The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-04-04

THE last western tragedy involves suicide
and insanity, and the end is not yet. In
Greenfield, Ohio, lived John s. Blackburn,
forty-fve years old, with a wife and five chill
dren, pork merchant Of portly presence and
plethoric purse. Near Greenfield lived Miss
Mary Jane Lowell, niece of Blackburn's
brothers widow. "Her beauty of feature and
form," we are told, "was something extraordi-
nary, and invariably attracted attention when
she visited Cincinnati. Twenty-Five years
old, light, perfectly symmetrical figure, pale
golden hair flowing loose over her shoulders,
blue eyes, oval face, clear complexion, she was
of that type of beauty which Rosetti delights
to paint" Three years ago these parties be-
gan to be very intimate, and scandal natural
lY followed. They cared little for talk, how
ever, and boldly persisted in their intimacy.
"Out on the Greenfield road, in Ross county,
says Greenfield correspondent of the New
York World, writing on the 23d inst, is the
farm Of Hugh Milligan, brother-in-law of
Blackburn. Milligan went to rest early last
night, and about nine o'clock thought he
heard some one in the barn-yard, at the sta
BILE, but paid no attention to it, thinking that
the noise might be caused by some of his farm
hands cleaning the horses. Shortly before
midnight he was AROUSED by violent knock
ing at the door, and on opening 1t, Blackburn
pale as spectre, his haiI all dsheveled, his
eyes glaring with an unearthly light, and
trembling with excitement, rushed in, and,
like hunted-down wolf, flung himself pant
ing into chair. "What's the matter?" said
Milligan. Blackburn advanced to him, placed
one hand on his shoulder, gared into his
face, and Missed out, Hugh, Mary Jane is ly.
ing dead in Cliff Run. We walked down from
Greenfield, too horse and wagon from here
and drove down there. She wanted me to
take poison; wouldn't. She took it her
self Hugh: saw her fling the bottle away.
She locked at me so, Hugh, and said, Come
with me, john And then saw her fail
dead in the brushwood, saw her fall dead.
stark dead Hugh. My God, saw her fall
dead! And, with an unearthly laugh, Black
burn fell prostrate on the floor" A party was
Immediately formed, and drove speedily to
Cliff Run. "Half way up this iafernal place."
says the correspondent, "the marshal, in ad-
vance of the rest of the party, saw the BODY
OF Miss Lord. 1t was lyiug in a clump OF
Paw-paw bushes on the right bank of the run.
With open, CLASSY eyes, the fixsd stare of death
in them, distorted features, the parted iips
covered with white froth, the white teeth be-
tween grated together like vice, and the
tiny white hands clenched together before
her face, as If to blot out the terrible vista or
after life, the body of the unfortunate Girl pre-
sented fearful spectacle. The strong men
who lifted up the body tenderly, bit their lips,
through mistaken feeling OF being Thought
unmanly If they wept, and as the wagon start
ed for home again, freighted with the result Of
blasted liie, one could not help picturing in
his mind the scene that occurred in the
gloomy Run the night before" Blackburn Is
supposed by some to be hopelessly insane;
but he may have to assume a tremendous re.
sponsibility. "The inquest" the writer con-
cludes, "has failed to ascertain what poison
the dead Girl took, and rumors are afloat that
unless further investigation is made the
judgment of Judge Lynch, the well-known
criminal authority of the West, win be passed
on Blackburn, the cause of the Greenfield
tragedy"