The New York herald., 1879-07-08
Was the Shot Fired from a
Students Pistol
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
Paul Steukner's Shooting from a
Seminary Window.


The police have ideas that called clews-of
course. so has almost every man who has hoard or
read OF the unfortunate occurrencc-eut all
they amount to is that they clews or
ideas and are in the heads hands Of the authori
ties One of the ghosts that vanished into thin uir
yesterday was the Woman in White" 1t was no
sooner ascertaned that q lady dressed in white had
been seen in the college grounds the night OF the
murder than it was universally settled that the
key to the extraordinary combination had been
found She camc into presence yesterday Of her
own voltion, and proved to be highly respectable
lady well known to the residents i'll the seminary,
who had been taking the air with her son. as she had
frequently done before in that same enclosure.
In recompense for the loss of this substantial sur
mise oomed up the formidable fact produced by the
second examination of the body. which took place
the preceding day previous to the burial.
Then discoloraton OF the nose was brought to
light that the physicians decided the result OF
blow This stern rock in the way of fancfu explana-
tions had considerable cold water thrown upon in
the view that it had been caused by coming in
contact with stone, but Bishop Seymour disperses
that fmsy theory with the assertion that his Sis
ter's husband was first dead lying his back
Many years ago it was established in France that
man foil on his face when shot close. but backward
when he received the bullet at some distance.
A STARTLING POSSIBILITY
There is not the slightest doubt in the minds of
many that this gentleman encountered some one he
knew III the grouuds-may be a person who. like
himself lived there-engaged in a criminal Some
words passed between them. followed by a blow and
the persistence of Mr.. Seymour to catch the guilty
party and disgrace both him and his companion. a
bullet the pair escaping None but
one of character would fear exposure. A tramp
would be more likely to leave sullenly than return
violence. but OF position would be in the
that reputation may become suddenly
desperate: Many Witnesses, witnesses come forward to
and deans that people make the
college park place of resort after nightfall There
Is lovers lane" one side and plenty OF evidence
that boys and girls and men and women to be
seen all the evening long hanging about the
closure. Strange 1t seems with all the annoyance
this criminal gathering under their eyes caused
the college authorities. no precaution was
away OF couples when they happened to be caught.
-Four gates wooden ones, like the railing that fences
off two sides Of the park. always left open all
night as well as all day. chain and weight fastened
inside forces them closed AS the person passing
through leaves but there is no lock
fastening any of them. People acquainted with
metropolitan life would be apt to look on this as
an invitation to come inside. and such condition
OF laxity could only exist among the most unsus-
pecting and confident people. 1t is quite natural,
of course that i'll q theological college these ele
ments should largely enter into the government. but
that in no way removed the evil consequence of
The carelessness. The doors Of the buildings,
too. like the gates. the latch.
buildings at any hour No particular time was set
down at which those living within the enclosure
freedom from the street 1t is surprising the learned
professors and clcrgymen Ill the seminary were not
long ago seriously disturbed than they appear
A PISTOL FIRED FROM SEMINARY WINDOW.
The handspring OF the operations OF the police
yesterday was hung upon the statements of ladies
living in the block Twenty first street opposite
the college, These ladies said they sitting on
the stoops and verandas of their houses and saw
1a Aaah and of nie eto1
which was discharged from one of the windows of
the lower buildings on the college grounds.
In exploding that these ladies' remarked it to
her husband and expressed doubt that it may have
been loaded. He reassured her with the probability
that it scarcely could be So the young in tho
eollege would certainly be careful than to
IN the adjoining house were alarmed by this
pistol shot that they went in to the house. Armed
with this information Detective Dorsey went
Ut An early hour yesterday morning to Bishop Sey-
mour's house. After explaining what he thought .
highly probable unravelling of the mysterious
death of Mr.. Seymour he waited for the opinion Of
the Bishop. The detective had carefully examined
al the points bearing on this theory. and he
oousderat,on Being anxious to Get at the truth the
BIsAop offered him every assistance in his power.
A1u thorough overhauling Of the sleeping apart
ments OF the students took place.
YOUNG STUDENTS PISTOL.
1t was then established that Paul Steukner, a lad
Frisbe. one of the recently ordained deacons, had
firing OF pistol on tho evening in question.
the way. quantity of shot was found in Mr..
frisbe's room and several pistols among
the students. No one in the college had
heard general exploding OF pistols
and fireworks all round the place during the eSen-
ing, but nothing that sounded close enough to have
come from the Seminary. Mr.. Elliott one of tho
students. knew that Paul. who was general fsvorie.
ny :, Of e sa o .
i could do any harm; The police were
smused themselves on that evening discharging
pistos. and they said several seen among the
young men yesterday. but they all too large to
for the bullet found in the body except the
supposed to have been used by the boy Paul.
two officers from the bureau of Inspection Diks
all the ground under the windows ycstcr-
day in search of evidence corroboratve of this acci
dent supposition.
ANOTHER BULLET POUND.
Two men had been put to work carly in the MORN
Ing cutting away the grass and hay this side of
the grounds. ami by about four o'clock the space
WAS advantageously clear. The detectives then went
70 work. going over every inch OF ground and exam
lining ali tho trees and the fences and railing Tor
something to confirm their impression. but they
saw nothing: ,, In no way dlspirl,od by this
with redoubled energy. and finally upo IA q
bullet imbedded in the fence on the Tenth avenue
and Twenty first street corner. Ii much bent
aud crushed In ut the side. but the
the ono found In The body of Mr.. Seymour. and tho
ton, Just such would occupy at a window
In the college and hiring out with tho
right hand. Tho bullet looked II It
had LATIN in the wood some time. but this may be
easily accounted for by the rain the evening of
the Fourth and the dust afterward. which would
destroy the ncwness Of the cutting into the timber.
doubt Immediately arose to whether pistol
would send the ball TINT far and with such force
to enter the fence as 1t had. 1t is over . hundred
yards, and the pistol Of the smallest
size, with 22-cartridge. When the theory
was started that Mr.. Seymour bad been
accidentally shot from the window IL suggested
that such killing would lie impossible, the dis
tsnce being hity yards OF and the line santipg in
. way that took him out OF reach. Besides, II was
Argued IL the boy Of the students fired at all
through these windows and they aimed down the
grounds, to avoid the houses mn edately opposite.
they would havo hit of the trees In the imne
diate ncighborhood. II could scarcely be possible
that the boy fred but two shots and one of them
killed Mr.. Seymour. Detective Dorsey went into
every house ON both sides of the college and ques-
toned all the inmates and became satisfied that tho
students had been celebrating with firearms. This
will be repeated TO ascert lin whether any
nring had been done from any house IN other row.
Pistols or rifles had been shot the of Tenth