Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-04-25
A lawyers vlllainy.
Hiring Kentucky Outlaw for G
DiabOlicaI PurpoSe--Jiited by
q Fascinating WidOw--The
Incendiary'sDoo
HapIess Tramps In
nOcently Hung. s,

"Do you really think Mr.
Woolman, that / would risk my
neck for the paltry sum Of 1925. .
"But, Ralph, il is only arsonv'
eyes, you want me to set fire
to aghouse occupied by four per-
sons. Under the laws Of Ken
lucky this is a capital offense,
Mr.. Woolman; and as | do not
yet wish to shuttle OFF this NOR
tai coil, I beg to be excused"
"But, Ralph, they never will
catch you. Let me look out
for that"
81 don't want even to go to
the Penitentiary at Frankfort,
Mr.. Woolman. / was there for
two years, and | got nearly
starved to death, not to count
THE NUMEROUS FLoGGINGS
Which I received for the most
trifling infractions of the terri.
bic prison regulations"
"Let us come to an under
standing, Ralph. How much
do you want for the job?"
"Two thousand dollars, MK
Woolman.'
care you crazy, Ralph?"
81 am as sane as anybody.
won't take a cent less. If you
won't give me the $1,000 il
advance ="
"In advanced"
"Yes, in advance, Mr.. Wool
man. Don't take me for a fool
Two thousand dollars is small
sum for YOU"
This delectable conversation
took place in the Office of Jared
Woolman, a wealthy lawyer of
Bowling Green, Kentucky, be-
tween nine and ten o'clock a. m.
on the 18th of May, 1889, be-
tween Woolman and Benjamin
Ralph, a seedy and decidedly
desperate-looking man of thirty
This man Ralph was one Of
the worst young outlaws of thai
State. He had committed a
least three murders. but had al
ways escaped conviction ow'
ing to the insufficiency of evi'
dence against him.
For horse-stealing he haC
served a term in the Penitentia.
ry, where he had behaved very
badly, and, as consequence, ht
was treated by the prison au'
thorities with
MARKED SEVERITY.
On the present occasion he OF
fered Woolman, who was a very
mean, cowardly villain, to Sc
fire to the house of the Widow
Smalls,a very handsome woman
for $1,000.
Why did Hoffman want thi
most Infamous incendiary &c
committed? Simply becausi
the Widow Smalls had rejected
his proposals of marriage. Ii
was a voluptuary of the wors
kind, and the buxom charms Of
Mrs. Smalls had inflamed hi
) unbridled passions.
When Mrs. Smalls told hin
that she could not marry hin
because she was engaged t
Valentine Donohue, an Iris
! merchant, the lawyer hat
sworn to himself that he woul'
! ruin hel in order to prevent he
becoming
! ANOTHER MANS WIFE.
: With fiendish ingenuity he ha
q conceived the following plan
t A distant cousin of his, an in
surance agent, had prevailed Q
: his solicitation, upon Mrs.Small
4 to insure her house for a yer
large sum. Careless about bus
: mess matters, the widow ha
$ filed out the papers withos
: reading them. Woolman ais
5 managed to get into the widow
cellar a quantity of combust
bles, rags saturated with OF
&c, without her knowledg'
Ralph was to enter the cellar
the night and set fire to the con
bustibles.
In Mrs. Smalls' house live b.
side herself her aged lnother-iI
law, Mrs. Bocock, and the la
t.rstwospinster daughterssJaI
and Betsey. Woolman though
liz all them perish in the confl