HER STRANGE LOVE.
PRETTY CAUCASIAN WEDS A
SON OF HAM.
I*l»ey llltMinnc'il Her ami Then ller II in- j
Imixl l)in«*rteil Her Thi* I 'rum I End
oJ Kuril AITiilrn, Illed In DMionor and
I’o%<rly.
O MIRANDA
Foote’s people and
to all her friends
the tragedy of her
Infatuat Ion for
"China" Crawford,
a colored stable
lu>y, which result
ed In their mar
riage, will always
he a mystery. For
the wedded life of
this Ill-mated couple came to an end
eight months after their wedding day
by the death of the young wife. And
1n those months, though her husband
abused and neglected her, not a word
of complaint or reproach ever passed
hpr lips. To crown all tills, her hits- ,
hand, although now a fugitive from ,
Justice, has made formal claim to his j
wife’s share In her father’s estate, j
which he says is about |2f<,000. The |
beginning of this strange story of the j
marriage of a young, cultured white
girl, only 38 years old, tho (laughter j
of wealthy people, to an Ignorant col
ored boy, whose only thoughts In life
were for horses and crap-shooting,
goes as far back ns Miranda Foote's
childhood, when she received a fall,
from the effects of which she never re
covered. This put her av.ay from the
usual sports and plays of a country
child, and her chief delight was to
L bring music from the organ which
stood In the sitting-room of the old
farmhouse. She went to the district
school with her brothers and sisters,
and though the received a good com
mon school education, th*re was no
greater pleasure for her than taking
her music lesson and practicing scales
and exercises. On account of her deli
cate health little or nothing was ex
pected of the child about tlie house,
and as she grew to womanhood the
duties which usually fall to a farmer's
daughter were either performed by her
mother or sisters, and In every way
Miranda's life was a sheltered one.
Stronghurst, the birthplace of Miran
da Foote, Is a small village about thir
ty miles from Galesburg, 111. I-ong be
fore the village was there the Foote
family was known for their wealth.
Years ago R. F. Foote came to Illinois
and purchased a few acres two miles
from what is known now as the vil
lage of Stronghurst. As time went by
and he was a successful stock raiser,
he added to his land, and when he died
several years ago this h;# increased
until the estate embraced some 400
acres.
The small wooden house with which
1he Foote family had been content In
the early days had long since been
replaced by a big rough stone dwelling,
which Is known far and wide in the
country around about as the stone
house. Long before tile death of Mr.
Foote his self-earned fortune was
placed at $200,000, and as some of the
younger children were far from of
age the property was to be intact un
til the girls and boys had grown to
manhood and womanhood. Rut Mr.
Foote was not a greater money-maker
than his wife, in whose management
his fortune was left. Soon after his
death she added the breeding of race
horses to that of the other stock rais
ing upon the farm. All the country
around and about Galesburg Is famed
for its fine stock, but no horses for
miles about are more famed than those
raised by the mistress of the stone
house. John Crawford went to the
stone house last April to help in the
care of these horses. From the time
of his birth, a quarter of a century
JOHN CRAWI-ORO.
ago. b# hod tia>n on* of *h# familiar
ilarbin* t»f Oaloaloirp 1'iowfonl *i«w
to iii.itibmnl iluim wbai bn lihnl
moat. In hauit arnuutl Harry »talil*a or
any piain *lt« a bar* !hii«*« a*r<* ho|tt
lla ilk! ant < >rn for »« h.»«t Imt of mu
•li bn wan lobtl. «»«1 from hla hoy bh
•lay a al»ay» it*l* to |<l»t t| tb*
a«t*l air* ba k*ari|. at. 1 p!.i) Ibriu
Wall. tun. Tbl* »« iliOM. »-M tb*
BmiI ihann I bat h* *»a4 for M.raaiia
pv«tt*. Whit* •iiitaa Croafonl *a»
al Iba top «uiU* boo. ha n»-*ln it it
rty kti. Ion-» fn-ft» lb filuUv bi|| tl
in ta ib# «y*a of Riran la h< fount!
lb* *moli*i t»iw far to tb* boor ha
M I| «*tl plain! Ill bar no Mum la
laltlflaul of Ib* faiaiiop 0* ipta •-** Ib*
ptri ha.! M*y«r b* i a »**a ** * «h»i
Ib* lu'.irail wabli In., matt* !-«*• la
bar la lb* »>'*i Wat Iba
iwaipta a bo ba*a «f M '*a*!» « !«*»
of aioak ml b»*t>l bar pt«y ywtai
aa4 burnt* M'OoUi »b*l *>»« !*» y**r
•a uf imi on oo iba *b**«r »M
t-t a la lb* 1*1*1* Rapt la* >h*r*h f**i
pur* Ibai lb* b*«o! of tympitky b*.
tween the two was the natural love
that each hail for harmony. Early In
June John went to Galesburg, anil to
a few of his nearest companions con
filled that he was going to bring a
white girl homo to them. It did not
appear to confound him that he had
no other home than that of his uncle.
This would all be overcome, he an
swered them, for the girl hail "lots ot
money.” One dark night Miranda
Foote ran away, and her family did
not realize that she had gone until she
was bound for life to "China” Craw
ford. The girl must have planned her
eaeape for days beforehand, for sh»
gathered all her wardrobe and threw
It from the window, from which sh'
herself went out. "China" was wait
ing near, and they drove rapidly to
Galesburg, where he had assured her
lie could gain a good living for her.
it was not long before the girl was
missed anil her family fearpil she had
wandered from the house and had Ire
come faint. Her brothers and sisters
searched for her throughout the entire
night. Hut before they heard of her
again she had become the mulatto
boy’s wife. Justice II. F. Holcomb
joined the lives of this colored stable
boy and the white girl, and he fought
as earnestly against it as he did long
years ago for the freedom of the ne
groes. He begged her to take time to
consider, and when she insisted that
the marriage should take place at
once, he told her as far as her family
and friends were concerned her life
was at tin end. He told her plainly
and simply that, come what might, she
must remember that she was John
Crawford’s wife, und that nowhere else
In life was there a place for her hut
at his side. But “China" did not
' m/r-.i
MRS. JOHN CRAWFORD,
spend much time by her side. He still
kept unbroken bis record as a ‘'crap
shooter.” He did not make much
money and the poor girl would often
have gone hungry if it had not beer
for the goodness of “China's” relative!
and friends. For weeks her people
seemed to forsake her. Then Mrs
Foote wrote that she was ready to take
Miranda back if she would come alone,
This the girl refused. After another
interval one of the older daughter!
wrote that the mother was ill. Sh<
begged of Miranda if she wanted to He»
her mother alive to come, and come at
once. The girl went. This plea she
could not withstand, and though Mrs
Foote was a sick woman, she was riot
in such a dangerous condition as the
letter seemed to indicate. At the ent
of two weeks the girl ran away for tin
second time. All she took with liet
she wore, dressed In a calico wrapper
a cheap little hat and a cape for hei
shoulders. She went back to her blaeX
husband and her dull life. But nol
for long. The hardships that she had
to bear broke her down. She died or
November X. For a few hours Johr
insisted that his white wife should be
buried where and when ho chose. Bui
the girl's mother took her dead child
back to the place of her birth and site
was buried from the big stone house
Six days after his white wife's death
“China” was arrested with a lot of oth
ers In a gaming room. But his good
luck did not here desert him. On the
way to the station he escaped from the
police. l.ast week he asked the cir
cuit court at Galesburg to appoint ar
administrator for the estate of Mirnn
.1.. 11„ ..i„ i. i_.
entitled, as her husband, to a third ol
the property left by her. And he in
sists that her share of her father's es
tate Is in the neighborhood of $2!i,000.
The sixty days allowed after death by
the court had elapsed before “China’
was aware that he was entitled by law
to a pari of his wife's father's money.
After lit* crap-shooting escapade end
ed he hid himself for some time on u
farm In McDonough county. He tulk
ed often of his white wife and her rich
connections. He was aanurnd that a
part of this wealth should descend to
him. and he has made the first steji
to untullc It.
llAMaeH S “t lustl I taMU.”
Dawson •* 'he "flushom" of all th*'
“flush ' towns in htatory. It Is hard
ly n««e*sary to repeat the many stories
that have gone out about the new an I
greater California. Many of the tab's
tea. hava been ex unset at tons In Indi
vidual instances, t-ut they hardly (sir
tray the reality At the dance ball)
sod *atoons, where men mostly , on
(revate gold stands In rows of tam
Met* behind th" bars. In the safe «!
the North t Merles a Trunaportatloa
and 'trading t'ornpagy Sun* ounces si
b-ft over dual la stored. Hut with all
tha' has teen tnhen out the minea are
nut really st work vet. Hardly one
twentieth «f any claim boa been eg
hauelad
Must** la s l si'« fan.
there are ill** limea as many
Wusc tea m the tail of a cm aa there
die >n Ik- house hint and «rtaf.
la at'caom a-’fatra tha dlyoaeg
la ate ms a the nleeat ,sit
{THEATRICAL TOPICS.
CURRENT NEWS AND COSSIP
OF THE STAGE.
I'lnrrn'H \c\v I’lay. ‘Trelawney of llie
Well*" Home Aihlrr 1o Young IVr
»<>n» Who Are Thinking of Adopting
tlte Stage AYhen Ctoofl W i n \Ya* Y'onng.
K dramatic critic
of i ho Westminster
Gazette has this to
Hay of Trelawney
of the Wells. Pin
ero’s new comedy
recently produced
In Condon: “Roh
ertson tip to date—
that seems a phrase
in which one may
give a fairly accur
ate Idea of the new Pinero play. Yet
the resemblance between this piece and
those of the Robertson school is not
more striking than the unllkeness to
them shown by It. The resemblance
Is In conception, the unllkeness In ex
ecution. in technique, ‘Trelawney of
the Wells' Is essentially modern, hut
no doubt, the technique of the author
of ‘Caste’ if he had lived in 1898. and
been acquainted with the Ibsen plays
which have modified the methods of all
our serious dramatists, would have
been as different from that which he
actually showed as that of ‘Trelawney
of the Wells’ from school. Perhaps I
should not he speaking of Robertson
so much, hut for the fact that the hero
of the play, or at least the heroic fig
ure, Tom Wrench, obviously is in
tended to suggest Robertson the dra
matist and actor In his days of strug
gle.”
Young persons who think of adopt
ing the stage should never forget that
real success is that calling demands
ceaseless and merclles toll. The '’cham
pagne and the fun” that one young
girl, in a letter to a manager, said she
liked, do not usually fall to the lot of
MAY IIOSMER
serious, hardworking members of the
theatrical calling, but rather to the in
| significant, fleeting pets of the hour,
! the comic opera or burlesque queens,
whose reign ends the moment they have
become a trifle passe. The difficulty is
for a young man or woman to be con
vinced that he or she does not possess
special fitness. Unfortunately, many
of these young people are ill-advised
by enthusiastic friends, and their van
ity passes the suppression point until
they get into the actual arena of the
stage, where the cruel truth chills their
mercurial ambition; and they retire,
overcome with shame and chagrin.
Nat Goodwin, when he was very
I l
4
x
\
NKI4.IK lilHNKY
yutiM *»•! vary unruly. tn *
1 «iu> b tHtuiiutny. injtja*»U by »u uht a*
1 tur nam* I 1**»>I »b«t *ru*a hi* «>*"
Plata a«*<! »»a4a hi* tympany play lb- w
Hu mntlor * hat I ha pubiit 4*4 *f»«r «
partbulaiiy hupataa# pMPtMM****
IHwl «an>* »u Ik* Mali an I ***>n4 ll
*tilr* **mu i«»y nw«<ll) *a4tn« kb *4*
1*4* aHk * |uri«ia4 bailing atar lb*
run I* uI llwnltH
Y»«, •■r¥' *fe»*tta»l Ik* i>U |*Rlb
M», *bab »« bia 8u**r a( Ik* pl*>t4
N alba Mai >■**» imi* mn! haaJa-41 fa
| |w« «««r ib*«*. hn a «li >«r*<a aai
outrage to the dramatic profession* You
did not know a line, sir!”
"What?" quoth Nat, “why, I said all
my lines.
“Yes. sir,” answered the Infuriated
playwright, "hut none of mine, sir!”
One of the most popular and leas
ing of the many interpreters of the
younger Dumas' celebrated "The Lady
with the ('amelias" Is Miss Nellie Oib
ney. This young lady is making it her
special study to produce "Camille” In
Its proper atmosphere, with the feel
ing that uninterested auditors are not
to be considered. She is ably fitted,
both by physical gifts and artistic apti
tude. to portray this most problemati
cal of any character* ever created by
the dramatist's art. Her personality is
a distinctively artistic and exquisitely
refined one; her talent is of a texture
that may he styled rich in color; while
her beauty is of such a magnetic nature
as to fulfill the expectations of ac
knowledged connolseurs.
The death of Nicollnl, the second
husband of the world's greatest can
tatrlce, has led a correspondent of the
London Era to send an interesting
reminiscence in connection with the
first marriage of the peerless singer.
"Adelina Patti was first married to the
1 Marquis tie Caux at Clapham church
site at that period dwelling at 1’lerpont
House, Clapham park at 10 a. m., July
: 29. 18«8. The service was performed by
the Kev. Dean Plunkett, Adelina,
; before she mounted the holy steps of
j the altar, had to make good some signs
of omission. Although she was brought
up by her parents, who were strict
Catholics, equally In the same belief,
she had, notwithstanding her age,
neither received her first, communion
nor the sacrament of confirmation. Be
fore the golden hoop could be placed
on the bride's finger that sacred cere
mony had to be made good, and the
devoted friend of her lifetime. Mine.
(Jrisl. stood by her as godmother in
confirmation.”
Oils Skinner Bays: “J remember well
my first attempts in the role of Shy
lock, I had seen Edwin Booth in thal
character, and believed that no othei
actor could approach Booth In the per
Bonification of Shylock. Yet, I tried
diligently and persistently to instil
my own personality Into the presenta
tion of the difficult subject so master
fully delineated by Shakespeare. Trj
as I might, the voice and the attitudes
and the mannerisms of Booth haunted
me, and I could only see before me the
Shylock of the great actor. It was
only after heroic struggles that I suc
ceeded in assimilating myself, so tc
speuk, to my own personal conception
of the Shylock that 1 intended to rep
resent.”
No favorite ever had a greater fol
lowing on account of individual tale-ui
and accomplishments than Miss Maj
liosmer, for many months prominent
ly identified with the capable drnmatU
revivals at Hopkins' Chicago theater
Assuming, as she does, with grata
and eminently satisfactory versatility
the difficult roles assigned to her tu
lending lady, she has achieved a repti
union nigmy rretiitanje. one or tin
most admirable and thorough Interim'
unions seen In many seasons was Mlai
lloamer'a "Trilby’’ during the produr
tton of that great suetess hy the Hop
kins company last autumn. Thu com
ment she received from the differ*!!
c..tie* a.is hlvlily flattering to her ar
i t is tic ability.
There haa been produced In I'.irU t
piece called “Le* Tratu>ailantt<|iics " ti
*Msh fun la made of the kind of Am
crtean women who ar* anxious to mar
ry title*. *v*n If they have to pay east
I for them A London newspaper coir*
• iw.ndent say* of !«: **|t |* hardly to Is
expected that sue h a subjec t thus (real
fd by n frenchman will be wanting it
portrayal of tm*rtr*u blunt nr** an
the general loudness aaauc tntsd by Ku
ropes Its With I be \HKMcsH The act
thor due* not Indeed, spare the Alter I
enu In tbl* rumpnruliv* «arrival or*
Nil tMdb of math* and good hum e
hut the coiuiwr.se>n mad* la nut alnat
j to the advantage of the french. Thi
piny is n r*at play. It ha* * rent charm
It la Nil uf life crowded with person
age*, well *»*g*d and highly ««iun
REVIVES OLD MURDER.
RltPORTER SEEKS TO FREE A
LIFE PRISONER.
lor Mittixy ArrfMlnl for » Killing Coin
mittcil Mm- Yr^rn .\<o Community
Im Mui’ti Cxilti'il Ot«*r the Turn
of \HiilrM.
penitentiary anil lias been there nearly
nine years for the same crime. Yet
it Is known that only one man com
mitted the murder. It Is believed that
never before in the history of Illinois
has a similar case occurred. Joe
Mauzy'g father was sheriff at the time
Faunce was tried and sentenced to life
imprisonment for the crime and Joe
Mauzy himself wag turnkey at the Jail
Now Joe Mauzy will be brought to trlu
for the same erinte and an appllcatloi
for a pardon for Faunce will wait or
the outcome of the trial.
Public opinion in Decatur is almog1
unanimous that whether or not Mauzj
tg guilty Faunce should he released
From the day that he was found guilts
many have believed that he was inno
cent and have wondered how any Jurs
could send him to prison for life or
the evidence against him. Even thi
prosecuting officers at the time ex
pressed astonishment at the severitj
of the sentence. The evidence agains'
him with the exception of that of on<
witness, whose character was callec
Into question, was largely circumstan
tlaI. The severe sentence can only b<
accounted for by I he fact t hat the de
fen sc made for him was handlcappec
for the want of means, his ebaractei
had been bad, and there was nothin*
to enlist sympathy for hint. The com
munity wan indignant over the mur
tier, it wanted to see someone punish
ed, and it looked as If Faunce mlgh
have had something to do with th'
crimp. Since he has been in the penl
tentiary many stories about his casi
have been circulated. Soon after h'
was convicted it was reported that th
revolver with which the murder wu
committed had turned out to be the re
volver of Joe Mauzy, the son of th
sheriff. Then it was said that wit
nesses had been found who said tha
they saw the murder and that Faunc
did not commit it. It seemed, how
ever, that no one cared to take up th
case. Joe Mauzy, although kuowi
while a young man as a man of bai
character, frequently In trouble, hai
never been openly charged with a serl
ous crime, and he had influential con
nections, both socially and politically
Faunce, on the other hand, had n
one who seemed anxious to help hit
except his mother. She was penniless
At different times she has tried t
make application for a pardon, bu
could get little evidence and had n
money with which to hire attorneys
About four years ago two Decatur at
torneys on the importunities of hi
mother looked Into the case, then too
it up because they believed an inne
cent man was In prison. They got
good deal of evidence and procured let
ters from the officers connected wit
the court at the time of the trial. Ik
fore the matter was presented to th
governor friends of Faunce who d
not live In Decatur and who professe
to have influential friends at Spring
“eld took the papers and affidavits tha
ad been prepared to Springfield, saj
og that they would have them prt
pnted to the governor with backin
bat would make a pardon certaii
'hey were never presented. Many t
KIIIRA1M FAUNVE.
the paper* that had bean prepare
were loet. Thu# the matter waa it rot
iied. although by thl# time hundred
of ltreatur lieople had eollie to belle*
that an luttwent muu waa In prlut
for life.
Three month* ago Harry >1
1 Wheeler, a reporter on a Iterator pa
1 tier. i|n Med that a« no one eUe >mi
! n| likely to do anything for Fuutu
1 lie would He did thU ultuplt baton*
I he I telle vet! Failure waa lanut en
faunee had ne*er been •nvthlrt* I
hint. He barely knew Fount* Ireful
the loiter waa *e«t to the penitentiary
Mr Wheeler got aogie of the pa pet
1 and letter* that had been prepare
when the hrel atepe to getting a pet
dun were taken In 1**1 He line
low it the eturlen that person* had *wel
Mtmeone feeettle# Fount* tom mil th
murder He wrote letter*. |nl**«t»«*<
i attorn***, gut affidavit*, prepared th
applbnttun fur a pardon gut up a pe
I It lea and pul the eaa* before the boat
of parduna Thta all »uwfc a great d**
of bla tint# and hta numef hut he *pea
| both freely, all without help from any
one, be*-auge the friends of Faunee had
neither money nor ability to help.
Tho application for a pardon was
presented to the state on Thursday,
Jan. 13, 1898. Then the case that had
bel li made cut in favor of Faunee was
made public. The result was a de
, in and fur an investigation and a more
pronounced expression of opinion by
Decatur people that Faunee was Inno
cent. Accompanying the application
for pardon were affidavits showing that
Mauzy and not Faunee committed the
murder, a history of the case showing
the character of the evidence against
Faunee at the trial, letters from well
known citizens asking that Faunee be
pardoned and a petition signed by ISO
; citizens declaring that they believed
i Faunee innocent and asking that he
bo released from prison. One of the
affidavits was by Mrs. Rebecca Smith,
who swore that sbo saw the murder
committed and that she saw Faunee
afterward and knows he did not shoot.
McKinley. She also swore that Mrs.
Oliphant, the woman who at the trial
swore that Faunee shot McKinley, was
not present at all. Another affidavit
was by Mrs. Alfred Showers, who at
the time of the murder wan thirteen
years old. She said she was within
less than half a block of the place of
tho murder when she heard a shot. She
saw a man running from the place and
saw him throw a revolver In the air.
Tliut man was Joe Mauzy. With two
others who were with her she went
home and told her mother what lliey
had seen and the mother told them to
keep still about It or they would be
dragged into the case as witnesses.
I.aura Wiusen, a sister of Mrs. Show
erg. who was with Mrs. Showers on tho
of the murder, made affidavit
y
i
!
JOB MAUZY.
that the statement of Mrs. Showers
> was true and that it was not Faunce
that they saw running from the place.
There were other afildavits tending
t to show that Faunce was innocent and
I in which the name of Mauzy was men
1 tioned, but some of these have already
been opposed by statements tending to
- disprove them.
Among the letters was one from
, Judge Hughes, of Mattoon, who presid
i cd at the trial of Faunce. He said the
evidence against Faunce was circum
) stantial, except that Mrs. Ollphant,
t a woman of bad repute, swore that she
j saw Faunce shoot McKinley. He said
Faunce had a fair trial, was well de
- fended and he could not say that there
s was more than a possibility of the in
t nocence of Faunce.
State’s Attorney Isa? c R. Mills was
i not asked for a letter, hut one that
- he wrote Faunce on Aug. 14, 1895, was
i presented. In it he said he had inves
- tigated rumors that Mauzy was the
e murderer and had always concluded
3 that Mauzy was not, hut that Faunce
3 was. 3ie said: "I have always been
- Inclined to the opinion that it was his
t (Mauzy’s) revolver with which the shot
- was fired, hut I also am Inclined to the
- belief that you had it- borrowe.d from
i him for use as a watchman.” The state's
• attorney concludes: “There is a possi
f bility of your innocence.”
Two weeks after the evidence and
letters were presented to the board ot
pardons, and before it had taken ac
tion the Macon county grand jury took
up tho investigation of the case and
concluded by returning an Indictment
charging Joe Mauzy with the murder
fnt* which 1’iLiincc w.iu .vurvlm/ a 1if*»
sentence. Mauzy was arrested at hi*
home on a farm near Oakland, 111., and
brought to Decatur and locked up In
Jail. He declares that he Is Innocent,
f State's Attorney Mills, who was state'*
t attorney when Faunce was convicted,
has asked that friends of Faunce up
1 point an attorney to assist In the prose
cution of Matity. A letter has been re
ceived from President ft. A, Lemon, of;
the state board of pardons, that the de
cision of the bounl on the application
for Fauuce a pardon lias been deferred
until the April meeting of the hoard.
That will !m> after the trial of Mauzy,
which Is expected to come up soon.
Mat McKinley, for whose murder
' Fauuce Is In prison, was a voting man
of good character. The night of *h*
’ j murder he was going home .About a
! block from the courthouse he heard
two women across the street cry out.
as if for protect Ion front a man who
scented to be following them McKin
ley groesed over, I old the min to de
•tat front annoving the women and
was •b-.t. dying tastsutiy. One of tb*
w<>nien was Mrs titnlth, who now sayw
that the man who did the shooting was
not Fan me, Fsume was arrested threw
hours later wh.le ploying pt*»i in a
saioott.
the Ogiut,
f'tietowsr ' t bought a piaster i f
three w«*h» ago to help tn« get vtd >.
the I'llshoi'
iMug t'telh ' ¥**. I remember It.
iHiin I it do the each *
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