Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-10-23
AN INTERNAL MACHINE.
Cincinnati's Sensational Horror
Qdarter of q Century. Ago. 4
How q Medical Student Blew up
Man and Mis- Wife.
From the Cincinnati Commercial.

Il
the barrel and podophylin by the
wholesale, not far from the delicious
balm of thousand odorB from 81
Keck's nose-tickling factory, an old
man, prematurely so, was rolling pills.
A cadaverous lad, he might have been
Romeo's apothecary, stepped forward
as we entered. He looked chills and
fever, and he smelt of sna ake-root and
paregoric.
! us Mr.. Arrison in ?"
Back from behind counter with q
tall glass front peered an iron-gray
head surmounting high check bones
and large snake-looking black eyes.
"My name is Arrison."
"Ah, glad to see you, Mr.. Arrison.
About twenty-five years ago you
blew up-or got the credit of having
blown up with an internal machine
Isaac Allison and his wife. The little
affair has slipped most peoples mem
ory, and many now in the city have
never heard of it. Suppose we talk
over the affair.""
The man with iron-gray hair
knocked over q mortar and pestle, q
slight paleness came over his counte-
nance, but he nerved up and said:
81 suppose you are one of those
id newspaper cusses. Well, sir,
you have the impudence of the devil.
Have not been persecuted and hunt
ed down enough for that affair, of
which | am entirely innocent2 No,
sir, l won't be interviewed. I've
nothing to say" and the worthy in
fernal-machine fellow stepped into a
dark room, and we saw him no more.
Thinking he had gone for perhaps an
other internal machine, and not car
ing to be made a frightful example
of, we left Arrison to his solitude and
his pills, AMI hasten to revive the
dusty and forgotten memories of the
most diabolical murder and fiendish
outrage that Cincinnati ever witness
ed.
THE STORY.
II was between 9 and 10 o'clock at
night, June %, 1854, nearly q quarter
of century ago, that two boys
were playing on Plum street, near
Fifth.
"Don't you want q job ?" said tall
black haired man to them.
One of them declined, but Johnny
King on the reception of dime, was
persuaded to carry q box to Isaac AL
lison, janitor of the Marine hospital,
that was then located on Longworth
street and Central avenue.
As he went on his errand ghosts of
dissected bodies haunted his boyish
imagination, and grinning skeletons,
euch as the doctors have, reached their
bony fingers to clutch him, 40 he did
not carry the box to the hospital but
left it with drug clerk on the corn
er: The box was labelled. The clerk
shook it and thought it contained
brown paper. He in turn handed il
to DR.. Baker, one OF the officers of the
hospital and professor in the Gin !.
cinnati Medical college, who shook it
and thought it contained sand. He
gave it to Mrs. Allison, who was COM
ing down stairs, saying: "Here,
madam, somebody has sent you
present. She eagerly grasped the
box and fastened upstairs to her
husband. Full of offemaie, and in this
case fatal curiosity.she peered into the
package over his shoulder, as he, seat
ed on tine bed, fastened to nntie the
strings and raise the lid.
"What is it, and who can have sent
it y she queried.
A flash, a crash, terrific bang the
room was full of smoke, the bed was
on fire Mrs. Allison wrapped in q
sheet of flame every window pane in
the room knocked out the plastering
on the walls hurled to the door Alli-
sons abdomen torn open and his
bowels torn out, fifteen slugs buried
In his thigh one-half of the poor wo-
mans face blown of, her right arm
torn from her body walls, floors and
broken furniture blackened with
powder, and patient in the adjoin-
ing room having his jaw fixed, hurl-
ed fiat on the carpet from the operat-
ing chair. The report was heard in
Newport, and
ONE POUND OF HUMAN FLESH
Was found, bleeding and blackened,
imbedded in the laths of the ceiling.
Help speedily came. The doctors,
the idlers and the citizens of the
neighborhood rushed to the scene of
the disaster. iPeople climbed tree
and peered in at the hospital win.
dows, and the town was speedily
alive with the affair. Allison lay ON
the dissecting-room table dying. His
sufIerings were fearful; his groans
and shrieks could be heard squares
away. His wife, torn to pieces, LAY in
tho next room, in all the torments of
pain. The doctor took Allison's hand
and said:
"Who did it ?"
He answered, civilian B. Connel-
ly, New York"
The doctor repeated, "Allison
there's no use disgusting the fact, you
can't live you are now dying; have
you an enemy in the world2 Tell
me truly who did this 2" And the
doctor pressed his hand tenderly and
bent his head to catch the dying ac-
cusation Of the unfortunate man.
His mind was clear, his reason un-
dimmed; he hesitated, looked earn
estly at the doctor, and . second time
repeated: 81 have bitter enemy, it
is William B. Connolly, of New
York he did It." Allison died in q
few hours. His poor wife submitted
to the knife Of tho surgeon, and said
sshe wanted to die If her husband
did" But the doctors would not tell
her whether he was dead or living,
and in the most excruciating of NOR
tai agony she fingered for twenty
four hours and then followed her
husband down the dark valley.
The greatest excitement, of course,
prevailed. The mayor offered the
munifcent reward Of $500 for the ap-
prehension of the perpetrator. Had
he been discovered he would have
expiated his crime on the first lamp
post. The police--and Jim Ruffin
Was chief at the time--discredite AL
lison's dying statements and accusa-
tions. Allison and his wife were .
sorry set. They had been arrested in
St. Louis for robbing steamboat, .
| jimmy was found on his person, and
he was sent to the Workhouse, while
she was discharged. She was bux.
ON brunette, plump and we'll devel-
oped. Therefore the police paid no
attention to the statements of Allison,
and hunted for some one that the lus-
cious charms OF the wife had soured
on. Nor were they long in their
search. When the crowd were gath
cred about the hospital door, on the
might Of the occurrence, . tall man,
with dark hair and flashing black eyes,
said: ssThat machine has accom-
plished its mission" Then he disap-
pcared
| WHO WAS HE?
None knew. This was q clew. In
the college attending lectures was q
tall, dark-haired man, the SON Of 4
veteran Of the war of 1872. He waa
. returned Californian-had made
"ducats" In the gold regions, and
coming back from the scenes and ex.
elements Of 40, had studied medi.
cine, and fallen into the amoroul
meshes of the fair Mrs. Allison. Sht
was plump, loving and beautiful, and
worst of all, welded to man twice
her ownage. He was youthful, ,pock'
cts full Of money, and 1t 10 NO won
der the casual acquaintance ripene,
Into attachment, then foated on int