Daily globe., 1879-08-25

OF the front room. How account for these IN
! dications of violence? The body was found
| on the bed in the bed room back of the parlOr,
where the blood stains were found On the car
pet.
! It reclined upon the bed as if laid out and
repared for funeral. The drapery about her
person was smoothed about the limbs, the
hands folded, and around her shoulders a
shawl was carefully wrapped. She looked and
was dressed, even to the brooch at her throat,
as she appeared daily to her friends. Beside
the corpse, as if it might have fallen from her
hand when palsied by the stroke of death, was
found clean and spotless handkerchief.
The marks on the throat.
The bruise on the forehead.
The blood stains the carpet in the front
room.
The body on the bed in the back room-be-
side il the clean white handkerchief
THE LAST TIME SEEN ALIVE.
Mrs. McMasters attended service at
Christ church Sunday night.
From that time until Tuesday, when
her body was found, for a time, it was believed
no one had seen her alive. But this belief was
soon dispelled, for Mrs. Albert Eddy, residing
ut the corner of Franklin and Fifth, had been
favored with call from her on Monday. She
came in about 5 o clock and remained for one
hour or more. She must then have left Mrs. =
Eddy and returned home, as she announced her
intentioi, somewhere about o'clock, or 6:SO.
about 6 o'clock Monday evening, there to meet
her death. How?
J THEORIES OF DOCTORS AND RELATIVES.
To explain the blood spots on the carpet, the
finger marks on the throat, and the bruise on
the forehead and the body on the bed, the doc
tors and her friends say:
| Mrs. McMasters died of apoplexy. She
was subjected to throat affection, which,
at times, almost caused strangu-
lation. When seized with these
attacks she would place her hand to her throat,
lief. She doubtless had one of these attacks
Monday morning after returning home from
Mrs. Eddy. She seized her throat. The attack
caused strangulation aud she fell to the floor,
striking her forehead heavily. This caused a
| flow of blood from her nOstrils and mouth.
At this she revived. was able to find her way to
| the bed, and placing herself on it to recover
| from the illness, she died.
| COUNTER THEORIES.
But the white handkerchief found beside
her?
1t is natural to suppose that if afflicted with
bleeding from the mouth and nose, she would
have applied the handkerchief to staunch the
flow. But it is unspecked with even drop of
crimson, and no other handkerchief or towel
has been found crimsoned with her life tide.
| She was found lying on her bed with not
| ranged, it is said.
Suffering from dizziness caused by the at
| tack and fall, would she have taken such care
of her person in her bedroom, when seeking
relief by throwing or placing herself on her
bed?
After the funeral, perhaps before it, the dis
covery vas made that Mrs. McMasters' watch
was missing. The watch was her husbands,
the late DR.. McMa.ters, and was a priced SOU
venir, besides being instrinsically valuable. 1t
was her custom to place it on table near the
head of her bed. 1t was not found there. It
has not been found in the house, though
all the rooms have been dismantled
It. will be remembered that Mrs. Gilillan
looked for the front door key in the place her
mother was accustomed to place it when away
from home. 1t was not there. 1t has never
been found. The front door was locked, but
the key was neither on the inside nor outside,
and systematic and persistent search has not
resulted in recovering either the watch or key.
How account for the absence of the key and
disappearance of the watch?
Friends and intimates of the deceased lady
shake their heads, and can give no plausible
explanation, have nO0e at all to offer. 1t is
mystery.
Srch are the particulars of Mrs. NcMasters'
death, the circumstances attending it, SO far as
can be learned, and the suspicious circum-
stances which involve it in the shadow Of pro-
found mystery, even to the gloom of violent
murder.
CORROBORATIvE EVIDENCE OF VIOLENCE.
For some time, two weeks ago, Mrs. McMas-
ters gave her only servant vacation. She was
alone in the house until about week ago, when
her son Russell took up his residence with her,
his wife being at Clear Lake. Last Friday he
left his mother to go to Clear Lake. She was |
again left alone, though at night she summoned
a young colored girl, granddaughter of Mr..
Moffatt, the sexton of Christ Church,
IN for
companoy's sake. Monday night, this girl, Myra
Peters by name, did not sleep at Mrs. McMas-
ters' for reasons stated hereafter.
The last person who saw Mrs. McMasters
alive was Mrs. Albert Eddy. She was there for
an hour and a half. Mrs. Eddy declares she
was in unusually good spirits, cheerful and
spoke particularly Of her health. She had |
been suffering with her throat, she declared,
but for week or ten days past she had felt en-
tirely relieved. In fact, her health was so
much better than usual that she bad visited
White Bear lake twice within the last week.
Mrs. MoMasters took her departure in very
cheerful frame of mind. She went home.
Entered the house by the front door-the kew
of that door has never been found; the key of
the side door leading into the church yard was
found on the inside-and met her death.
THE MURDER THEORY.
That death came in the physical form of
miscreant intent on robbery. He stealthily fol-
lowed the lone lady up the long and dark walk
leading to the doorway of her house. AS she
placed the key into the keyhole he stood at her
elbow. She opened the door and left it open
for light while she sought her lamp and lit it.
Turning she saw the man before her. Poor.
woman, she was paralyzed with fright for mo-
ment, and then essayed to scream. The |
cowardly wretch reached for her, clasped her |
throat with his murderous fingers and she |
swerved between life and death in his cruel |
u1uo l~~ Gcn. H. 4
body warned her assailant that he might kill |
her. He relaxed his hold and the delicate frail |
woman fell down at his feet dead, bleeding from |
the nose and mouth. The murderer stood over his |
victim appalled, Mt the greatness and horror of |
his crime. He had not intended murder, but |
his rude attack had been too much for tho frail |
woman.
Then the murderer was seized with the de-
sire to hide the traces of his crime. He lifted
his victim from the floor, yet warm with the |
ftful flow of life, carried her to her bed, and in
his anxiety to cover all appearances of his un- |
natural crime, laid her corpse out for burial.
Then the unstained handkerchief fell from
her nerveless hand.
As the murderer laid his victim to her rest,
he discovered the watch, grabbed it from her
for his murder, he extinguished the light and
in the darkness of night fled. As he passed
through the doorway, he pulled the door to
after him, locked it, took the key with him. |
As he left the scene of the horrible deed, the |
key burnt his hands as if molten with hot evil
dence against him, and he cast it from him.
Isn't this theory as plausible that adj
vanced by those who found her dead?
How else account for the absence of the key;
the disappearance of the watch? The death
ITSELF
EVIDENCE SECURED BY THE GLOBE" DETECTIVE.
The evidence is forthcoming as follows:
Mrs. Eddy saw her last. She was then in un-
usually good health. Her throat was clear and
easier than it had been for years. Could she |
have had an attack SO shortly afterward?
DR.. Hand and DIR. Davenport speak of finding |
the unstained white handkerchief.
They tell of the clots of blood being found, |
They report the loss Of key and watch.
Mrs. Gil6llan and her brother, 8. Y. McNIas-
ters, have been unable to find key or watch
They have superintended the search; every
article of furniture and every receptacle in the
house has been removed and searched.
Mr.. Moffatt, the sexton of Christ church, ne.
sides next door to the rectory. He has become
| familiar by long years of observation with Mrs
McMasters' habits. He has served about her
hnu hoh b,sl