Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1875-06-03

Fergus Falls, Minnesota, is the locallty ol
Il romance and tragedy OF no common
order. Among the people who have llved
for some time ut Fergus Falls are, or rather
were, young man named Thomas Nelson
and Miss Anderson. Two years ago, Miss
Anderson and Nelson were engaged 70 DC
married, but the date of the wedding was not
fixed. 1t was the old story The man must
win the fortune necessary 10 establish home
before the marriage could take place. Full
Of hope, Nelson left Fergus Falls and emil
grated to the pinerics Of Wisconsin, and be-
gan the rcso!ute struggle for money to ac
complsh his ends. Two years Of hard labor
surprised him; he was shrcWd, energetic ana
honest, and he prospercd in the pinerlts.
Then, few weeks ago, he returned to Fergus
Falls to claim Miss Anderson, and to estab-
lsh her in the home he had labored for. tie
found the woman he had hoped to marry
changed. He Was steadfast, but her wander
ing fancy had settled upon another man to
whom she was reported engaged. Nelson
had expected to be married at once upon ms
return, and the falscncss Of the woman stun
ned him He went about dazed and sad, but
expressed himself to no one. On the 2Sd OF
April grand party was held by the young
people of Fergus Falls, in vacant building,
of which Nelson was part owner. lie was
Miss Anderson arrived, in company with her
| latest flame She danced occasionally, and
Nelson ,oolcd at her, apparently without agl-
tation, though st heart he doubtless endured
all the agony strong men suffer when they
yield themselves up fully to the passion which
is most removed from reason. Finally, Miss
| Anderson took a seat and Nelson approached
her. She gave him her hand and he was
heard to remark: ''Why are you here to-
nightc Don't you know cannot bear 10 see
you here!" The lady rose and the two walked
/ to another seat, when Nelson, standing be-
fore the girl, was again heard to say: You
| know l cannot bear to see you here, ana
while he spoke he was seen reaching into his
pocket behind him. Suddenly he drew forth
Il small revolver, and, placing It against the
lody's breast, fired. Shrieking, Miss Ander-
son e!arted past Nelson and down the STAIR
way. Nelson instantly turned himself about,
threw his head back and discharged the wea-
pon at his own heart. Without uttcring a
word, he sprang forward nearly fifteen feet
as the report died away, dropped the pistol,
and fell to the floor, dead. When Miss An
dcrson fled she was followed by her friends,
and il was discovered upon the street that the
bullet intended for her bad flattened itself
mon the steel OF her corset, and retained
barely force enough in its passage to lodge
beneath the skin. SO ended the tragedy.
They examined the body of the man lying
upon the ballroom floor, and his pockets was
found notes and large sum of money,
enough to begin housekeeping with. They
found something else carefully wrapped up
and laid away among his valuablcs 1t was
a heavy gold ring, and had been intended by
Nelson as a wedding-ring for the woman who
deserted him. The dancers withdrew from
the hall, and there the body was prepared for
burial The next day there came to the eA-
press office a package addressed to Nelson
the package contained his wedding suit, and
it arrived just in time to serve as his shroud.
Neatly clad in the wedding clothes, the body
was laid out and visited by many Of the citi-
zens who had long respected the character. of
the dead man, and among those who came
was the woman who had been false to him
and whom he had tried to kill. Throwing
herself repeatedly upon the coffin, her re-
proachcs and protestations Of love were earn
est and affecting, but they brought no life to
the dead man. Miss Anderson proved her
self thorough woman; cruel to herself and
the man she loved tickle, and repcntant, all
too late. 1t WAS very complete romance,
the affair at Fergus Falls, and touched the
heart of everybody. The last ceremonies
over the dead were earnest and imposing. AS
in Enoch Arden's village, the little town had
seldom seen q nobler funeral