, 1879-07-27
ROMANCE OF A SKULL.
A Strange Story of the Old National Theatre
OF Cincinnati.

| A Strange Story of the Old National Theatre
| of Cincinnati.
john Car5ov IN Neto Fork DfsoatcA.
"Uere, do you see this skull" F"
He handed me the grim remnant OF mortality.
It Was worn smooth By constant handling. Then
he narrated its romance. It was the skull OF a
murderer named John F. Cowan: who killed his
wife and two cltldern-the third, boy, eecap-
ing bV hiding under the bcd-in Cincinnati, O.,
in 1886 or 37, in little, old, tumbe-do~n frame
building on Vine street. Cowan was carpenter,
and at odd times had worked around the theatre
when out Of Job in his regular line. The cause
of bis crime was jealousy. One morning. just
as his wife was preparing to go to market, ne
came in and, with a broad~ax, literally cnopped
his victim into pieces. Escaping tnrouen rear
door, aud passing through an unoceupled stable,
where ne threw down the blood-siained AZ, he
made his way to the outskirts OF the CITY, ana
was next day captured, brought back, tr1eo'
convicted, sentenced, and publicly hanged HIS
last words were:
.'let me face the sun; now, then, let me II
the moose myself, Air. Sherh-there, that VIII
DO. I'll soon be set piece-a quick Drop TOO
give me bite OF TOBACCO"
nIhe surgeons took his body, and the skeleton
was blcached, wired, and nut on exhibition With
the blood stained dresses Of bis wife and children
in Dorfcints museum. The glass case IN which
they were shown was near that containing the
wax figures Of Alexander Drake famous
Western comedian, aud not far from mechan.
ical and weird grouping entitled the Internal
Repiops,n made BY Hiram Powers, the sculptor,
before be went to Italy and became famous.
s'The next place the skull turned up-you see
1t had rot into the show business, and once in
that nothing ever gets out of it, like your news
paper busiuess-was at the National Iheatre'
Ned Pratt. the property man, had 1t. 1he elder
Booth handled it in 'Hamlet'; SO Gid Murdoch,
and Adams, and jolly old Logan made tie house
- ~, 1F
"None OF the company knew it was murder
er's skull until one night it came out in queer
way. There, was dreamy, but not oy any
means stupid youth, who worked about Tue
wardrobe baskets for them, and one evening Ned
Pratt jolingly told him to take the g Skull ove5
the way aud get pint OF ale IN it. The youth,
without question, took it over the way "hlen
meant Bill Luck's barroom' where were assem- is,,
bIed Just then Teddy Saunders then the hus-
band Of the cstimab,e lady who is the presentw1te
OF Gayler, the dramatist), Bob Grierson, heavy
Morton, ind Ol Dur;yayc.
"'What're you going to do with that bone
0 a:pins sso Of % ale ID It Tor Mr. Pratt,' was the
".Nice logon that is for propmaker to quatt
his Rhenish ln,' said Morton.
"'S'pose you take drink OF ale out OF 1t,
Joh{p, before :Jou go back suggested saunders
to the youth.
'.He stoutly objected to this, but the crowd
gathered about. him, and finally, by dlnt OF
melodramattc threats and mu.h coa1ns con-
bined, induced him to give in.' glass OF aie
was poured into this ghastly receptacle, anu q
with both hand grasplng it, the youth raised 1t
ssAt this instant Johu Bates, the manager:
entered. 4 glance at the youth, tue up1i1ted
/ skull, the laughing quartet OF actors, and he
understood the situation.
"'Well,' exclaimed John, my lad, do 1ou
know whose skull that was you are holding 10