The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1871-07-26
AZ wKsrzRs STORY. California fur

nishes story of diablerie and mystery
! 5hich itFuut3 55 >asifRcs!. to snrpass
outside the legends shd the tradiHpns AZ
the nge Of ogres, giShts. Hagcisns. and
al! other evitthipgs.ss q Accbrdingstd this
tail OF the grotesqde, it would d.rappeal
thst somo TIME ago, 4 man, named Gres
CORY Summerfield, person said to have
been OF extraordinary nttainments, lite
rart and scientific, was muH cred by be-
ing throw. f.cn the platform ct car on
/ tho Union Pacific Railroad, at Cape
Horn. IA San Francisco lakyer. OF e1-
oellent repnte, named Leonidas Parker,
being the only person on tho platform
with him at tho time, suspicion was di-
rected against him, and no was arrested
as being the perpetrator OF the crime.
Twice tried, he was both timos mysteri-
! ously acquitted. I.
| as snid, has left written statement, in
| which, while acknowledging that he did
kill Summer6eld. he explains wherefore.
He saya that short time before the
| death Of Summerf1eld. that person, who
was known aa ':The Man with Secret, -
came into his Office in San Francisco
and told him. with the fire Of the dis
coyerer in his eye, that he had fathomed
the great secret Of making water burn.
be had discovered preparation OF po-
tassium which would separate the pnrti-
| oles and ignite the liberated oxygen,
thus creating and recreating its own
force, aud 80 consuming until all the
particles were destroyed For the pos
session OF this secret he demanded the
sum OF $1,000. 900. to be raised in San
Francisco, under the penalty, otherwise,
! of the destruction Of the world by his
| setting fire to the Pacific Ocean.
Parker at first thought the man u
lunatio, but upon the trial Of ono of his
potassium pills in basin of water in his
Office, be saw, to his surprise, that by its
influence the water was changed into q
liquid that blazed to the ceiling until it
was consumed. He impaired his disco
very OF this drendful compound to seve-
raj gentlemen Of San Francisco lead
ing banker, bishop, chemist, two
State University professors, u physician.
judge, and two Protestant divines,
who, with himself, witnessed the expert
ment on grand scale in mountain lake
ten miles from San Francisco, the waters
OF which, In fiftesn minutes, wore entire
y conaumcd. Summerfield growing
importunate. the committee became
alarmed. Ho demanded the money, and
hually. as q last resort, it was determined
to destroy the man who held the fate oil
the world in his hands. Parker. who
knew the gorgas and windings of the
Pacific Railroad, was chosen as his exc
cutioher. Sumnierffeld was dccoyed by
Parker to the spot. and hence the ira
gedy. In the conclusion of his locu-
ment, he snys: II selected Cape Horn aa
the best adapted to the purpose, and
the public knows the rest. HAY.
ing been fully acquitted by two tribu nails
of the law. I make this final appeal to
my fellow-men throughout the State.
aud ask them confidently not to reverse
the Judgment already pronounced" 10
this mysterious and dramatic affair, but
one fact remains to be added. Parker
himself died insane. just after writing bis
statement, avictim to newspaper com-
ments upon his connection With the e1-
traordinary case Of Summerfield.
| WHO TALIAFRRRo Is2-Captain Talia.