, 1870-03-18
TRAGEDY AT ALTON, Ill
attempted Burglary, nud Swift and
BLOODY RctribnSAoue

attempted Burglary, Nud Swift and I
bloody RctribnsAons
Aa0n ~. txa'rh 1s, Correspondence q Tbs 81 Loas
Coroner Quarton summoned jury this
morning to hold An inquest On the body Of
lnnn in the city jail. After examination Of the
body, the jury went to tho Office Of the Core
ner, where vas e1icitcd tho following tessi-
mony:
v; ". Martin, swoEn: / reside on the
southeast corner Of Sixth and Henry streets,
in this city. Am 81 yeazs old Am cArpen-
ter and builder. At about half-past O'clock
his morning, 18th Of March ny vie ~, woke sI1s me-
window. replied, ~ guess not" After =
short lime she seized my arm and said "There
are certainly burglars It the window" I
raised myself up, and hoard them on tho
out. Ny wife called me back to get myrovoiT-
CT. After obtaining it, I won't to door open
ing OH the porch rad ny revolver in my right
hand; aid tho bolt with my left hand, ind sud
denly stepped upon the porch. saw man It
| the window, about tive feet from me- de haa
tempting to raise the window. He Jumped on
| the porch south, aud ran cast. called 70 him,
and as be did not heed, I snapped my revolver,
which failed to discharge. Ho ran into close
place, and tusncd and ran toward me, when
He did not stop. bus turned north:
fred again. He ran perhaps twenty feet
and fell. When he ran towards me thought
ha wna coming for me. II was not dark night.
He had . good chance 1t nc and at him. l
supposed he had An accompdee, perhaps in
the house. called my ncighbor, Charles
SchAfer. Gchsfcr brought two mon with him
did not 20 near the wounded man, but sont
Blankets 10 him by atr. ChAllacomb. The man
fell in Sixth Rt1eet Ayear ago my proyiaionS
were stolen from my cellar, and some s.1
months SINCE I Was robbed On the sane
| ,rayn;so1 nf r1Hf1irr
VIM, L. Gull. swoln: live at Alton; am y
rlasterer, and SO yeafs old haye seen the man
who has been killed; think his name is Will.
i'm Eohier. He is an American; he lived 1t
Battery IA" Second Illinois Light Artillery,
with ne :; he was wagon maker; WAS single
man. think he was about 40 Jeara old; be
was d rough character. He enlisted at Peotls,
and w1s to be tried at Peoria ~ q hoIse tMef,
J but WAS offered chance to enlist, and did 80,
| in 1854. Ho told me his father lived seyen
miles from Toulon. Information concerning
j, Lin can be had by writing to MA1sh- Wynn,
Tou1op, Illinois.
Charles schafer, sworn: I live in Alton,
. At Tho store Of Blair & Atwood, and 20 years
9 cid; heard noiso Just before o'clock thls
morning; asked my wife whAt noise vas
. TINT; sba thought it was William, boardef
: opening Lis window heard the noise twice
!. Twas helf asleep; thought q It was ny ooGl S1s
l
t N. ". Martins house after this noise La!
awake Gr. Martin knocked at my bacA doc
and said, "Como over. 4 man t1ied to Sc
in my house and shot him; don't know th'
result I went over and found man ly1nI
on Lis face in tho middle Of si1tl
stlcet. Mr. Martin asked mo to call MI
r Chal!1 comb; he wanted moro men heio;
It Gid go; then ut Martins request went 10
Horny E@swcll, Of the night police; he, Cae
well, examined the pnntaloons pocket 81 th
i wounded man, and found q pocket knife,
z coa1sc comb piece Of tobacco, and som
8 matches; when / vent to the man he Wa
choking and moaning; did not speak to him
n us soon a. Caswel examined the wounded M
J, ho was hauled away on d1ay; he was the
:" dead; about three-fou1ths Of an hour hh
elapsed since he was shot; the noises hear
n seemed Like opening md ehutting door-nea
l. together; the noiscs were about ten minute
: before LII. Martin called me.
y Henry Caswe)l sworn: Live in Alton, an
h. am policeman. About O'clock this mort
ii :ng Charles SchAfer came On my beat and 81
&. there WIS business for me at Mr. Martina
,e wht II reached there found a man lying o
Si1 il street, east Of Henry, near the middle
the street; I went to him and raised b
F. hoad he WIS bro1thing little; there vas
ac1t es the street and got draynan and dra5
Of Lefole the d1ay reached tho placo tho Inan VI
D. | do d Q put the body on the dray and took
al to tho City Jail s; I never saw the man botore
he htd pistol bullet wound behind hla le
be err: his brnins were oozing from tho wound
Of lie bullet did not 80 through his head h
ID fase wls bruised by falling on the froze
i'd ground. searched his pockets when fir
IN reached lin I did go to find weapons or tool
t is etated that two men were seen by
T. Ind forth before the house late tho evening b
fcre- Tho man killed wns in Iickards stol
CT Yesterday, and his body was recognized
ps r;ckard and lis clerk, and they state that tht
he he had money. The jury found but five can
& md @Ia you'd I'd rsh 10 to
pounds. He had brown hair, mixed with gray
es sandy Or rcd whiakars, euaueVh2t gray, II
I'd Lice eyes. He had Oh \ hlnn beaver oreEcos
co nndercoat or vest, : white wooIlen unde
set 'ntSPt s It.. hht rse sfq"a foa saoan S.s 1s
he pants, aaa over hem blaeK RIB
n pantr, white socks, aud brogAn shoe
Ills shocs were 1ooecd ready for romova. doni
tees when he got into tho house. be had
he white handkerchief marked "o," and Tse
4! upper jaw, and tho little finger On his lie
III hand was sdn from some injury. There "
TO a1so found in his coat case knife probah
~ designed to remove window pAnes. Thr
On photographs were found on his pcrson two
~ Them 1efe apparently Of the ssme person.
back "Wariner d Saith, q Vest RandoIl
street, Chicago" The other photograph v
a. Of Portly woman, about so yc~ra Of as
he taken By IN. stuber, No. l4s Market ste3
4 Louisville, Ky.
on The Coroper's tury returned verdict In q
as cotdance with the sWorn testimony, excu]p.
"a ing Mr. Martin from blame.
be EurelArics have been ala1ning1y fzeque
ee here during the last two years, and twice Wit
,c- in the last year Mr. Martins premises ha
he | been invaded and robbed. fome four or Il
years since . burglar was killed, under slrni]
ihs circumstance. By John Challacombz, At
", residence, one block below Mr. Martins ., On t
EN- same street and for two years we hid e1eu
= Euh from these pests. Nr. Martin Is prou
Eo | nent citizen. 4 worthy man. Il member Of O
sxt City Council, md he has the sympathy Of q
AZ citiEens in having bean the unexpected aud Z
ri, willing agent in shedding the blood Of fel1o
,ee being, and their congratulations for having
by society OF a public enemy.