Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-11-06
clubsed to Death MT the Polls.

Clubbed to Death Mt the Polls.
THE Ex-wAsHNTGoNIAN WHO WAS KILLED AT
ANNAPOLIS.
The Annapolis correspondent OF the Baltimore
Snaa gives the following particulars of the killing
of Mr.. John E. Gass-formerly OF this ctty-at
the Sd precinct polls In Annapolis. Tuesday be-
tween and eclock:-A large crowd of colored
men had congTegated around the polling place,
and had several times during the day, it Is said
acted disorlerly and threatened riot Shortly
after 4 O'Clock the party of negroes engaged in q
fisticuh among themselves. Near the scene was
a young man named John E. GaSS. who had only
few minutes before deposited his ballot, and
was standing by looking on at the fracas In the
midst of the fight one of the cOlored men was
seen to approach the others with huge club in
his hand, and, whether intentional or not struck
Gass over the head, telling him to the ground.
By this time crowds of white men were at the
scene. The colOred men fed in all directions,
and were pursued by citizens of the district
who succeeded in catching oIe of the number
who was ascertained afterwafd to be the wrong
party and allowed to go free. Suspicion then
fell upon a negro named Peter Simmons, and a
search was made for him, but without avail.
Upon examination it was found that Gass was
badly injured by the blow from the club, which
| measured eight feet in length. He was taken to
the home OF GLENN Weldon, in whose employ
he was and had been for five years, and at
tended TO, but death resulted from the wound
about midnight. Simmons. who Is said to have
caused the homicide, was employed on the farm
OF Dr. s ID. Lynch, In the neighOorhood of the
pOIlos StiOile, SuSHlCIou itStS utJOu illul
guilty party, and warrant has been issued for
his arrest. Coroner Gassaway, of Annapolis,
was notified OF the occurrence, and will
hold jury OF inquest over the body. The
homicide has cast a deep gloom over the dis
trict, as the unfortunate man was well known
there. Gass was % years OF age, OF rather deli
the District as peaceable citizen and one not
likely to engage in fracas of any kind He
was originally from Washington. ID. c., where
he has brother and sister living. He has also
a brother in st. Mary'S county. When struck
the fatal blow GasS was in conversation with
three of his friends Watkins Richardson, John
the retreating colored men in their flight.
These parties state that one of the colored men
called upon the others not to run, but to go for
clubs. The whereabouts of Simmons is not
known, and it is thought he has left the neigh
borhood.
The AnthrOpOlOgical Society.
INTERESTING PAPERS ON POISONED WEAPONS OF
INDIANS ETC.
The AnthIopolOgical Society me- Tuesday
night at the regents room Smithsonian InStf-
tuition, DR.. j. NJ. Toner in the chair and DR.. Elmer
R. Reynolds secretary. Prof Mason, the cor
responding secretary, stated that MI. George
Il. Boehmer, connected with the Smithsonian
Institution. had prepared. in manuscript, COM
plete list, which was submitted, of all memoirs,
essays and papers published by the Smithsonian
institution pertaining to the subject of Anthro-
pol0gy, making complete index for use of the
society. It is expected that the same viii soon
be published by the Smithsonian Institution.
Prof Mason reported the names of Mr.. c. M.
Smiley Fred. W. True and S. Wolf for active
membership, and DR.. Washington Matthews.
U. S. A., author of the '.Hidasa Indians" as an
honorary member. Dr.. j. w. Hoffman read an
interesting paper on
WEAPON POISONING BY THE INDIANS OF NORTH
giving his theory OF the origin and motive for
this general practice among our aboriginal
tribes. He said the suggestion has been adj
vanced that the art OF poisoning weapons was
not performed with full knowledge of the true
properties OF the material employed, but that
It was considered as CHARM or fetish, the be-
lief being. based upon the idea that the sub
stance possessed the power of destroying life
by means of some mystical or supernatural viz
tue. Allowing this to be true in some instances,
there are numerous instances in which the
manner OF preparing poisons, application to
weapons for different purposes and knowledge
and intelligence scarcely to be looked for among
savages, and when we find the employment Of
antidotes 1t seems as If the people using them
had knowledge of poisons.
DEADLY FRUIT.
CaDeZa, In treating OF the vegetation found in
the country bordering on the ella and Colorado
rivers, states that 1.-THE natives have poison
Which Is from a certain fruit, the size of an
apple. Nothing more is necessary for effect
than to pluck the fruit and moisten the arrow
with it, or, If there be no fruit to break twig,
and with the milk from it to do the same. The
tree Is abundant, and so deadly that If the leaves
are bruised and STEPPED in some neiglboring
water, all the deer and other animals that drink
of it burst" JaramtllO confirms this and states
that many Christians were killed by the Indians
with arrows thus poisoned. The Caramatraca,
small root growing on the Guaymas coast, was
used as an antidote for these pOsons. The
Serbs, living near the banks of the Sonora, on
the Cerro Priets and vicinity, are cruel and
sanguinary. Hardy, describing the
METHOD OF PREPARING THE POISON
states that "they first kill COW and take from
1t its liver. They then collect rattlesnakes,
scorpions, centipedes and tarantalaS which
they confine in a hole with the liver. They beat
them with sticks in order to enrage them, and
In this state they fasten their fangS and ex-
haust their venom upon each other and upon
the liver. When the whole mass is in a state of
corruption, the women take the arrows and pass
their points through it, when they are dried in
the shade" There is no trace of poisoned ar
rows among the Aztecs, yet they ceuld not have
been ignorant Of them, for their knowledge OF
everything within thousands of miles ON each
side Of their capital was very accurate Brickell
says the Indians of North Carolina have GER
them SO as to work slow or swift as they please.
Arrows shown him by Indians in Arizona were
covered about the barb and adjoining portion of
the shaft with a dark brown coating, differing in
color and appearance from the gummy sub
stances ordinarily used. 1t is said that their
poison consists Of rattlesnake venom and de-
composed deers' liver: The Digger Indians use
parsn1p mixed with decomposed dogs liver.
The subject was discussed by DIR. Mallory, DR..
j. E. Morgan, Prof. Mason and others.
INDIAN FERTILIZERS.
DR.. G. Brown Goode read paper on "Ferti-
lizers Employed by North American Indians"
in which he showed that in the New England
states, on the borders of rivers and bays, the
aborigines made use OF fish for manure to cult
vate their corn, and his opinion was that it had
the effect of making the soil stiff, and was an
injury to it. DR.. Morgan, who has had consider
able knowledge OF farming in lower Maryland
said that fish had been used as fertilizer in
that section, and that no bad effects had ever
been discovered; on the contrary, it was neces-
sary to insure good crops OF corn. The fish
were generally scattered broadcast and plowed
into the ground. Discussion followed as to the
extent fish had been used by Indians for such
purposes.
ALEXANDRIA NoTEs.-AIr. James Fossett, q
Well-known citizen of Virginia, fell dead yester-
day morning ON the platform at the Virginia
Midland depot, at Alexandria, OF heart disease.
He had been a resident of Alexandria for half a
century, and was one of the first conductors ap-
pointed upon the orange and Alexandra rail
road, and held for some time position as one
OF the United States custom house officers. He
was one OF the Oldest Masons in Virginia, and
was in his nth year at the time of his death .
Mr.. Charles KprSfy pnpinpnr Of the tho hoat