The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-01-15

phOs, O., at an early hour on Christmas
morning, the victim, Mr.. Bernard r. Picker,
being well -tO-do and estimable German cit
izen, residing nearly in the center of the
city. Mrs. Picker gives the following ac-
count Of the affair: " My husband was aroused
from his slumbers by a heavy knocking at
the front door. Getting up, he opened
the door fearlessly, and was instantly
seized by three masked men, who demanded
his money or his life. He, needless of their
threats, made desperate resistance, and
was only overpowered when he was shot
through the head by one of the ruffians and
instantly killed. 1 rushed from the bed to
assist my husband, and was seized and
threatened with the same fate. I, however,
screamed at the top of my voice, but was
finally overpowered by being tied and gag
ged. They again demanded the money and
I refused, and then they placed me
against a red-hOt stove and tortured me so
badly that l could not endure any more
pain, and 1 finally gave them the money,
amounting to fifteen hundred dollars in cur
rency, the savings Of years. They then took
their departure" Mrs. Picker's injuries were
quite serious, and possibly fatal.
Z. C. Voules, confidential clerk to Huston
& Co. of Cincinnati, contractors for the
Southern Railroad, absconded recently, after
having squandered in fast living large
amount of his employers money. He was
traced to New Orleans and found in company
with an abandoned young woman,
one of his former Cincinnati
favOrites When the officers attempted to
arrest him he hastily took from his pocket
bottle of prussic acid and swallowed the
contents, from the effects of which he died
in a short time. Voules was an Englishman
by birth, about so years of age.
At Paris, Ky, on Christmas night, Mr..
Jaynes was personating Santa Claus at a
children's gathering, his costume being OF
white muslin covered with raw cotton. In
some way the cotton took fire and Mr..
,Taynes was fatally burned, dying before
morning.
The Kansas City express train on the Chi
cago and Alton Railroad, that left st. Louis
on the night of the 25th, was thrown from
the track by broken rail near Berdan,
Greene County, Illinois, about 90 miles
north of st. Louis. The entire train,
with the exception of the locomotive,
was ditched, all of the cars being badly
wrecked. Two of the coaches took fire and
burned, causing the death of two persons
Col. L. c. Bond of Auburn, Sangamon Coun-
ty, H., member of the General Assembly,
and Charles Payne, negro porter. About
% persons were injured more or less seri-
ousIy.
The steamer Prairie City, plying on the
Wabash River, Ind, between New Harmo-
ny and Wabash Station, on the st. Louis and
Southeastern Railroad, blew up on the 9th
ult. The fireman, cabin boy and cook were
missing. The body of Mrs. Capt. Mcintyre
was found on the shore with both arms off.
Gov. -hO xxyoS at yxog own
up with it and fell in the wreck, beneath the
debris; he had one arm broken, his ankle
sprained, and was otherwise cut and
bruised. The engineer escaped with slight
injury. The survivors escaped on a barge
in tow, and were taken to New Harmony for
medical aid.
Two men, Sam Woodruff and Joe Sim
monds, the latter a half-breed Indian,
charged with the murder of r. B. Hayward
in September last, were taken from the jail
at Golden, Colo, on the night of the 9th ult.,
by a masked mob numbering about 80 men,
and hanged to bridge. Simmonds confessed
that himself and Woodruff were the guilty
parties, but Woodruff persistently declared
his innocence of the crime. The preliminary
legal examination of the prisoners, it is said,
left no doubt as to their guilt.
A terrible disaster has occurred in Scot
land. On the night of the 2Sth ult. the rail-
way bridge across the Firth and Tay was
blown down while train from Edinburgh
to Dundee was crossing, and the entire train
was precfpitated into the water and the pas
sengers all drowned. The number of lives
lost was estimated at from $50 to 800.
A distressing casualty occurred in Chica-
go on the 9th ult., the more distressing be-
cause it was the result of joke. Mr.. NJ. B.
Gould and Gen. J. NJ. Waite, two intimate
friends and well known business men, by
way of jest, led a colOred janitor to think there
were burglars in the latter gentleman's room.
The janitor tried to get into the room but
was not able to, and threatened to shoot if
the supposed burglars did not cCme out.
Mr.. Gould was holding the door and laugh
ing over the excitement of the janitor, when
the latter executed his threat, firing
through the door and instantly killing Mr..
Gould.
S. NJ. Black, Teller of the Quebec Bank at
Three Rivers, Canada, committed suicide by
shooting himself on the 26th ult. 1t is re-
ported that his accounts with the Bank were
in a very unsatisfactory condition.
The terrible railway bridge disaster in
Scotland was even more appalling than at
first reported. OF the 800 or more persons
on board the in-fated train there is not a
single survivor to tell the story. The entire
central portion of the bridge, comprising Il
of the longest spans, went down
beneath the train, only the bare iron piers
remaining. The bridge was about two
miles in length and had 50 spans, the widest
of which was 245 feet. At the highest point
it was 100 feet above high water. The bridge
was only opened for traffic in May
! 1873, and was considered a triumph o
engineering skill. The train consisted oi
one first-class, one second-class and fon
| third class cars, all crowded with passengers
A heavy gale was blowing at the time of tn,
! disaster, and one account says the bridge
had fallen before the train had passed up
on it.