The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-07-16
Killed BY His Mother-A Remarkable
Story.

/ 0llACU W AAS AVtuOI "A 1Cm8IAAU1o
Story.
The Neue Freie Presse of Vienna re-
lates the story of crime which oc-
CURED few days ago in q village near
the Austrian capital. Some fifteen years
ago a young Austrian left home to seek
his fortune in America. He left large
| family of younger brothers and sisters
to be reared by his mother. an energet-
ic woman who kept small country ho-
tel. The young man arrived in Ameri-
ca almost penniless. He went West,
and after fifteen years of work in the
mines was worth $4,000. As he did
not know how to read and write, he did
not cores pond with his family, and the
latter believed him dead. About two
months ago he determined to return to
his country and share his wealth with
his family. He came to New York and
converted his gold into drafts upon the
chief banking houses of Vienna. Some six
weeks since he sailed from this city, en-
joying, in anticipation, the surprise his
arrival would cause his folk at home.
He reached Vienna without accident,
had his drafts cashed, and left at once
for his native village. AS was natural,
after an absence of fifteen years, which
he had spent in the mines of California,
no one recognized him. He finally
made himself known, and spread be-
tore his two brothers the handsome roll
OF bills of which he was the owner. and
which he announced he would share
with them and their mother. The Lat
70 hod tn
about hundred miles away, where she
kept an inn. After a couple of days Of
revel with his brothers the traveller re-
solved to visit his mother incognito 1t
was arranged that he should not reveal
his identity until his brothers should
DIN him.
The Austro-American made his APP
pearance at his mothers hotel. When
he saw the old woman he could scarce
~ forbear discovering himself to her.
But he managed to conceal his relation
ship, of which of course the woman was
in total ignorance. The pair had va
rious long talks during the day. When
night came, before retiring, he called
her to the room that had been assigned
to him, stating that he had an import
ant secret to communicate to her. Then
he told her that he had in his possession
a large sum of money, and begged her
to take charge of it, as he deemed it
imprudent to keep it in his room, par
ticularly as the latter could not be
locked. The woman hesitated a mo-
ment, saying that she had no place in
the house where the money would be
perfectly safe: but she finally consented
to receive it. When the stranger
counted over 100000 forms in bank
notes, a sum such as she had never
dreamed of, she again declined to as
sumo the responsibility.
But as he insisted she at last took the
money and disappeared. What passed
within the brain of that wretched wom-
an during that night is more readily
imagined than described. Upon reach
ing her bedroom she hid the treasure
under her mattress. But the tempta-
ton to look at the enormous roll of bills !
was too strong for her, and she spread
the bills out on a table. The sight of
the money so excited her that she be-
came mad, and, jumping from her seat,
she took razor rom her bureau
drawer, and, stealing up to the room
where her son was fast asleep, cut his
throat from ear to ear, killing him
almost instantly. She then put the
razor in her sons hand so as to make it
look as though he had committed sui
eide. Next morning her sons arrived |
and inquired for the stranger. She sent
them up to his room, saying that he had |
not yet come to breakfast.
They found him dead, and yells of |
despair filed the house. The mother,
like all the other persons in the house,
went up stairs. feigning to be utterly |
ignorant of the cause of the disturbance
She then learned that the murdered
man was her son. The effect that the
startling intelligence lad upon her
mind need not be told.
"My son?" she exclaimed. "Kill |
me, my children! kill me! 1t was l who
himr'
The woman is now in the Vienna Luz
matte Asylum, and no hope is enter
tanned of her recovery. Her surviving
sons. it is said, are respondent about
the death of their brother.