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| James Hardin Younger. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, October 20, 1902.
JAMES YOUNGER SUICIDED.
Was Paroled Last Year After 25 Years in Prison.
St. Paul, Oct. 20.—James Younger, formerly a member of the notorious James band of outlaws which infested the Western country a quarter of a century ago, committed suicide Sunday by shooting.
He left a letter to the press in which he gives as a reason for his act despondency over continued ill health and separation from his friends.
Death is supposed to have occurred early in the morning. The door of his room was broken in and his dead body was found stretched on the floor beside the bed, a revolver in the right hand.
Younger since his parole from the state prison has led an exemplary life. His first employment was as traveling agent for a tombstone dealer and on one of the trips he made about the state he was seriously hurt by a fall from a wagon. Old wounds also gave him much trouble and although he obtained lighter employment his health was precarious and this caused him much worry. He was 54 years of age.
On a bureau in the room was found a long manila envelope on one side of which was written:
"To all that is good and true I love and bid farewell.
"Jim Younger."
On the other side of the envelope were these words:
"Oh, Lassie, good bye. All relatives, just stay away from me. No crocodile tears wanted. Reporters, be my friends. Burn me up.
"Jim Younger."
The envelope contained a package of letters that had passed between Younger and a lady with whom he is said to have been much in love. The lady, who is prominently connected, is said to have reciprocated his affection.
Younger was the youngest of three brothers, Robert, Coleman and James, who gained great notoriety through their association with Jesse and Frank James. The band headed by Jesse James was charged with almost innumerable robberies of banks and railroad trains, in the execution of which many desperate encounters took place and many men were killed. They entered the State of Minnesota in 1876 and committed many depredations, being finally run down and captured.
The three brothers were brought to trial and November 21, 1876, pleaded guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree, this plea, it is said, having been entered to avoid the infliction of the death penalty. The brothers were sentenced to serve life sentences. Robert Younger died in prison.
All efforts at securing an unconditional pardon haying failed, a bill was introduced in the state legislature in 1891 empowering the state board of pardons to grant paroles to life prisoners who had served 25 years or more, and on July 10, 1901, on recommendation of the board of prison commissioners, a parole was granted to Coleman and James Younger and on July 14 they were released.
Under the terms of the parole, the brothers were not to leave the state and since their release they have been engaged in business of various sorts. James Younger has suffered much from old wounds and several months ago an operation was performed for the removal of a rifle ball from his back.
REIGN OF TERROR.
Race Riot In Progress Near Birmingham, Ala.
Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 20.—A race riot is in progress at Littleton, 25 miles from Birmingham. The sheriff and 10 deputies left on a special train from this city. It is reported that two white men have been killed and that the negroes are heavily armed.
A later report from Littleton says that three white men and eight negroes are dead as a result of the race riot. The negroes in the place outnumber the whites 10 to 1 and are in complete possession of the town.
The negroes have captured a powder magazine belonging to a coal company. A reign of terror exists.
The riot was precipitated by some negro men elbowing a white woman off a bridge.
As far as is known here Governor Jelks has not yet been requested to call out the militia.
As soon as the white citizens of the town learned of the attack they began the search for the woman's assailants. The negroes refused to deliver the woman's assailants and armed themselves to protect their leaders. When the posse arrived the negroes opened fire, killing three of the officers. The deputies returned the fire, killing eight negroes.
Owing to the number of negroes, who outnumbered the whites 10 to 1, the posse was forced to retreat. The negroes are reported to be in complete possession of the town and have entrenched themselves.
Seen on Tompkins-st., Cortland.
The early morning trousers pocket burglar was seen at the home of W. R. Jackson, 64 Tompkins-st., at 2 o'clock by Mr. Jackson's mother. He entered her room upstairs, and went down stairs and out in a hurry through the back door upon her awakening. The back door was found unlocked. Nothing was taken.
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| "A Piper and Pair of Nutcrackers," Sir Edwin Landseer. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
The Passing of the Squirrel.
Are the days of the squirrel numbered and shall we soon see no more of this sprightly and cheerful little denizen of the woods and parks? Must we ere long point to Sir Edwin Landseer's famous picture, "Two Nutcrackers and a Piper," as showing the most perfect representation of an extinct animal?
So it would almost seem, since fashion has put its mark of approval upon squirrel skins for feminine outer garments. It is said that already the visible supply of the little gray and red pelts in the United States has been exhausted, and Europe is being called upon to supply the squirrel fur for the American market. While there has been a struggle to save the birds from the maw of fashion, there never has been formed a society for the saving of squirrel skins, or any other kind of skins, for that matter, for the backs of their rightful owners. The seal, the otter, the mink and the beaver are going, the silver fox has gone, and now it seems that the squirrel must go with the rest.
SUSPICIONS OF MURDER
Concerning the Death of Adam Kiehl, Late of Preble, N. Y.
MAUDE KIEHL NOW UNDER ARREST.
The Child Widow of the Brother of the Deceased—Claimed That She Was Disappointed That He Wouldn't Marry Her—The Inquest Before Coroner Santee on Saturday.
The inquest to determine the cause of the death of Adam Kiehl which occurred in the town of Preble on the night of Sept. 19-20 under what are claimed to be peculiar circumstances was held in Preble Saturday before Coroner E. M. Santee, and as a result Maude Kiehl is lodged in the Cortland county jail on the suspicion of being in some way connected with it. The suspected party is the widow of William A. Kiehl, the deceased brother of the late Adam Kiehl. She is only 18 years of age, and was married to William Nov. 14, 1900, at Onondaga Castle. She went with him a year later to Preble to live upon the Hiscock farm, where Adam recently died, and there he too died last February. Testimony was given at the inquest to the effect that the late Adam had told that his sister-in-law Maude had asked him to marry her. At the time of his death Adam was about to be married to Miss Amelia Abbott of [nearby] Little York, and the wedding day had been fixed for Oct. 16 of this year. The suspicion is that Maude having become angered that Adam would not marry her was determined that he should not marry any one else. Evidence was introduced to show that the cause of death was very possibly poisoning. Maude was present at the house at the time of Adam's death and her actions were described by some of the witnesses at the inquest in such a way as to lead the coroner to hold her on the suspicion of being concerned with the death.
Circumstances of Adam's Death.
The circumstances concerning the death of Adam Kiehl are already familiar to readers of The Standard. On the morning of Sept. 20 the young man who was 22 years of age and who worked the Horace Hiscock farm 1 mile south of Preble village was found dead in his room. He had been suffering from a severe cold and had been really ill for a week past, but had not been attended by a physician though he had once within the week before his death consulted Dr. Braman of Homer. On the previous afternoon he had engaged men to come next day to help fill his silo. He retired as usual on the night of Sept. 19 and was not seen again alive. His lifeless body was found next morning in his room. Coroner Santee was called and decided that the cause of death was pneumonia and that no inquest was necessary He thought death occurred at about 1 a. m.
Suspicions Aroused.
Within a very few days, however, some peculiar rumors were heard and such stories were told that the coroner felt justified in exhuming the body and removing some of the vital organs which were sent to Cornell university for analysis by an expert. The report upon these was to the effect that the lungs were not sufficiently affected to cause death by pneumonia, and that strychnine was present in small quantities, but whether in sufficient quantities to cause death was not determined at that time. The result was that the coroner decided to hold an inquest.
The Inquest.
Miss Frances Kiehl, the sister of the deceased and the one who kept house for him, testified to Adam's having had a severe cold for a week before his death. On the night before he died he remarked that he "was about all in." He looked badly when he went to bed. He had a cup of tea just before he went upstairs. Maude and her baby boy who lived in Onondaga were visiting at the house at the time. She [Frances] and Maude arose early next morning and Maude helped her about some work. Adam did not appear. At 6 o'clock Henry Kiehl, a brother, came in for his breakfast and went to call Adam. He was found lying upon the floor in his room dead. The bed had not been occupied. She ran upstairs when Henry called. She told Maude [that] Adam was dead and Maude did not seem surprised. To the best of her knowledge Maude did not go to Adam's room at all that forenoon. She testified that she had noticed that Maude seemed infatuated with her brother, since the death of her husband. Adam had told her that Maude had asked him to marry her. Adam had repeatedly told the witness that he did not like Maude. Adam had in June or July bought a bottle of strychnine to poison mice. It had since stood in plain sight in the store room.
Undertaker William L. Earl of Tully testified that there was no strychnine in the embalming fluid with which he had embalmed Adam.
Lester C. Vinal testified to having seen a bottle of strychnine several times at the Kiehl home. A bottle was submitted to him and he thought it the same one but thought it did not contain as much as when he had previously seen it.
Mrs. Adam Kiehl, Sr., and her daughter Lillian testified that they thought they had discovered that Maude seemed quite fond of Adam.
Dr. F. W. Higgins testified that he had performed the autopsy on the body of Adam and found no evidence of any disease sufficient to cause death. He would not say that the cause of death was poisoning.
The Testimony of Maude.
Maude Kiehl was called to the stand, having been subpoenaed to appear as a witness. She was informed by the coroner that there were suspicions that she knew more than she should concerning Adam's death and that if she chose she might decline to testify. She decided to testify, however.
The witness told of her marriage and of the death of her husband. After that occurred, she sold her furniture to Adam who took the farm. She and Adam had a little misunderstanding concerning this transaction, but it was all adjusted satisfactorily and they had been good friends since. Adam had greeted her cordially when she came to the house to visit just before his death. She rushed up to Adam's room that morning with others when the word came down that he was dead. She was in the room several times during the forenoon. Coroner Santee suddenly produced the strychnine bottle and asked her when she saw it last and she coolly declared that she had never seen it before. She declared that she knew nothing concerning the death of Adam.
At the conclusion of all the testimony Coroner Santee announced that he should hold Maude Kiehl for further examination and that she was under arrest. Previously she had been perfectly cool, but at once she broke down and sobbed declaring she knew nothing about it all and that she wanted to go home to her baby.
Deputy Sheriff Robert Dorothy brought her to the Cortland jail on Saturday evening and she is now confined there.
The unfortunate young woman has retained Davis & Lusk as her counsel.
CORTLAND SCIENCE CLUB.
Lecture Saturday Night on ''The Ear" by Dr. F. W. Higgins.
A large number of the regular and associate members of the Science club were present last Saturday evening to hear Dr. Higgins' address on "The Ear." No formal paper was presented, but the subject was treated in easy conversational style, indicating an abundance of accurate and well-organized knowledge of the subject which held the closest attention of all from start to finish.
After a brief preliminary description of the anatomy of the human ear, the speaker traced the development of that organ from rude beginnings in the lowest forms of life to the highly complex organism of the vertebrates and mammals. Hearing is, in fact, but an outgrowth and specialization of the sense of feeling; and in some forms of life, the jelly-fish for example, it is difficult to say whether the organ is eye or ear. The ear is at first a purely external organ; then, in higher types, cup-like in shape and thus partially protected. Then, in later stages, it is wholly enclosed, till in the highest types we have the three divisions of external, middle and internal ear. This gradual evolution from the ear of the amoeba, snail, cuttle-fish, crab, grasshopper, fish, frog, owl, to the human ear was graphically depicted in a truly excellent series of charts. The ear of the human foetus a few days old closely resembles the ear of the least developed types of animal life.
The parts of the human ear were next described and their functions stated. The external ear collects and focuses the sound waves; the drum, a membrane made up of thousands of strings of varying length, separates the external and the middle ear. The latter contains the three small and delicately adjusted bones called the hammer, anvil and stirrup, which pass as the vibrations received from the drum to the still more delicate inner ear, the cochlea, composed of bone and membrane. Each sound wave has a certain portion of membrane which responds to it, the limit of the vibrations which the human ear can detect ranging from 32 to 64,000 per second. From the inner ear two nerves convey impressions to a certain part of the brain whose special business it is to receive them.
The presence of otoliths and hairs in every type of ear from lowest to highest was referred to. Otoliths are small stony particles, formed of carbonate of lime, which assist in passing on the sound impressions,
The word evolution was hardly mentioned in the course of the lecture, but the presentation of the subject, with its mass of suggestive details, was most convincing evidence of the credibility of the theory of evolution as applied to animal organisms.
FUNERAL OF A. C. KINNEY
Held At His Former Home in Cortland on Saturday Afternoon.
The funeral of A. C. Kinney, who died last Tuesday in Denver, Colo., was held at the home of his mother and sister, Saturday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock, and was largely attended by his many friends in Cortland.
The services were conducted by Rev. W. Jasper Howell, pastor of the First Baptist church. A quartet of singers composed of Misses Grace Pearson and Aria Hubbard and Messrs. Arthur Williams and Herman Carver sang several appropriate selections.
The bearers were Mr. Hiram P. Ingalls, a class member with the deceased, and Mr. E. O. Perry, Mr. E. B. Richardson and Mr. William Grady, who were associated with him in the Cortland Athletic association.
The floral pieces were exceedingly beautiful. The Benton Lumber company, where Mr. Kinney was formerly employed, sent a large wreath. The former athletic association gave a handsome pillow. A fine floral piece came from friends in Florence, Colo., and another from Denver, Colo.
Dr. and Mrs. J. E. Kinney of Denver accompanied the remains to Cortland and arrived here at 9:20 o'clock Saturday morning. His other brothers could not be notified in time to come East with them. Mrs. George Mortimer of Shelton, Neb., a cousin of the deceased, also came East with the remains. Aside from these were present at the funeral from out of town, Mrs. Charles Worden and Mrs. Walter Merrick of Binghamton.
Interment was made in Cortland Rural cemetery.
BREVITIES.
—The Wide Awake Literary club will meet with Mrs. Myron Medes, 47 Fitz-ave., Tuesday evening.
—A meeting of the W. R. C. will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. A large attendance is desired.
—The heavy thunder showers of Saturday evening and Sunday were decidedly unusual at this season of the year.
—Cortlandville lodge, No. 470, F. and A. M., will confer the second degree at their regular communication Tuesday evening at 7:30 o'clock.
—New display advertisements today are—M. W. Giles, Blanket sale, page 7; Warren Tanner & Co., Suits, etc., page 6; G. H. Wiltsie, Drygoods, page 6.
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| Cortland House at corner of Main Street and Groton Ave. Opera House, left rear, on Groton Ave. |
Sheep on Pavement.
During the heavy thunder shower at about 7 o'clock Saturday evening a drover had an experience with a flock of about seventy-five sheep on the asphalt pavement at the corner of Main-st. and Groton-ave. The pavement was flooded with water and in the glare of an electric light looked like a lake. The sheep seemed afraid to take a step in any direction and stood all huddled together in a bunch. Three or four men tried frantically to drive them, but they wouldn't stir. At length one sheep was seized and dragged across the pavement to the mud on Clinton-ave. It was thought the others would follow, but they didn't. After a half dozen had been dragged across the others carefully picked their way over and the spell was broken.
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