrilling tale of his capture and his adventures at the hiding place of the gang.

Pirates Overcame Crew

"They took me off the sailing ship Marie Penman," says Robinson. "I had stood my watch and was in my bunk in the forecastle. I learned afterward there had been a battle on deck and that the pirates had overcome the crew, but I was so tired I didn't hear any of the noise of the scuffle. The first I knew was when I was roughly shaken and awoke to find a pirate holding me by the shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and believed that I was dreaming, because he looked just like the pirates of whom I had read in my boyhood days. But I quickly saw that it was no dream, for I was jerked to my feet and ordered on deck.

"There the pirate chief, a big, black-mustached man who wore big boots to above his knees, carried a huge cutlass and swore the most blood-curdling oaths, put me to work helping transfer some of our cargo to the pirate ship. I was frightened and I worked hard, and when the pirates left they took me with them. Why I do not know.

"A day or two later we made port in a lonely island. I haven't the least idea where it was. The pirate ship just sailed straight toward it, and just when I was beginning to think that we were going to bump square into a huge cliff an opening appeared and our ship twisted through it into a little bay. Back in the edge of the hills, a half mile from the sandy shore where we landed the cargo, there was quite a settlement of these pirates. Evidently the ship which had attacked the Marie Penman was only one of several pirate vessels.

U. S. May Take Action

"They didn't pay much attention to me — just let me run around and do what I wanted to. I heard a lot of their plans, ate with them, slept with them and it seemed they had forgotten I did not belong to the band. When the chief who had captured me sailed away the next time he took me along. We raided a small schooner, and when the pirate ship was leaving I managed to remain aboard the schooner, upon which I worked my way back to a port in Lower California, from which I worked my way to Frisco." Robinson has been asked to tell his story to Navy officials, who say that if such a pirate nest exists the United States may take a hand in helping to wipe it out.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1900, p. 1.

A Leaky Reservoir — What NOT To Do When Fishing

1900

How the Heart of the Disciple of Izaak Walton Was Saddened

"These gloomy days," said an old citizen, "recall a gloomy day when I was a boy and went fishing in a famous creek not far from my home. It was a well stocked creek. There were bass in it and shiners as big as a man's hand, and quite a lot of whitefish that would run a pound or a pound and a half, perhaps.

"I got out my tackle on this particular gloomy day and went down to the creek. It was a muggy day and a warm rain fell from time to time in light showers. I found my favorite pool and set to work. By George! I never had such luck! It seemed as if those fish were waiting in shoals to seize my hook. I yanked them up as fast as I could bait my hook and throw in, and they came out so fast that I couldn't spare the time to string them.

"I looked around. Some eight or ten feet from the stream was quite a good-sized round hole full of water. A heavy rain the night before had filled it up and it must have contained a couple of pails. A happy thought prompted me to toss my captured fish into this receptacle. I fished and fished until I was actually tired of the sport, and then as it came on to rain harder I thought I would quit and tote home the biggest catch of the season.

"I rolled up the line on the pole and drew from my pocket the stringing string. Then I went to my little pool of captives and, by George! there wasn't a fish in it! No, sir; not one! You see, it was a muskrat's hole and there was a tunnel reaching from it to the creek, and every fish I caught had wriggled through this opening back to his native lair. There was no help for it. I stared at the hole and I started back at the creek and then as the rain began to come down harder, I reluctantly turned away and trudged home a wiser, though a sadder boy." — Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Slain By Naked Maniac

Iowa, 1900

James Fitzsimmons Dead, Three Others Injured

Cedar Rapids dispatch: Charles Mefford, a maniac, at 5 o'clock a.m. killed James Fitzsimmons, fatally injured John Drake, seriously and possibly fatally injured Mrs. James Fitzsimmons and then ended his own life.

Mefford was 20 years old and had been insane for a number of years. Two years ago he was in the Independence asylum for a short time, but escaped and was never returned. He was not generally considered dangerous. Saturday night about ten o'clock, while clad in nothing but a shirt, he darted out of his home, a raving maniac. He was seen two or three times between then and midnight, but the police failed to find him.

Shortly before 5 o'clock Reginald Andrews, the janitor at the Old Ladies' Home was awakened by crashing glass. The next moment Mefford stood before him. stark naked, swinging a neck yoke. He warned Andrews that his time had come and swung the neck yoke in an effort to brain him. The latter dodged and grabbed the weapon, threw Mefford on the bed and choked him until he begged for mercy.

Then Andrews agreed to give him a bath, a suit of clothes and some breakfast, which apparently satisfied him. Rushing through the house, Andrews locked the twelve or fourteen old ladies in their rooms, notified the police by telephone, and then ran across the street, to the home of Joseph Drake for assistance.

Drake dressed, picked up a revolver, and they started out. As they did so Mefford, carrying an ax, was seen to plunge through a window in the home of James Fitzsimmons, about 150 yards away. As he entered the room Mrs. Fitzsimmons uttered a scream. Mefford swung the ax and brought it down toward her head. Her uplifted arm saved her life; the arm was broken in two places and she sustained a serious scalp wound. Mr. Fitzsimmons hurried to the aid of his wife and his skull was crushed with the ax, death resulting immediately.

The maniac then rushed into the room of Miss Katie, who escaped with a few scalp wounds. Starting down stairs he was met by Drake who snapped his revolver four times at the madman, each time upon an empty shell. Mefford grabbed the revolver, ran a few blocks and killed himself with the one load the revolver contained.

—Humeston New Era, Humeston, Iowa, July 4, 1900.

She Stops Traffic To Light Her "Fag"

March 1920

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Street car traffic on a busy street was tied up while a young woman smoked a cigarette. It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't chosen to sit down on the street car track and light her "fag." She made matters worse when, after an argument with an angry motorman, she blandly asked him for a match to light a second cigarette.

Dick Allen, former policeman, removed the young woman from the track and escorted her to the police station.

"You're stewed," remarked the booking clerk.

"You tell 'em; I stutter," she said, as she was led away to the matron's room to sober up.


Inmates of Jail Escape

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Sheriff W. T. Baker woke on a recent morning to find the county jail empty. Some time after midnight the eight prisoners sawed and cut their way to liberty.


New Electric Dental Engine

A new electric dental engine runs on either direct or alternating current or on that supplied by dry batteries where no other supple of electricity is available.

Crime Time — Burglary, Reckless Riding, A Mysterious Call

Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1908

BURGLAR WAS A JACK-IN-BOX

Leaps Through Trap Door and Scares Servant Girl

Startled by seeing a man jump through the outside trap door of the furnace room a servant girl in the home of J. E. Wallace, 315 Oakland avenue, rushed up stairs Monday evening, and informed Mr. Wallace that there had been a burglar in the house.

Mr. Wallace reported the matter to the police, but the girl was able to give only a meager description of the man. She had gone down into the furnace room about 8:30 o'clock, and her sudden appearance startled the intruder, putting him to flight.

Harry Taylor and Renos Anderson, 19 and 16 years of age, were arraigned before Judge Snyder yesterday on the charge of fast and reckless riding. The case was continued until April 10 and the boys were released on good behavior, under orders from the court to appear on that date and give an account of themselves.

The boys were stopped by Deputy Marshal Crum in the midst of a race down Vine street, from First street to the police station, where they were taken in custody and later released on their own recognizance.

The hearing of the case of William Frisbie and George Drummond, charged by William Van Brunt with larceny, occupied considerable time before Judge Snyder, but the court held that while the evidence was strong, it was not sufficient to warrant their being bound over to the grand jury.

Frisbie refused to tell to whom he telephoned until pressed by the court, when he said he had called his home through a neighbor, not caring to call his own number for family reasons. He gave the number he had called to Deputy Marshal Crum, who inquired of the family whether Frisbie had called there, receiving a negative answer. Frisbie explained this by saying that he had not thought the people would care to answer for fear of being dragged into the family differences.

—The Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa, March 11, 1908, p. 5.

Decatur Doctor Caught Digging Up Negro Cadaver

Illinois, 1879

BODY SNATCHING.

A Decatur Doctor After a Negro Cadaver

His Operations Brought to a Sudden Conclusion.

The Decaturites are all worked up over a body snatching affair that occurred last Friday night. A prominent Decatur physician is implicated in the affair, and if he shows up the Decatur folks promise him an anti-cordial reception.

It seems that the above mentioned physician wanted to increase his knowledge of the human frame, and with this end in view he climbed the fence of a Decatur graveyard, having in his possession those necessary grave-robbing instruments, a pick and shovel. Strange to say this son of Esculapius seems to have a horror for the Caucasians. The reason of this is not known, but it is thought that Caucasian "stiffs" do not "pan out" as well as those of other races, therefore he concluded to get a "subject" of the African persuasion.

Having arrived at this conclusion he wended his way toward the "last resting place" of a recently "planted" negro. As soon as the grave was reached he unslung his pick and immediately began to delve into the newly made grave. He worked away with a will, and he was just stooping to raise the lid of the coffin when the deep stillness of the night was broken by the loud report of what seemed to him about seventeen cannons. The bullets flew past his cranium and buried themselves in the earth a few feet beyond him. The perspiration started in great beads to his forehead, and dropping his pick and shovel he precipitately fled. Scaling the graveyard fence, he took a short cut for his stable. Arriving there he immediately hitched his horse to a buggy, and in less time than it takes to "blow up a safe" he was driving across the country at a "Sleepy Tom" gait, and no tidings of his whereabouts have been received up to this writing.

The names of all parties are reserved, as it is thought that there will be further developments made.

—Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN, Aug. 19, 1879, p. 4.

The Fall of Miss Minnie B. Werner, Chicago, 1916

1916

Girl Will Live

CHICAGO, Jan. 25. — St. Luke hospital attendants announced today that Miss Minnie Werner, the stenographer who yesterday plunged sixteen stories from a window of a loop skyscraper, may recover fully from her injuries. An auto-truck load of cardboard boxes broke her fall.

—La Crosse Tribune, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Jan. 25, 1916, p. 5.


"I Must Be Hard to Kill"

These Are Words of Girl Who Fell Sixteen Stories

Chicago, Jan. 26 — Miss Minnie B. Werner, who fell sixteen stories from a window of the Transportation building last Monday, recovered consciousness today.

Her first words were: "I must be hard to kill."

—St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 27, 1916, p. 1.


She Things She is Hard to Kill

Chicago, Jan. 26. — "I must be hard to kill," was the comment of Minnie B. Werner when she recovered consciousness at St. Luke's hospital and heard how she had fallen sixteen stories to the netting of an auto truck.

Miss Werner, who is 22 years old and lives at 2417 North Washington, sustained a broken shoulder bone and possibly internal injuries. Physicians say she has an excellent chance to recover.

Elsie Werner, a sister, said she fell by accident, although the police were inclined to think that Miss Werner jumped intentionally.

—The Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, Jan. 26, 1916, p. 10.


Excerpt from article called "Escapes a Matter of Luck," originally from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

She escaped with a broken shoulder and a few bruises.

She worked as a stenographer for a publication concern in the Transportation Building, 608 South Dearborn street, Chicago.

One day, about three weeks ago, she complained of being ill and left the office. An elevator took her to the sixteenth floor where there is a rest room for women. From the time she left the elevator until she was picked up, broken and unconscious, no person seems to have seen her. Whether she had leaped or fallen could not be determined until she herself was able to tell about it and then she said she fell.

From the window of the rest room to the ground is a distance of about 200 feet and Miss Werner fell headlong. That she was saved from destruction was due to a queer freak of chance. The driver of a big truck, laden with paper boxes, had stopped under the window. She fell among the boxes and they broke her fall.

When she was picked up after the fall a policeman rushed up and asked if she had leaped. "I fell," she said, although at that moment she seemed actually unconscious. As soon as she could talk intelligently about the matter her sister, Edith, asked her to tell how it happened.

"I did not intend to jump," she said. "I felt dizzy and went upstairs to the rest room. When I got there I couldn't make out the details of my surroundings. I went to the window for air. The next thing I knew was when I felt myself falling."

Then she told of how she found herself plunging, head down, toward the earth. Although she could have been in the air only a few seconds at most, so rapidly was her mind working, that it seemed almost an eternity. Her memory divides the period into two distinct phases, the first of which is clear and accurate in detail; and the second obscure and uncertain. She seemed to have a curious, detached feeling, as if if were not she but another who was falling, a sensation not uncommon in dreams.

Her first impression was that she was suffering a nightmare in which one imagines himself falling through infinite space. She felt that sickening faintness persons frequently feel when an elevator unexpectedly starts downward. Her chest felt compressed, as if inclosed with bands which were squeezing out all the air. The air seemed to pluck at her eyelids as if about to tear them away. There was a ringing in her ears and her body tingled all over.

She realized that she was perfectly conscious — able to stream. She idly wondered if she could move her fingers. She tried and found she could. And then came the realization of what it all meant. She was in full possession of all her faculties and yet she couldn't avert the disaster that lay below.

Then she passed into the second stage. The speed of her fall was accelerated. Now she did not seem to be falling. Instead she was caught in the midst of a canyon and the earth was rushing up to meet her. Where the buildings had been were nothing but white streaks and below them was the black street. She had a hazy impression that she was all right, but that the world had suddenly been turned upside down. Then the white streak and the black merged into one vast chasm of blackness. Apparently she never saw the truck before she struck it. Her fall carried its load of papers with her to the street and a few minutes later she was pulled from the wreckage.

—The Washington Post, March 12, 1916, p. 1, Miscellany Section.


Girl Who Fell Sixteen Floors Ready to Work

CHICAGO, Ill., March 13 — Miss Minnie Werner, the stenographer, who ten weeks ago fell out of a sixteen story window of the Transportation building, will be back to work in a week, it was learned on Sunday.

Miss Werner fell into a truck load of paper boxes, and her most serious injury was a badly fractured arm.

"If you ever had a dream that you fell out of the mountain you know something of what my experience was like," said the young woman. "Any way it shows that the popular idea that a person dies after falling a hundred feet is not true."

—The Racine Journal-News, Racine, Wisconsin, March 13, 1916, p. 2.

She's Worth $1,000 a Pound

1909

She's Worth $1,000 a Lb.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Because she was jilted and lost twenty-five pounds weight in consequence, Miss Luella Lowstetter wants $25,000 damages — $1,000 for each pound lost. She is a school teacher of the fashionable suburb of Sheraden. Her suit is against Prof. Earl W. Reed, principal of the school. Miss Lowstetter asserts that Professor Reed jilted her in a most humiliating fashion after she had agreed to marry him and had got her trousseau ready. She and her attorney said in court today that she lost at least twenty five pounds owing to worry over her jilting, and that the wedding clothes would not fit her now.


Eskimo Is a Cannibal

ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland — Tragedy in the far North formed the burden of the news brought to port by the Hudson Bay Company's steamship Adventure, which arrived with the crew of the lost Dundee whaler Paradox. The crew told of an Eskimo, who driven to cannibalism by starvation, ate his child and after shooting several neighbors who attempted summary punishment, fled into the trackless wilderness of ice.


Tramp Heir to $25,000

William Close, who ran away from his Baltimore home when he was 16 years old, was found — a typical tramp — in a lodging house in Chicago Thursday night and informed that he had fallen heir to a fortune of $25,000 left him by his father. The next morning he started for Baltimore with Attorney J. D. Goldboro of that city, who has been searching for the prodigal for two years. Close, attired in a new suit of clothes, bathed and barbered, ascribed all his troubles to drink and declared he was determined to reform.

Breaks From Jail; His 180th Escape

1920

Notorious Roy Dickerson Is Again At Large

Alleged Ring Leader of Gang Which Looted Bank at Girard, Ala., Defies Prison Bars

LOS ANGELES, Cal. — Roy Dickerson, charged with aiding in the robbery of a bank at Girard, Ala., made what is said to have been his 180th escape from jail here, when he used a crude key on his cell lock in the city prison, climbed up a ventilator shaft and fled.

Dickerson's wife, who is in jail here, said her husband formerly was a vaudeville performer, making a specialty of freeing himself from handcuffs and other restraints. She told the police he had escaped 180 times and that he never had been imprisoned successfully longer than two months.

Dickerson's cell mate was found asleep after the escape. He told the guards he had not heard Dickerson's movements.

Had Escaped From Atlanta Pen

Dickerson was the alleged leader of a band of bandits who were involved in the looting of the Phoenix-Girard bank of Girard, Ala., and obtaining about $30,000 in cash. He had previously made his escape from the Fulton County penitentiary, in Atlanta, Ga., along with three other inmates.

The gang, after making the raid on the Girard bank, it is claimed, scattered and met in St. Louis for a division of the spoils. Subsequently detective shadowing the bandits arrested Dickerson here, who, with his wife, was living in a twenty-four-apartment house that they had purchased.

They were going under the name of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lynch.

The sum of $10,000, supposed to have been a part of the bank robbery loot, was recovered by the detectives. They had an equity of $8,000 in the apartment house.

Charge Wife Aided in Escape

Detectives declare that Dickerson had been in the penitentiary several times before in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas, and that he had made his escape each time through the aid of his wife. When Dickerson escaped from the penitentiary in Atlanta his wife was living in a hotel in that city.

After the meeting of the bandits in St. Louis the various members of the band were shadowed and the apprehension of many of them was effected. Seven of the gang were taken at different parts of the United States.

Dickerson's wife was seen in St. Louis by detectives and the pair were traced to this city. Waiting for an opportunity to take the pair and get the money at the same time, they continued shadowing Mrs. Dickerson and they were taken about two weeks ago in their apartment house here.

Housemaid Stabbed by Enraged Suitor

1920

Assault Follows Her Refusal to Attend Movie Show

BOSTON, Mass. — Agnes Logan, 24, a maid in the home of A. Glouchester Armstrong, Back Bay resident, was taken to the City Hospital suffering from multiple stab wounds which it is alleged she received when she was set upon by a male escort who became enraged when she refused to attend a moving picture show with him.

The girl, who is not fatally wounded, says she left the Armstrong home through the servants' entrance, which is on a public alleyway in the rear of the house. She met a man who wanted her to go to the "movies," but she refused to go.

It is claimed the man then drew a small penknife from his pocket and stabbed the girl in the neck, narrowing missing the jugular vein, and also stabbed her in the abdomen. Miss Logan tried to fight off her assailant and in the mix-up which followed he stabbed her several times in the hands. He then escaped through the alleyway.

Highwayman, Dressed as Woman, Aids in Hold-Up

Washington, D.C., 1913

Two highwaymen, one attired as a stylish young woman, held up John McLain of 1108 Florida Northeast, he told the police of the Ninth precinct the other night, and at the point of a revolver demanded his cash and jewelry.

McLain was going to his home, when he was accosted at Montello avenue and Morse street Northeast by two men, one dressed in woman's clothes. Both had their faces smeared with lampblack. The one in man's clothes pointed a revolver at McLain, and demanded his money. He only had 26 cents, so the highwayman took that, and pointing his revolver at McLain told him to "beat it." McLain did.

Hastily turning a corner, he met Policeman Steele about to mount the steps of the Ninth precinct station. "There's a couple of hold-ups down the street," he yelled at Steele. The bluecoat spied the pair about four blocks away and started after them on the double-quick. The two heard his footsteps and vanished around a corner. No more was seen of them.

Before they disappeared, however, Policeman Steele saw the "woman" pick up "her" skirts and do 100 yards in about ten flat. Underneath the skirts "she" had on a serviceable pair of trousers.

McLain expressed doubt as to his ability to identify the pair should they be arrested. He said the lampblack they had on their faces made it difficult to remember their features, in addition, the beskirted member of the team had on a heavy veil.

A blue broadcloth suit, furs and muff, tan shoes, and a big black picture hat comprised the attire of the one who masqueraded as a woman. The police are wondering just what the game was.

—Syndicated feature article


ROBBER WAS IN SKIRTS

With Companion, He Gets Enormous Sum of 25 Cents.

SO MR M'LAIN REPORTS

Two Masquerading Youths Lead Policeman a Merry Chase — Quarry Lost in Alley — "Highwayman" Stumbles Over His Skirts — "Victim" Is Employed in One of the Government Departments.

Held up, the police say, at the point of a revolver by two white youths with blackened faces, one dressed as a woman and wearing a heavy black veil, John McLain, of 1108 Florida avenue northeast, late last night gave up 25 cents under threat of death at Montello avenue and Morse street northeast. McLain had more money in his pocket, but told the alleged robbers that that was all he had.

Passing by the corner a few moments later, Policeman Steele, of the Ninth precinct, was hurriedly told of the robbery by McLain, and gave chase. They were less than a block away. Hearing him coming, he said last night, the one dressed as a woman picked up his dresses and both ran quickly away.

Gathered His Skirts and Ran.

Policeman Steele threatened to shoot, but the two continued running and dodged up one street and down another, After following them for about four blocks, they evaded the policeman in an alley, and he was forced to abandon the chase.

McLain, who is employed in one of the government departments and is 24 years old, told the policeman he was sure both of the young men were white and not more than 21 years old. He plainly saw the blacking on their faces, he declared. The one dressed as a woman stumbled over his dress several times, he said.

McLain was returning to his home shortly after 11 o'clock, he said, when he noticed what appeared to be a negro man and woman approaching him. He paid little attention to them until they got within a few feet of him, and then the one dressed as a man suddenly whipped out a revolver and shoved it in his face. "Give us all the money you have or I will kill you," McLain said the one dressed as a man muttered, as though trying to disguise his voice. The other one, he said, told him to hurry up in a voice distinctly masculine.

Gave "Highwaymen" 25 Cents.

Fearing that the man would enforce his demand, McLain said he took 25 cents out of his pocket and handed it to the one dressed as a woman and told the pair that he had nothing else valuable. The sound of an approaching man frightened the "highwaymen" at this time, and they took the quarter and hurried away, he said.

Policeman Steele had just left his home and was on the way to the Ninth precinct police station to begin his night's work. Seeing the policeman, McLain rushed up to him and told him of the robbery, pointing out the two forms rapidly disappearing into the darkness along Montello avenue.

Followed by McLain, the policeman rushed after the couple. He had gone only a few steps when they began running, evidently having heard his approach. They went a block on Montello avenue, and the policeman was rapidly gaining on them. Then the one masquerading as a woman picked up his skirts about his waist, and both began running faster.

Decided Not to Shoot.

Policeman Steele blew his whistle as he ran, but got no response. He also called to the couple that he would shoot unless they stopped, but they only ran faster. He did not actually fire.

Returning to the Ninth precinct police station, Policeman Steele sent out a general lookout for the two robbers, but up to a late hour last night no further trace of them had been found.

McLain described the two as being both young and smooth-faced. The one dressed as a woman was entirely in black, and had on a black veil, he said. The other was dressed in a dark suit and slouch hat.

—The Washington Post, January 13, 1913, page 3.

Resourceful Prisoner, 'Jumbo' Carlson, Escapes Moline Jail

Rock Island County, Illinois, 1903

PLANS HIS ESCAPE FROM JAIL BUT IS CAPTURED

While Incarcerated In the Rock Island County Jail He Makes a Key From a Comb and Unlocks Leg Irons By Which He Is Bound, Runs Away But Is Discovered As He Leaves Jail and Landed After Hot Chase

"Jumbo" Carlson, the well known Moline character, who has been spending most of his time of late in the Rock Island county jail on some charge or other, yesterday attempted his second jail delivery within a period of a few months. He was less successful than on the former occasion, however, being recaptured by Sheriff Heider after a chase of a few blocks and is now back in jail, where he will be kept in close confinement.

Carlson is in for vagrancy and he was sent from Moline early in the winter for a period of six months. He still has four months to serve. Soon after he had been committed he scaled the wall of the workhouse where he had been set to crack rock and got away. The weather being very cold, however, he returned to his old haunts, and was recaptured at the end of a week.

The approach of spring seems to have stirred within him during the past few days a renewed desire for liberty and he exercised considerable ingenuity in his unsuccessful attempt to regain it. Since being brought back after his former attempt he has not been allowed outside of the grated bars without a "leg iron" attached to him to handicap him in the event that he attempted to run away.

From seeing the iron put on and taken off by his guard Carlson he became familiar with the shape of the key and he decided to make one for his own private use. So he obtained an aluminum comb and with patience that would be commendable in a worthier cause he rubbed it on the stones of the prison till he had gotten it in shape, finishing the operation with a sharp piece of steel that he appears to have taken from the sole of a shoe.

At noon yesterday he was taken out into the jail yard ironed as usual, and getting out of sight he used his key to free himself and then ran back through the kitchen, raising a window and getting out on the street.

He might have escaped had it not been for the fact that he was noticed by boys as he ran away from the jail and a crowd was quickly in pursuit. He wound back and forth and tried to dodge out of sight, but to no avail. Finally he wound up in David Don's barn between Second and Third avenues on Thirteenth street, where Sheriff Heider, who had joined the pursuit, effected his recapture.

—Davenport Daily Republican, Davenport, Iowa, March 14, 1903, page 6.

Dr. Livingstone's Ordeal — Attacked By A Crazed Lion

1895

Incident of One of Dr. Livingstone's Exploring Expeditions In Africa

One of the most famous encounters with a lion, from which the chief actor escaped and was able to relate full particulars, is that recorded in the life of Dr. Livingstone. "I meant," he says, "to have kept it to tell to my children in my dotage," but friends considered it so marvelous that he was persuaded to relate it in his first book. The testimony of such a man is far more valuable than accounts of the average sportsman and traveler, and the story in Dr. Livingstone's own words has become one of the classics of the English language. It is as follows:

"The Bakatia of the village of Mabosta were troubled by lions which leaped into the cattle pens by night and destroyed their cows. They even attacked the herds in open day. This was so unusual an occurrence that the people believed themselves to be bewitched, 'given,' as they said, 'into the power of the lions by a neighboring tribe.' They went once to attack the animals, but going rather cowardly in comparison with the Bechunas in general they returned without slaying any.

"It is well known that if one in a troop of lions is killed the remainder leave that part of the country. The next time, therefore, the herds were attacked I went with the people to encourage them to rid themselves of the annoyance by destroying one of the marauders. We found the animals on a small hill covered with trees. The men formed round it in a circle and gradually closed up as they advanced. Being below on the plain with a native schoolmaster named Mabalwe, I saw one of the lions sitting on a piece of rock within the ring. Mabalwe fired at him and the ball hit the rock on which the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him; and then leaping away, broke through the circle and escaped unhurt. If the Bakatia had acted according to the custom of the country they would have speared him in his attempt to get out, but they were afraid to attack him. When the circle was re-formed we saw two other lions in it, but dared not fire lest we should shoot some of the people. The beasts burst through the line, and, as it was evident the men could not be prevailed upon to face their foes, we bent our footsteps toward the village. In going round the end of the hill I saw a lion sitting on a piece of rock, about thirty yards off with a little bush in front of him. I took a good aim at him through the bush and fired both barrels into it. The men called out, 'he is shot, he is shot!' Others cried, 'he has been shot by another man, too; let us go to him!' I saw the lion's tail erected in anger, and, turning to the people, said: 'Stop a little till I load again.' While in the act of ramming down the bullets, I heard a shout, and, looking half around, I saw the lion in the act of springing upon me. He caught me by the shoulder and we both came to the ground together. Growling horribly, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first grip of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though I was quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe — they see the operation, but do not feel the knife. This placidity is probably produced in all animals killed by the carnivora; and, if so, is a merciful provision of the Creator for lessening the pain of death. As he had one paw on the back of my head, I turned round to relieve myself of the weight, and saw his eyes directed at Mabalwe, who was aiming at him from a distance of ten or fifteen yards. His gun, which was a flint one, missed fire in both barrels. The animal immediately left me to attack him and bit his thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved after he had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion, upon which he turned from Mabalwe and seized this fresh foe by the shoulder. At that moment the bullets the beast had received took effect and he fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been his paroxysm of dying rage. In order to take out the charm from him the Bakatia on the following day made a huge bonfire over the carcass, which was declared to be the largest ever seen. Besides crunching the bones into splinters, eleven of his teeth had penetrated the upper part of my arm. The bite of a lion resembles a gunshot wound. It is generally followed by a great deal of sloughing and discharge, and ever afterward pains are felt periodically in the part. I had on a tartan jacket, which I believe wiped off the virus from the teeth that pierced the flesh, for my two companions in the affray have both suffered from the usual pains, while I have escaped with only the inconvenience of a false joint in my limb. The wound of the man who was bit in the shoulder actually burst forth afresh on the same month of the following year. This curious point deserves the attention of inquirers." — Chicago Chronicle.

Hoboes Start "Wild West"; Capture Train

1920

Hoboes Start "Wild West"

Deputies Have Exciting Chase After Seven Tramps Who Refuse to Pay Fare

LOS ANGELES, Neb. 25.—After a day of "Wild West" activity, started by the report that a gang of hobos had held up and "captured" a Southern Pacific freight train outside of Mojave, and a series of gun plays and thrilling automobile chases by officers, seven men were lodged in the county jail on the charge of evading railroad fare.

The seven were nabbed by deputy sheriffs after they left the freight train at Saugus. Three of the seven jumped from the train before it arrived at the station, and made a temporary escape by boarding a passing truck. They were chased by the officers to San Fernando, and there taken into custody at the point of sawed-off shotguns.

At least twenty men were in the gang when the brakeman of the train, W. S. Brown of Los Angeles, discovered them, he told Deputy Sheriffs Bell and Couts. Just before the train arrived in Saugus the majority of the gang, which included armed men, became suspicious of the reception that awaited them there, and boarded a freight train bound in the opposite direction.

The men refused to leave, and, when he threatened to put them off, offered resistance.

"You just try to put us off," one of the bunch called out, pulling a revolver from his pocket. Another gun was flashed, and then the brakeman was told that the train was "captured," and informed that he'd better go on to Los Angeles, the officers say.

An account of the situation was telegraphed to Los Angeles, and the Sheriff's office was notified, Deputies Couts and Bell were called from their homes and with Driver Arthur Cabbage were sent ahead to Saugus to meet the train.

The deputies nearly lost their prisoners when the county car, speeding toward Saugus, broke down a few miles from its destination. A passing automobile had to be commandeered, and the officers arrived in Saugus just in time to organize a posse.

With Constable Collins and the volunteers the officers "covered" the train when it pulled into the station, and told the men on it "to stick 'em up." Only four hobos came out of their hiding places, hands high up in the air. The officers realized that several had escaped, and soon learned that some of the gang boarded a truck a few miles outside of Saugus.

It was then that a second chase was started. The truck was overtaken near San Fernando and the three men on it taken into custody. The seven prisoners will be held for further investigation.

—The Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily News, Lincoln, Nebraska, February 25, 1920, page 3.

Undertaker Locked in Tomb With Many Corpses

1920

Locked in Tomb With Many Corpses, Undertaker Has Thrilling Half Hour

MILFORD, Mass. — Locked in a tomb with a score of corpses about, in a cemetery far removed from habitation and almost submerged in snow and ice, and without any apparent means of escape, was the horrifying experience of Walter W. Watson, a local undertaker.

For nearly half an hour, alternately shouting in a desperate but vain effort to attract help and trying with an iron bar to pry open the tomb door, Mr. Watson said he was confronted with a situation that sorely tried his soul and gave him a thrill whose memory will always stay with him.

It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon when Mr. Watson went to the receiving tomb in Vernon Grove Cemetery. He had to work in the chamber for some little time, and thought to draw the door nearly to its fastenings, the better to be protected from the cold. To draw the heavy door over the blocking ice he threw all his strength into the pull, and to his amazement the door closed and the strong latch fell into its catch.

Watson looked about for means to force the door. When he espied a heavy iron bar he thought luck was with him. But all his efforts failed to stir open the door. Vigorously he applied the iron bar, but to no avail. Then he shouted through a 10-inch-wide ventilator in the rear of the vault. The only answer that came to him was the echo of his own voice.

With hope abandoned from this quarter, Watson determined to force his body through the small opening in the wall. A stout, well-built man, he has much difficulty in driving his shoulder through the ventilator. But persistent effort finally, after a labor of about thirty minutes, brought him safely to the outside of the tomb.

"Not for all the money in the movies would I again go through such an experience' said Mr. Watson when his thrilling experience became known to his fellow citizens.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, March 20, 1920, page 1.