Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-12-31

| books, and all attempts 70 nnu BOW tneA
were taken failed, until yesterday, wher
the clerical looking gentleman was dis
covered 10 be the kieptOmaniac. he
was standing in the store quietly read
I ing 8 book he had taken, when Gus
toner entered, upon whom the prOprie
tor turned TO wait upon. Tie Instant
his back was turned, the gospel gentle
man left the store. The stationer i'm
mediately followed him, and, coming
up, asked what he did with that book.
The reverend gentleman turned pale
and with the exclamation, 'For Gods
sake, don't expose me publicly, brought
/ forth the stolen book from under bis
coat" That clergyman was j. M
C0oms. This morning bis congregation
at the fashionable West End assem-
bled at the usual time. TIE
hour for services came, but the pastol
was absent. "A messenger was dis.
patched to bis apartment. The door
was barred. The messenger forced the
door to find the dead body OF Cooms IN
his chamber, with his throat go terribly
cut that the head was nearly severed
from the body. The messenger, horror
stricken, announced the fact TO the con-
gregstion. Subsequent inquiry dis
closes the following facts: Cooms has
been an honored and successful clergy
man Of this district for quarter Of q
century, at fFst in the Methodist, and
lately 10 the PresbyieTian denomination.
Cooms's wife for some years has been
insane. This calamity has st times
clouded his mind. There were no chill
dren. For some weeks the old family
msid-servant has noticed that Cooms
was unusually depressed and exhibited
symptoms similsr TO those which were
manifested ia the early stages of Mrs.
COoms's insanity. This morning, fOI
the first time in very many years,
Cooms ordered all the Sunday papers
purchased and brought 10 him before
church. The papers were found IN his
room carefully examined, the one con-
tanning the above paragraph had last
been read, and lay on top as il this pare
graph had been carefully Tesd. The
suicide, according 10 the account OF
time, must have speedily followed the
reading There was so much method,
however, in the madness that a cOnsid-
erable quantity OF government bonds
were found carefully arranged upon the
table near the fatal newspaper. The
clergyman was q man Of property. The
throat was cut with two Tszofs, and the
work was thoroughly done.
The Beck Greek Mystery.
From the Kansas city Times.l
Whenever crime does its work upon
the western border il seems to add to the
horror which il leaves behind, strange
and singular mystery that appears to
baffie investigation, and becomes more
impenetrable the further inquiry is
pressed. Or il, perehance, there be
some thread which points out the man
neT OF perpetrstiOn, the perpetrators
vanish, the occurrence is forgotten until
some new terror is heralded Scarce
had the p0pulsce recovered from the
startling exploit of the Muncie train
robbers before il was brought 70 its feet
again By a rumor which reached this
city yesterday that the dead bodies OF
two unknown men bad been found, hor-
ribly mutilated, a few miles southeast Of
this city on the line Of the Missouri Pa
cific road, between here and InGepenG-
enee. Speculation wss upon the wing
at once, and q hundred theories were
freely INDUCED in by the town. Imme-
diately after the report DR.. JOseoh Chew,
coroner, went to the scene, which is in the
immediate vicinity of what is known as
Rock Creek Station. The place is not
such as is usually associated in the
minds Of the reader with crimes Of this
nature. On the one size is a range of
bluffs which have been fashioned by the
hand Of nature into symmetrical form.
0n the other is level plain stretching
out to the waters of the Missouri. Be
tween these is Rock Creek Station, little
more or less than q stock yard, with q
cattle pen. AS two men came up on
hand-car yesterday morning, they found
lying on the switch, lengthwise with the
road, the liieless form Of young man,
with beardless face, apparently nine
teen or twenty years OF age. Going bscs
further, some forty yards, the body of
another man was found, mutilated and
crammed underneath the cattle pen.
DR.. Chew summoned q jury, consisting
of VIM. G. Hinkle, Redm0n Silvers,
Thomas Atwell, james Mccormick and
Schuyler Lowe. Two witnesses, Jerry
Curtain and John Doyle, were exam
ined. The fist testified substantially rs
follows: As he and John Doyle
were running a hsnd-csr on the Mis-
souri, Pacific road yesterday, going east,
about halfpast eight that morning, he
found man lying in the switch at the
Rock Greek station; one arm and one
leg were on each side Of one Of the rails.
He was dead when he saw him. He
then started for Independence TO report,
aud had not proceeded very far when he
found another dead body in the cattle
guard. He says he found no blood upon
the track. Mr.. Curtain is supported iu
bis testimony by Mr.. DOYLE. The Jury
verdict substantially as fol-
lows: "That the body found upon the
track was that OF Scott Manning; this
was the suppositi0n from papers found
upon his person; that he came 60 his
death by fracture in the back of the
head by an instrument unknown to ths
Jury. That the body of the man in the
cattle guard was supposed to be d. D
JacksOn's, and from tue evidence it was
he came 10 his death ia the
same mannsr as reported in the case of
Che BrOskIyn Tax-9mce Deficiency
sass, 600 in DfspNIe-
New York WOrle
The case of the city Of Brooklyn
against Isaac Bsdeau, ex-cOllector of
taxes, was referred to i. M. Cullen,
Geo. III. Fisher and Henry w. SlOcum,
to take testimony. These referees met
yesterday for the first time in the office
Of the corporation counsel. Mr.. De-
Witt opened the case for the city, and
claimed that Mr.. Bsdesu owed the city
sl35, 600, according 10 the books Of the
office. Nineteen thousand Of this, he
said, could be traced by erasures in the
cssh-bOok to Badesu'5 bank account; |
Sl4, 900 was misappropriated by entering
the amount in the "ticklerii and subss- |
1uently erasing it. II was never en-
tered in the cssh.book. The surplus |
fund OF S49,O 600 was not explained, and |
then 'he interest on deposits was claimed |
0y Mr.. Dewitt. Mr.. Seaman, an ex-
pert accountant, testified that he exam
lned the books from July, 1866, to July, |
1867, and found a deficiency Of $780, |
33S 70 in that time alone, exclusive Of |
the interest on city deposits. Witness |
here explained the erasures in the books. |
On thetenth of February, 1871, erasures
were made in the hooks. One bill paid |
amounted TO S3S7S 80. The first "3u |
was erased, thus showing a steal OF |
5000 at once. Several other erasures
were made. After some further testi- |
mony the case was adjourned.
sLes1 See ef tITi Bust.v
Louisville Ledger.
The town Of Muniordville, it is gener-
ally known, wss the scene OF pretty act |
i've military operations during the late |
war. Il was a garrison, held by one side |
Or the other, from September, 1851, to |
the close of The war, and was the scene |
Of several sharp engagements. All the |
lime there was an artillery force Of |
greater OF less strength at the post. |
About half mile northeast Of the town
is knob Of no mean proportions. Upon |
this knob were placed the targets used |
for artillery practice, and scattered about
over It's sides are still to be found shot |
and shell, exploded and unexploded, in |