< : OULD DECLINES TO TALK. - i 3i : llwood Rank Cufihicr Keeps Ilia Own Council. 1 David City , Neb. , Feb. 8. The ex citement incident to the failure of ihe Platte Valley state bank of Kell- "wood is subsiding arid all fears of violence to A. II. Gould , cashier , and R. G. Gould , assistant casiher , who are in jail in this city , have been dispelled. Newspaper representatives sought an interview with A. II. Gould yesterday , but he positively refused to make any statement , bluntly say ing : "I positively will not talk to newspaper men. The newspapers are .getting enough information from other sources and I will have nothing to > ay. The only change in the general con dition of the bank's affars heretofore reported , anthat forged notes and mortgages a j coming in dailand as a consequent ; the amount of the for geries is growing at a rapid rate. Holders of notes from Michigan City , Ind. , and other eastern points are here driving out in the country to Bee the alleged makers and mortga gors and it now develops that with out a single exception everyone of those notes and mortgages are forged. A very conservative estimate of the amount of the forgeries so far as known up to his time will aggregate $150,000 and the end doubtless is not A larger amount of notes and mort gages are held by Butler county banks and local capitalists. All of these , so far as known , are genuine. Gould evidently preferred to protect his friends. Real estate mortgages have been forged , includiing the certifi cates of filing and recording , giving ibook and page , while this week sev eral chattel mortgages have been re ceived by banks and attorneys here tor collection that are also forgeries. The Platte Valley state bank was organized in 1885 , with David Beslej' as president and a Mr. Converse cashier. Some time in 1886 or 1887 H. R. Gould of Omaha , was elected jpresident and A. II. Gould cashier , j-who have held their official positions ± o the present time. A. IT. Gould has , it is alleged , stated that the for ging of notes commenced in the win- jter or early spring of 18S9 , when one of his relatives became linanically in- ivolved and Gould had signed notes for a large amount as surety , and he had these notes to pay which , in the aggregate , amounted to about $15,000. JIc wts unaLle to raise that amount irom his own resources , and , it is -charged , conceived the idea of forg ing a lot of notes in vanous sums aud discounting them with eastern banks and private parties. He kept a private book where he Jbad a rerord of all forced notes , the amount of ech ; : , and tl e date of in- turing , andhen one of those notes matuied he would replace it with an other forced note and pay the holder the interest. Gould claims had it not been for the blowing up of the bank safe a short time ajro , in which his private book where he kept a record of all the forged notes was destroyed , he would not have been detected and he would be still running the bank as before. Gould has not been arraigned yet , hut it is tho pen-ailing opinion that lie will waive the preliminary hear ing in county court , and in the dis trict court , which convenes next Tuesday , he will plead guilty and throw himself upon the leniency of the court. R G. Gould , assistant cashier , is still in the county jail. He has not been arraigned yet. Prom reports about the court house he will prob ably waive the preliminary hearing 4n the county court but will stand trial in the district court as he now asserts that he is not guilty of collu sion with his brother. SHORTAGE IN ACCOUNTS- Judge nt Grniul I-lnml Tenders Hla n ilion. Grand Island , Neb. , Feb. 8. Po lice Judge Jehu Combs today handed -In his resignation to the mayor and he office will be filledj temporarity until the spring election by one of the justices of the peace. Mr. Combs was elected in 1900 , be ing one of five candidates for the po sition. He was formerly a a railroad man , and had the support of the rail- joad men of the city , with just enough to pull him through in the five-cornered race that was made. At the recent meeting of the council it was developed that he had not made report nor turned in any of the monies collected for fines aud penal- tes for the months of December and January. New Cuticle for a Child. ' Chicago. Feb. 8. What is regarded hy physicians as one of the most diffi cult skin grafting operations evei performed has been completed here. On the body of five-year-old Mariot Weaver 219 square inches of skin have been grafted. The operation tooh five months , as the surgeons could only operate every fortnight , owing to the low state of the boy's vitality , ; The new cuticle covers the patient' ! .chest , abdomen , hack and sides. FAITH IN GOUL1) INDIANA MEN HARD HIT BY BELL- WOOD BANK WRECK. Failure MCUIIK Thuir Kuin Mnny Victims nt T < u Porte iiml Michigan City A - fjri'ffiitc oT Ovi-r a Hundred Thousand IJelleve Lost. La Porte. Ind. , Fob / . Thf wrecking of the bunk at Be'lwuod ' , Neb. , comes as a crushing blow to many persons in tins county who were prevailed upon by Cashier A. n. U.iuld to make investments which are now said to represent an aggre gate total of nearly $75,000 , and if disclosures continue to be made the | a mount ) lost by confiding investors may be in excess of $100,000. The ( 'Oi.'lcJsstill own realty in this county , bub their property interests will not iic' in to cover the amount lost in the bank wreck , and attorneys are not confident that the property held here can be turned in as assets. Many of the investors in the schemes of the Goulds are small property owners , whose loss partially means ruin. The Gould's enjoyed in a marked degree the confidence of the people of this county. They played upon this con- llden e , it is charged and found no ( liltiulty in obtaining almost any sum they wanted on the promise of handsome returns for the invest ments. The feeling is now so bitter tiiat many of the victims are ready to subscribe money to aid in their criminal prosecution. The money se cured in this county is said to have been used in covering up some of the numerous forgeries. Michigan , City , Ind. , Feb. 7. Amos R. Gould , the former Michigan City resident , who is under arrest at David City , Neb. , for forgery in con nection with the wreck of the Platte Valley bank of Eellwood , succeeded in getting hold of ojjer sixty thousand dollars of Michigan City money for investment. An estate here had $4- 000 worth of stocks in Gould's private bank , and under the Nebraska state banking laws stockholders are liable for double the face value of their st'.ck , so that the estate will likely have to pay $1,000 as well as lose the entire stock. Other people here have from $25,000 to $40,000 worth of mort- t agrs and paper , so that the loss to Michigan City residents will equal if not exceed the total of 803,000. Two Suutliorii Nicholasville , Tvy. , Feb. 7. Tow Whit taker , colored , charged with the murder of John Doster , three weeks ago , was taken from the jail at Lynch- burg , last night and hanged by a mob. Whittaker's case was called in court yesterday and continued. Late last night the mob appeared , and secur ing possession of the negro , hurried him to the court house , where a rope was placed around his neck and he was hanged. Nashville , Ky. , Feb. , 7. Tow Brown , the negro who killed Miss Delia Powell yesterday , was taken from the officers this afternoon and lynched. Intense excitement pre vailed last night , and the mob made repeated attempts to get the negro , but were baffled in its attempts. This morning County Attorney Mitchell , Sheriff Chrisman and Deputy Scott removed the negro from jail to take him to Miss Powell's' home for iden tification. Over 200 men surrounded the jail , but attempted no violence when the officers promised not to take Brown to Lexington. About 100 men accompanied the officers and prisoner. Notable among them was William Powell , brother of the girl , armed with a double barreled shotgun. After the negro had been fully identified and as the officers were taking him back to the jail , the mob seized and lynched him in the court houseyard before the officers could get into the jail. Mrs Soffcl Jfot Improving. Pittsburg , Pa. , Feb. 7. Word comes tonight from l-utlerto the effect that Mrs. Soffel , the accomplice of the Biddle brothers , Is considerably worse Iler wounds seem to be healing nice ly , but she takes very little nourish ment and her mental condition.is de scribed as approaching collapse. Harry Biddle , the brother of the dead men , who had their remains buried yesterday , says the grave will be protected indefinitely from vandals by armed guards. lie today made formal application to be appointed executor of the estate of Ed and lack. He claims that the formei when first arrested had in his posses sion about 81,000 and the latter S200 ' in cash. tlie "Wrong Man. Greeley , Col. , Feb. 7 Jailor Wil liams mortally wounded Peter Kane , an insane prisoner , in frustrating an attempt of two other prisoners tc break jail. When Williams unlocked the cage for the purpose of putting Kane inside , Thomas Huff and Davic Fair , charged with highway robbery , nade a dash for the door. Williams mmediatly shot Huff , but the lattei : ived himself by seizing and holding Kane in front of himself as a shield BROTHER GLTS REMAINS. Hodies of the two Biddies r Tukeu w Pittsburjy , Pa. The remains of Edward and John Biddle , the dead bandits , arrived at the Pittsburg . & Western railroad station and were at once taken to the Pitlsburg morgue. In spite of the intense cold and the comparatively early hourof their arrival hundreds of persons fathered in the waiting room and by the timn the train ar rived the crowd had iucreasd to 1,000 or more. When the train drew in th ° re was a rough scramble to get on the plat form of the depot , during which sev er il were bruised by being crushed against the side of the stairway. The i remains were in rough boxes , in jhurge of Detectives Roach and Swin- elrart , who were accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Hoon , Constable Aaron Thompson and J. Uolliday of Butler. The morgue wagon was waiting and the bodies were driven to the morgue for identification. An immense crowd soon gathered , but a large detail of police pi evented them from entering the building. The remains of the murderers will be turned over to their brother , Har ry Biddle , who will see that they re ceive proper interment in the South Side cemetery The funeral will be conducted as privately as possble , and Rev. Father Sweeney , the priest who rendered spiritual advice to the Biddies while they were in the Pitts burg jail , will conduct the services. Dispatches from the Butler hosoit- al this morning report Mrs. Soffel's condition unchanged. While it is be lieved she will get well , the danger is not passed , and on account of this uncertainty in her condition nothing is being done in the way of prepra- tiens for her removal to Pittsburg. If she lives , in addition to answering to the charge of aiding prisoners to escape she will be confronted by charges of furnishing the Biddies with firearms and aiding the fe'.on- ious assault upon the jail guards and the officers who effected the capture in Burler. Mrs. Soffel is already taking steps to defend herself aud has written to a prominent Pittsburg attorney to engage his services. IFer father .is said to be quite well to do , and as parents are relenting , she hopes to receive aid from them. The prison board is satisified Mrs. Soffel had assistance within the pris on walls and before the incident is finally closed it is probable there will be an almost entirely new. force ol attaches at the jail. The county authorities do not be lieve Eel Biddle's dying statement implicting Jennie Zebers in theXah- ney murder and it is riot likely any action will be taken by them. MRS. SOFFJEl. , TJiLLS HER STORY. Mrs. Soffel made a statement to night to some newspaper men in the presence of-Dr. Bricker , concerning the escape of the Biddies and theii experiences before they were cap tured. She said in part "I had not intended going witb the Biddle boys on the night of theii escape , but Ed s entreaties won me over. " She told of how she re- mained in the library on Thursday morning awaiting the signal for the outbreak. It was her intention to let the boys go and she would meet them later. While sitting in the li brary she was almost paralyzed when the two brothers came crashing through the door. In their excite ment the > had the key to this dooi and had to break it down. "Ed aslced me to corue with them. 'Cornc with us , ' he said to me. 1 re sisted but finally felt myself giving way to Ed's persuasions and yielded. " She then told of her experiences Thursday night , which was spent in a school house. The weather was bitterly cold and the exposure affect ed her greatly. She denied the re port that she was intoxicated , sayiug that the Biddies had bought half a pint of whiskey aud that she took but one drink , which seemed to stimu late her. Continuing she said : "The next night we secured a sleigh and drove through the country all night. The weather was bitterly cold. There was no robe in thesleigb and I suffered terribly. When day light came I was nearly perished. The next day brought us to the terri ble scene. We drove through Butlei and knew that we had been suspec ted. ted."Then "Then we soon reached Mount Chestnut , and getting something tc eat , started out again. I was feeling ill and was frightened. The boys learned that the detectives were aftei us and they consulted about defend . ing themselves. Ed said to Jack , : 'ID is a life for a life : let's shoot them down. " Kcelcy Institute Burned. The city of Dwight. 111. , suffered a S300S000 fire loss today. The great laboratory of the Keeley institute was completely destroyed , together with the Livingston hotel , a brick T [ and stone structure owned and con- c broiled by the Keeley company. All of the guests and employes es- caped without injury , with the ex- i seption of a colored cook who waf ; bruised by Jumping from a second itory window. SUN bHOWS KUINS FIRE ATWATERBYRY BURNS FAR INTO THE DAY. Kviclenco of Incen lhtrlsin Burning : of Scoville Uoune l > ue to Firebugs Sol. diert Aid In Preserving Order Flame Stnrt in Cellar , Waterbury , Conn. , Feb. 4. The sun rose this morning on a blackened and smouldering mass of ruins that marked the main business section of the city. There is a rery strong suspicion that the lire which completely de- stroyed the Scoville house , burning thousands of dollars worth of furni ture , appoinments and personal ef fects , and imperiling many lives , was the work of an incendiary. The fiie originated in the pool and billiard rorrn in the basement of the house , on the further side from r.he burning district. The room was locked up and no one was supposed to be there. No fire was kept in the room , all heat being supplied from a boiler in another part of the building. Mana ger Truman said at the police sta tion , while the fire was still raging that he had not the slightest doubt it was of incendiary origin. No one could be found no explain its origin and the authorities have been quiet ly investigating. The fire came so close on the heels of the big conflagration that the thousands of spectators who witnessed It were thrown into a more complete panic than the original fire caused. The flames had only begun to die out along Bank , Grand and .South Main streets , at 4 o'clock. , when flames leaped upward , as by magic and peo ple feared the city was doomed after all. The call was rung in promptly and the engines that hurried to the scene turned their attention mainly to preventing the spread of the flames. It was evident that the ho tel was doomed and if the fire had reached the adjacent bindings , there would have been very little hope of saving the center of the city. BDKNSFAR INTO THE DAY. The fire burned far rnto the day and was not exinguished entirely un til evening. The scene about the city todaj was only little less remark able than that of the previous even ing. Thouasnds of people stumbled around the icy streets and with the greatest ; difficuty were restrained by teh militia and police from venturing within the danger lines. A tangled network of wires on Bank and South Main street greatly hindered the work of extinguishing the last flames and clearing away the wreckage. A revised list of losses and insur % ance is very difficult to obtain at this time. Few know just what the loss was on their buildings and slock. It is believed that when the truth is known the figures telegraphed this morning will not be far from the correct estimate. The remarkable feature of the fire was undoubtedly the absence , so far as known , of loss of life. Two men who were asleep in the Scoville house , Charles Y. Kent of the Holmes , Booth & Hayden company and mem ber of the board of education and the second cook , a German , were reported missing , but both have been located. The rebuilding of ruined structures is only a question of time. Tempor ary quarters have been secured by all the linns. Many have already tele graphed for new stocks and will re sume business immediately. The American publishing company is among the heaviest losers , the build ing being entirely ruined , but the paper was issued in an abbreviated form tonight. There has been more or less disor j der about the streets today , but the 1 police have been very active and the mlirtia have-been of great service in handling the crowds. The streets were piled with household goods and strewn with small articles thrown from the windows. Some of this propberty was confiscated by passers- by , but the amount of theiving was small compared with the opportun ities offered by the confusion. The number of injured was very small and in all but one or two cases : ases the injuries were slight. The streets are rapidly being cleared and the trolley service will soon be re sumed. HARD NIGIJT FOR FIKEMEN. Rarely have firemen been obliged to jootend against worse conditions than hose which prevailed in this most $ lisastrous conflagration. The wind ivas blowing a gale and the cold was .ntense. It secerned at one time as hough every structure in the heart ) f the city would be destroyed. Charged With Swindling. Chicago , Feb. 4. James B. Agnew , ivho claims relaionship to the well- cnonw Philadelphia family of that name , is under arrest here charged with swindling physicians in Illinois , owa , Michigan , Minnesota and Wis consin out of small sums of money , tie is charged with having fraudu- ently obtained cash subscriptions to Chicago medical publication witb vbich he had no business conneec- ioo. Agnew came to Chicago from * < jw York. CEREMONY. Weird Kites of Relensincr n. Soul from the I'anjis of Pnrjratory. The ceremony in the old South Gate was held to release a spirit from hell , says the author of a delightful paper on Korea. In the middle of the dense crowd fill ing the pavilion was a rectangular space. At each end stood a man with a big fold of loose cloth In his arms. Beside each of them a woman stood. Around them ran the folds of the cloth , which also crossed the rectangle diagonally. On the folds were Chinese characters , and In the midst of them. In the open space , stood the sorceress , wearing a red shirt with red bands over her shoulders , and long , loose sleeves Hopping in the air. With her was an old worn an beating big cymbals to gether. Before them were the widow and son of the man whose spirit was by this ceremony to he released from hell. At one side a woman beat a drum resembling two hour glasses , and be hind her were three great tissue paper figures suspended in the air and wav ing wildly. These represented spirits. The crowd shunned them awesomely. On the tloor before the sorceress was a little table holding two peeled melons , one red , one yellow , some wine in a green bottle and three green apples , which it was pleasant to think would surely give the little devils cholera morbus. The widow , an ugly , scarred- faced woman , poured out some wine and prostrated herself before the table several times. The son , a well-dressed fellow , did the same , while the sorcer ess , kneeling down , beat the cymbals to call the devils to the offering. A na tive told me that the man had been dead four years , that the devil had pre sumptive rights for three years , but that the deceased could now be got off , provided , of course , the montong wom an was satisfied with her remuneration. When the performance lasted three days It would often cost $100. The pieces of cloth would be burned , the native said , to make a ladder for the spirit from hell to heaven. The surplus folds In the men's arms went to the sorceress. Leslie's Magazine. America has 28,000 druggists. New York has 40,000 night workers. In Japan there are less than 450 men who have i > 250,000 apiece. Canada's forests are Cound to be equal to supplying the world with pulp wood alonn for 810 years , on the basis of lf 00.000 tons of manufac tured pulp a year. There are 80,000 persons , men and women , emploj-ed In what the law describes as gainful occupation- working for others for compensation in New York City. The employes of the Grand Trunk railway at Port Huron , Mich. , have raised a fund of $3,000 to establish a co-operative store where they can purchase the things they need at lower prices. The total value of the manufacture of bricks and tiles in the United States In 1900 was § 70,330,871 and of pottery $19,708,670. Locomotives to burn oil are appear ing In the Pacific States. They are built with the cab and furnace in front and the smokestack behind. The tender is discarded , and the oil and water are conducted in pipes. Circulars issues by the Carpenters' Council of St. Louis , have been re ceived in Chicago , stating that St. Louis is flooded with rarppnters , and that work on the World's Fair build ings will not begin until next spring. ' William P . Eckert. one of the oldest members of the printers' craft , died at the Union Printers' Plume in Colorado Springs. The cause was old age , the deceased being 84. Mr. Eckert was the first member admitted to the home at the time of its opening , 10 years ygo. He came from the Philadelphia union and was a worthy and respected mem I ber. Ele had the distinction of being one of the original founders ofthe - Typographical Union of North Ameri ca in 1S52 , and always had been one of the strongest and most upright members. Genius at "John , did you split the kindling ? " ( "Yes. dear. " ] 'Is the coal in ? " "Seven buckets full. " , "Now come and help me .tret the chil dren to bed , aud when the house is per fectly quiet you can have the dining- room to yourself and write a short story to pay the house rent , and a poem 3r two for the gas and water bills , and see if you can write a love song thit ' rou can sell for enough to pay the milk- man and the washerwoman ! " Atlanta Constitution. Symbolic. The Cheerful Idiot I notice our land- , ady is up on foot-ball. The Gloomy Sage How so ? J The Cheerful Idiot Why , she serves ier pie in "hollow wedges. " Brooklyn Eagle. False Pretense. We're all often forced to rob Peter In order to settle with Paul. Bnt some of us merely rob Peter And Paul never sees B3 at all. Philadelphia Press. Pi Iron Used In 1900. More than 27,000,000 pounds of pig Iron Trere consumed In thin country in L900 , NEBRASKA NOTES The Pierce mill is installing electric plant. The Auburn Flerald has started In OK its twenty-iiftli volume. Modern Woodmen will hold a mid winter carnival at Fremont tbift week. A Kemaha countyarmer recently shot an eagle bearing a 'possum i its talons. A 108-acre farm near Emerson that was bought for $25 an acre ten yeara ago recently sold for S75 an acre. The Weeping Water Republican lasV weeK put out a fine illustrateed edl- lion. The Union Pacific has been having trouble with coal thieves at Lexing ton. ton.J. J. D. Hayes of Lincoln , who baa been appointed state oil inspector to- succeed E. R. Sizer , will assume his- new duties about March 1. Walt B. Reynolds , who has success fully conducted the Madison Chron icle for the past two years , has leased the plant to Fred D. Wright. Professor Gun , who has been prin cipal of the Mason schools , has re signed and started for the Philip pines , where he will engage in hii profession. Dr. Eason , of Hebron , was at tacked by a thoroughbred bull th Dther day and severely injured before Delp arrived and drove the enraged inirual away. Oakland is expecting a building boom the coming summer. Among the improvements are a new depot , a new bank building and several brick store buildings. While at work moving the Christ ian church , J. Sutich of North Bend , was hit by a chain that slipped its hold , and his leg was broken just be- 'ow the knee. The Odd Fellows' building at Ne- maha , is complted. It is two stories high and built of brick. The upper floor will be used for lodge purposei and the lower floor for stores. Mr. Bridge and Mr. Ilaggert from near St. Libory drove into an open ing on the Loup rjver from which ica had been taken. Both horses wero * drowned , but the men succeeded in getting ashore. E. II. Sizer , on resigning his posi tion as state oil inspector to take charge ofLincolpostollice : , has ap pointed T. F. A. Williams , graduate of the State University , as his de puty. The explosion of a lamp in a cellar at Plainview , caused a lire which de stroyed foui buildings. The loss is 84,000. all of which is covered by in surance with the exception of the property owned by R. J , Jewell. A representative of an eastern com pany was in Nebraska City looking up the prospect of an electric car line. The property of the present horse car lines will be purchased of the line is built. The farmhouse of Peter Elch , in Wayne county caught fire on the roof when no one but his wife was home , . She ran to a nearby schoolhouse , se cured the assistance of a woman teacher , and the two put up a ladder and extinguished the lire. Reports from all portiors of the range country are to the effect thafc no loss of stock has occurred during the recent storms and cold weather. The feed has been good on the range and the cattle were fat and strong. Ranchmen as a rule are also well pro vided with feed and shelter. "Grandpa" Edwin Davis died at Plattsmouth , aged 91 years. He re tained all his faculties until the time of his death. During the civil war he and two of his sous served in the Fifteenth Iowa infantry. Both of the sons were killed , but he escaped without a scratch. lie was born in New York state. Elmer Kreihilng and Herbert Mus- cheites , two 14-year-old Bruning boys , went rabbit hunting and wera caught by the recent storm. After wandering aimlessly around for sev , eral hours they finally reached a farmhouse. Both were almost ex hatisted and frostbitten , but have re covered. Martha Furstenau , a 16-year-old daughter of William Furstenau of Webster township , Dodge county , died from the effects of an injury she received about a year ago. She was kicked in the head by a horse and lost the sight of one eye. Other com plications set in and medical help proved of no avail. The packing house at Nebrsaka City has begun to kill a limited num ber of hogs each day. This is tha first attempt at operation since tha strike was declared. Manager Bur- dick announces that he has a suffic ient force of men to run the plant at partial capacity. Information wheth er or not terms have been made be * tween the strikers and the packing company has not been made public Prospectors will bore for oil/ or ias near Nebraska Citj.