The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-08-01
DEAD In A WELL.

| "N VhbSoN iumblEs HEADLON0 INTO
HIS OWN WELL AND DRowNs--GRAyE, BUT
UNSUPPORTED suspicious OF FOUL PLAY.
When, on Wednesday evening, Coroner
Fitzgerald came into request in Cairo. it
was ascertained that he was absent in the
county, holding an inquest over the dead
body OF Theron ellison. The coroner was
accompanied by Sheriff Hodges, lest the
evidence should develop necessity for put
ting somebody under arrest.
Messrs, Fitzgerald and Hodges repaired
to the home of Gibson, which is situated
about five or six miles from Unity.
Gilson's dead body was on view,
and the Coroner having. empannelled jury
OF neighbors elected information to the
following effect;
ellison had married a widow with two or
three grown daughters. Van Lakewood
had taken one of these daughters in mar
riage. In course of time the wife died;
and through the persuasions or by the con
sent of ellison the bereaved step-son-in-law
came to Gilson's house to live
Van and Theron were given to drink,
Theron to great excess. Saturday night
supply of whisky was brought to the
house, and some of the inmates Theron
especially, got uproarously drunk, keeping
up the revels to late hour at night. At 5
o'clock Sunday morning Mrs. ellison, stand.
| ing in the door of her house, saw her husband
gong toward the WELL still visibly under
the influence of whisky. He approached,
leaned over the Aperture, and, losing his
balance, went down, head first Mrs. Gil
son Immediately apprised her son-in-law,
Lakewood, who was still in bed, of what
had happened, and that individual, getting
out of bed and dressing himself,
hurried to homes of two of the
neighbors, succeeded, afteI time,
in getting matters in shape to determine
whether the unfortunate Theron had killed
himself by the fall, or drowned after fall
ing, or was still alive, waiting to be drawn
up. Doubts and uncertainties in this re-
spcct were soon determined. The body,
when rescued, had no signs of life about l..
| There were heavy Commissions to be seen
upon the head and arms; but it is thought
that death ensued from drowning.
Mr.. Lakewood under oath, corrobera-
| ted the statement of Mrs. Gilson so far as
it related to the fact of her arousing him
and informing him of the mishap to Their
on; and in severa! respects his statements
were corroberated by the testimony she
gave in. But it being known that Halle
wood and ellison had quarrcled a great
deal of late, neighbors were not wanting to
form grave suspicious that Lakewood had
assisted ellison in his plunge by giving him
a starting tap on the head. Others con
jectured that Gibson had been Int on tire
head, and afterwards thrown into the well.
These theories were supported by the dis
coyery Of spots of blood about the well, the
presence of which could be explained upon
no other reasonable hypothesis.
But the horror-mongers were not allowed
to feed upon the supicions thus created, but
for brief interval although it was shown
that the blood could not have got where it
was found, because OF any hurt deceased
had received during the fall, and it was
known that it did not drop there from the
body after recovery But a man named |
Burns, living in the neighborhood, furnished
a key to the whole mystery. lie was in
the act of drawing water at the well, the
handle OF the windlass slipped out of his
hand, and while spinning around at n
rapid rate, gave him "sevcre clout" on
the probocis that distributed the "clarct'
thcreabouts quite literally This explana-
ton, taken in connection with Mrs. Gilsor's |
testimony completely uptripped all sus.
picions of foul play, and left the jury no
other course to pursue than to declare that
Theron ellison had come 20 hls death by |
losing his balance and falling headlong into
his own well.
Deceased is well known to quite all the |
residents Of the Fourth ward, and is quite |
as well known throughout the county. II |
was practice to which he adhered with |
great pertinacity, for number of years, to
get on a spree every time he visited Cairo,
and to let the whole upper end of the city
know that he was in town. He was an in
dustrious man, always on the go, and
managed to get money, when many of his
neighbors were compelled to do without
that very essential commodity. While il Is
likely that Theron was the greatest enemy
to himself, it is nevertheless true that but
few of his Cairo acquaintance can recall
the time when they considered it pleas
ure to meet him.