The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-25 00:00:00

FRANCE SNOWED UP.

France, east, west, north, south, and more south
than north, has been snowed up. Snow has fallen in
Paris the whole day long, says a correspondent, tele-
graphing on Sunday. The St. Nazaire and Brest ex-
press trains were in distress the other side of Chartres.
Snow storms around Havre suspended communica-
tion inland. The lines between Granville and Dreux,
and Pontarlier and Switzerland were chocked up.
Soldiers were employed on all sides in clearing ob-
structed railways. An avalanche fell at St. Di 6 in
the Vosges, carrying away the hospice and an inn
which afforded a refuge to travellers there. The
whole family and household in the inn and seven
wayfarers in the hospice are supposed to be killed.
One person, a commercial traveller named Bernard,
escaped. When he felt the oscillation on the moun-
tain as the avalanche advanced he jumped from a
window, and got behind a peak. A corpse and a
living woman in her night clothes were found near.
The woman went to bed as usual, and was awoke by the
crash and slide forward of her house. She cannot
think how her life was preserved.

THE MURDER OF A
MILLIONAIRE.
AN ACCOMPLICE CONFESSES.

A clue in the case of the murder of Mr. Snell, of
Chicago, the millionaire, was obtained on Saturday,
telegraphs the New York correspondent of the Daily
News. A man arrested on suspicion confessed that
he stood outside the house while an accomplice named
William B. Tascott was inside. He said he patrolled
the streets while the other was robbing the safe ;
that after the murder was committed the mnrderer
hurried out, grasped him by the arm, and he went to
Tascott's lodgings, where lie remained several hours.
Tascott made a full confession of what lie had
done, and then went to the house of his para-
mour, and told her he was in a bad scrape: He
pointed his pistol at her, demanding 20 dollars. She
gave him the money, and he threw a bundle of
papers in her lap and fled. The police have recovered
these papers, which proved to have been taken from
Mr. Snell's safe. This led to the discovery of the
accomplice who had been seen in Tascott's company.
After visiting his mistress, Tascott went to a newspaper
office where he had done work as a reporter, and was
asked to write an account of Mr. Snell's murder. He
declined to do so, saying ho did not care to work.
While in the office he heard that 10,000 dollars re-
ward had been offered for the discovery of the mur-
derer. He lingered about the city until the evening,
when it is believed lie took the train for California,
for a man answering his description has been seen
there recently. The curious fact is revealed
now that Tascott himself gave information of
the murder a few minutes after it was com-
mitted. Somebody that morning called over the tele-
phone to the newspaper for which Tascott had
worked, saying that a man had just been shot in a
house on the Washington Boulevard, and that he had
died. Without giving any more definite information,
the mysterious informant left the telephone. The
message was regarded then as a hoax; but the pro-
prietor of a drug store now comes for Ward, saying
that a man answering to Tascott's description came to
his place that morning, asked to use the telephone,
and sent a messago. Tascott is only 21 years of age.
His father is a wealthy and respected citizen of
Chicago, being president of one of the largest manu-
facturing compani-es. The son has been a wild boy,
v,:tif a long criminal record as an expert thief.