The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1854-06-17
Omce--Third Street, below Cedar.
MONDAY MORNING, JUNE IL, 1854.
Female Assassins.

Female Assassins.
The horrible tragedy enacted in st. Loui
some weeks since. in which a Mrs. Baker wa
the heroine, is still fresh in the memory of oul
readers. We believe she Is now in prison, a
waiting her trial for the murder of Hoffman,
She has communicated to the New Orleans Bee
the following statement of the sanguinary af
fair. She says:
'llOffnan endeavored to pursuade her to &C
with him to Germany. where he said he would
make her a Countess. On her Indignantly re-
Jecting his Overturcs, he begged her not to tel
her husband, and excused himself by saying
| that he had spells of madness. and stated that
he was going to Germany. She thought never
| to see him again but on the 10th Of February
1854, Mr.. Hoffman again entered my room. and
seemed to be much troubled. He remained
some time without speaking a word-Le then
said he would not leave St. Louis without tax.
ing me with him. | reminded him of his prom.
ise SO soiemnly made on the l4th, and Of his
prosecutions. lie at once became much cXcit-
ed-said he would have me dead or alive-that
it was useless for me to resist him any longer
that if he could not get my permission, he would
take me by fOrce--that he wished would tell
my husband--that he was prepared for Mr.. Ba-
ker-that he knew Mr.. Baker well, and would
satisfy him-that had been guilty-that he
had proof, and would write letters to him and
my relations. blasting my character--that Mr.
Baker would desert me- and would be glad to
come to him when fOrsaken by my husband and
relatiOns-that he would take me on the street
by force and carry me off in a carriage. lie
did attempt to use violence on my person.
repused him and he fed.
After this she informed her husband, who
gave her pistol, and told her to defend herself
The next time Hoffman visited her, she fired on
him, and then ensued the horrible scourging
that he received at the hands of her husband
and friends.
When Hoffman partially recovered. he still
haunted her boarding-house and she was afraid
to 60 out unless accompanied by her husband.
She was informed that her character was
blighted but resolved to resent her insults
The circumstances Of shooting Hoffman she
narrates thus:
Was descending Fourth street, between Lo-
Gust and Olive, not far from the corner of Olive
and Fourth, when Hoffman met me. He gave a
fixed look of contempt and as he reached my
side he spoke, and said to me, You id W.
Fired by his manners and words drew the pis-
tol and he run. pursued him, and tried to fire
it, but suppose did not pull hard enough.
could not get it off till he ran into the store.
| fired at him twice, and did not attempt to fire
again"
1t is becoming quite common in this country
to sympathize with every woman who may take
the law into her hands. and shoot down in the
streets any man whom she may choose to stig-
matize as one who has wronged and insulted
her. 1t has been the custom, quite too gener-
ally, for newspaper editors and others who in
tiuence TO great extent public opinion, to take
the side Of every daring and unwomanly fe-
male, who may have the courage to pocket a
revolver, the sclfposscssion to take deadly aim,
aud the nerve to draw the trigger. These Am
azons are generally arrested and pass through
the form of a trial, as did Matt. F. Ward, but
are alway sacquitted amid the enthusiastic huz-
zas and shouts of the populacc. HencefOr-
stand canonzcd. They are the lionesses of
the circle in which they move.
Now, we are not about to uphold the insidi-
GUS villainies of those who are disgrace to
humanity and our sex-those monsters in ini-
guilty, who by ficndish arts would lead asray
the confiding female, whose heart has been, in
an evil hour, given up to their keeping with a
holy and sacred feeling of trustful love- There
are, we doubt not, many cases of justifablc
homicide, committed by these unfortunate vic
tins in the hour of their extreme anguish and
hopeless despair. But we are of those who be-
lieve there are Madame Potipbars upon the
earth these modern times, as we'll as during the
days of the vrtuous Joseph. Take Mrs. Bakers
own confession, for instance There was, in
our opinion, too much method in Mr. Hoffman s
it is natural to presume she has colored his Of
Tending as highly as it would possibly bear,) to
justify the conclusion that he was crazy fool
who-as the phrase goes" fell in love with
her." married woman, "at first sight, There
must have been some commencement to all
this--a meeting upon first acquaintance, some
where and at some time, when that inexpres-
sibe air and bearing with which the modest
and virtuous wifc-cven the most vivacious
wits, stately beauties, and attractive forms OF
the land-repulscs and keeps at a distance the
libertine, and saves herself invariably from all
further annoyance from that quarter was for
gotten by Mrs. Bakcr--whcn she felt in her
heart that Hoffman was good, gay fellow, and
a little "innocent Irritation with him would dc
no harm. Men of the world, as they are called,
Of Hoffman's character and temperament, un-
dcrstand these things better than women them
selves. With the truly pure and modest of the
female sex, this attribute is inert; it is exer-
cised almost, and perhaps entirely, unconscious
ly; while knowledge Of its purport and
meaning is an acquired art with the evil de-
signing man. He knows that her every man.
ner and bearing speaks to him palmer than
language, that he dare not approach the sacred
threshold of her honor and he never fails to
depOrt himself accordingly when in her pre-
sence. The proper social relation which wo,
man holds toward the opposite sex, is not re-
strained in any degree by the exercise of this
highest dignity and sense of propriety with
which the God of Nature has SO literally en-