THE NORTH PATTB SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, PRIDAY.JANUARY 8, 1915.
KeithSTheatre Monday, Jan'y 11th.
A Story of the
Great Blizzard
By GEORGE V. EDSON
Self Accused
WATCH
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1314, by tho McClura
Newspaper Syndicate.
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It was the night that tho great bliz
zard of 1SSS cniiio whirling down from
tho clouds. I, n medical uinn. was out
on tho i-oittl driving homo In my buggy
(that was before tho day of autouio
biles) about 1 o'clock in tho morning
Tho snow grow deeper ami deeper, and
I began to get uneasy. My horse now
and ngain would stop and look about
lilni, apparently as uneasy as 1. Dumb
animals, though they are more easily
filghtened thnn men. sometimes nianl
fest u strong sense of danger under
what may appear ordinary elrcuni
stances.
There was a large, square brleU
house beside the road a few hundred
feet ahead of me. I could distinguish
its dark bull:, there being no lights
within.
Mennwhile I was becoming benumb
ed and drowsy. I remember reaching
a point directly before the house, get
ting out of the buggy and Uounderlng
to the door. I hoped to secure assist
ance to get my horso under cover
This is the Inst I have ever been able
to recnll of beiug out In that terrible
blizzard.
Tho next thing beforo mo was the dooi
opening and a man, very palo and ex
cited, saying: "Come in. doctor. We
were fearful that yon would not get
here."
The house was lighted and servants
were moving about hurriedly, Just as 1
had often seen them doing In houses
where somo one was very ill. The
man who ndtnltted mo led me upstairs
and Into n room where n girl appar
cntly about eighteen years old lay on
a bed. My conductor turned down the
bedclothlng, spotted with blood, and
revealed towels that were used to stop
hemorrhage. 1 cautiously removed
them, but, seeing the red fluid pour
out, I quickly replaced them.
While thinking what to do 1 glanced
about the apartment. Tho furniture
was such as was used during tho early
part of the nineteenth century, the bed
on which the girl was lying having a
canopy supported by four high posts
There- were heavy curtains to the win
dows. Near a fireplace stood two per
sons, nn old woman and a young man.
who were looking at me uppeallngly,
and I knew they were begging mo to
save the girl's life. I noticed that their
dress was old fashioned. They resem
bled each other, and I guessed they
were mother and son. Tho mother's
arms were about her boy.
Casting a glance at tho man standing
beside mo, I saw that ho was about
the ago of the woman with her son
and Judged that ho was tho husband
and father. On a lounge lay a sword,
and .there was blood on the blade. I
formed a conclusion, largely from the
young man'B agonized appearance, that
lie had stabbed the girl.
I had no instruments with me, but 1
needed none, for I saw that the girl
was dying. To stanch that flow of
blood was beyond my skill. I replaced
tho bedclothlng and stood over the In
valid, avoiding the appealing gazo of
tho others until it was plain that all
was over, then turned away. After
leaving the room it seems to mo now
that I walked into oblivion, for I was
not conscious of anything till 1 felt
something hot passing down ray throat
I opened my eyes and saw a man hold
ing mo, while another man was hold
ing a flask.
I don't suppose that my vision, dream
or whatever it was could have lasted
over two or three minutes. The men
saw me drive by tho house they were
In, n few hundred ynrds below, and,
realizing that I was In danger, started
after mo. 1 had left my buggy and,
bewildered by one of the whirlwinds
that came without Intermission, had
fallen in the snow.
They put me back into my buggy
and managed to get tho team and mo
to their house, where a cheerful fire
was blazing, and after another hot
dose I was put to bed, where 1 slept
soundly till morning. All that day the
snow came down, whirling as It fell.
and the next day also. It was sev
enty hours before tho road became
passable and I got away.
Beforo leaving 1 expressed n desire
to go into tho house before which 1
had been rescued. Tho persons with
whom I had been lodged told mo that
it was vacant and tho key In posses
sion of a man and his wife living n
short distance up the road. 1 begged
them to borrow it for me, which they
did, and I went to the house and en
tered it
Now comes tho singular part of my
story. I had certainly not been in that
house before, and yet I saw it Just as
I had seen It when admitted by the
man -who had led me to tho bed of the
stricken girl. The passageway was
the same, the room was tho same, and
there stood the great four poster bed
stead. Hut the bed was made up, and
there was no one except tuybelf pres
ent
I Inquired If any murder had been
committed there, but no one remem
bered any such occurrence At the
same time I was told that the house
was very old more than a hundred
years and much might have taken
place thorn that would not bo known
to succeeding generations.
What is my theory? Well, 1 nm n
medical mnn and in my old ago am
beginning to realize that there nro
many things In the universe beyond
our ken. 1 have no theory, but I do
not believe my vision was a mere
dream
1 had been practicing uw In the
town of Lancaster for about four years
when Jnmes lllgglns, merchant, was
murdered. According to the testimony
of his wife, they were aroused at mid
night by u nolso downstairs, and he
went down to investigate. Sho heard
angry words, followed by a shot, and,
giving tho alarm, It was found that ,
the husband, had been shot through the
heart
Tho flrst suspect arrested was the
hostler at the barns of one of tho ho
tels, lie had been seen on the streets
at midnight; ho was known to have a
pistol; ho botrayed many signs of guilt
when arrested. I was employed In his '
defense and nftcr half, an hour's talk
with him came to tho conclusion that
he was guilty, lie djdn't admit his
guilt, but at the same time he didn't
deny it with the wnrmlh expected of
an innocent man It was an accident
altogether that I made a series of dis
coveries. This man planned with an
other to break open the passenger
depot and rob the safe. Tliej had
been surprised In their work by a
tramp, and the hostlci was afraid n
talk to me or any one else of the mur
der case for fear of being found out lu
tho lesser crime. When onco I had the
things straightened out It did not take
long to upset the cae of the police I
had scarcely done this when 1 was up
bet myself.
A building contractor named OtlR
came to me to make a confession. lie
had reasons to suspect that Lllgglns
had ruined his home, and when there
was no longer any doubt in his mind
he had determined to kill tho man.
1 went to work on the ense, but was
bowled over at the very outset. Mrs
Otis declared In the most cmphatle
way that she had never spoken a doz
en words to lllgglns and her husband
had never intimated that be had the
slightest cause for Jealousy or any
man, and. better than nil. sho could
prove that from 10 o'clock In the even
Ing until two hours after midnight on
the night of the murder ho wus home
and In bed and quite HI. Thls.Hhe did
prove by two witnesses. Otis laid told
mo a purely Imaginative story, and lie
stuck to It for bo vend days, but at
length denied everything. Then weir
tlio.se who mild he wiu "off" In in
head, but he talked and acted as it huh
umii and returned to his busmen n
Hotm as relensed
The police now returned to their tli-i
theory The deed bad surcl been iui.
bj some one who had enteied u
house for plunder. After some dn.
they arrested a saloonkeeper In a tow n
-some flvo miles away, claiming to haw
a straight case against him, and (lie
man had been under nrrcst three 101
four days when I came into the eitte
again. A young man named Baiters
who was a student of the state norniu
school, enmo to my house at 10 o'clock
at night to make a confession He wu
the murderer of lllgglns. Lllgglns hull
accidentally got hold of some love U'f
ters which the young man had written
and had refused to give them up im
less than $100 Not having the on
to pity and being lendercU dcpei
itite. he hud gone to t,ciircu the iioiim
at night Sul tew told or the coiiveisn
tlon when lllgglns came down the
stairs how he got lu and got out nud
all the details. I advised him to go to
the police, and, as lu the other case,
they locked him up and felt sure that
they had at last got the right man.
I was not retained by young Snlters,
who said that he would make no de
fense, but I set out to clear up a few
points to satisfy my own curiosity. I
was not long lu ascertaining that lie
was not In love with any girl and had
never been known to write a love let
ter, also that he was In a town twenty
miles away on the night or the min
der. When these facts became known
to tho police they had to drop their
case, though Suiters protested to the
last that he was guilty.
There was one more instance, and It
partook of the ridiculous nt once
one legged man named Wells, a resl
dent of tho town, gave himself up
to the police us the murderer He
claimed to be a somnambulist and that
the deed was done while he was
asleep. He didn't think ho ought to
be punished, but he wanted to be trjed
and acquitted. Not one true statement
did he make In his story, and he was
told to take his leg and get out
Tho hunt for the true criminal was
kept up for n year, but he was never
discovered. The ollce were no doubt
right in the (lrst theory. The man en
tered tho house for plunder, and, being
discovered. If not attacked, he tired
tho fatal shot and then escaped It i
more than likely that ho was a stran
ger in tho town.
You- will naturally ask why those
people charged themselves with tho
crime when they were not the least bit
guilty. A physician could probably
give you a clearer answer. My theory
Is that they had an Intense nrgnment
with themselves how tho crime wan
committed oi how they would have
committed It If they actually did com
mil It Such i-ases are rare, and It
must bo for some such reason that
courts often refuse to accept a plea
of guilty and give the accused u fair
trial for his life and liberty. There
nro people, as every lawyer and de
tective knows, who are anxious to bo
witnesses In n case and will perjuro
themselves on tho stnnd without seem
ing to be aware of It, and It Is enrry
Ing out this singular Hue of conduct or
train of thought that one may come to
accuse himself.
EkSi 111 H m IBM ttMm' 1
Prices: Lower floor 51.50 and $1.00, Balcony 50c,
75c and 1.00.
Seats on sale atfjtheatre Friday morning.
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bsSsi raSHIflll
s itHtUHriHWffiuffltt!'4';GMA' ' l teV'TOWHttnittHt
mF -. rw&i mm ""! W n a V R ' kssktov x a. fa M'','c
wft B !Cy If'. Im K fiyj Wi ',, 1 Kfr:
8 fj 1 p m J N w I - P
Sold by Rush Mercantile Co., North Platte
Also by E. & W. Colcer, Sutherland; Ganson & Ganson
Hershey; Jens Sommers, Maxwell: Jno. Fredrickson, Brady
