Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-07-21
Fatal Foolins.

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The suicide Of Heinrich Kirchner. 40
Tacoma, on the 14th of May last, was
but the prelude to . very sad story,
almost unequaled in point of romance,
and well illustrating the depths of
human love. Kirchner was supposed
to have killed himself because his
sweetheart in the East had Tilted him,
bu q short time after his death his
friends received the information that
this same girl was even then on her
way to join her lover. On the last trip
Of the Oregon to this city the unfortu-
nate girl was a passenger. Her name is
Hedwig Spinhorn. She is a good
looking German girl, about twenty-five
years of age, with a fair complexion
and blue eyes, and appears quite intel
ligent and well educated. Last Tues
day morning she left Portland for
Tacoma, ignorant of the news which
there awaited her. The Tacoma Ledger
tells the story of her arrival in that
city and subsequent events as follows:
cas- the long train slowed up at the
depot and the throng of passengers were
scattering, q young woman was OBJ
served to get off with an emigrant fam
lily. Mr.. Enron approached and asked
her If Der name was lot Hedwig Spin
horn. She did not at first reply, but
Mr.. Enron drew two photographs
from his pocket, one of Kirchner and
the other of herself. She quickly recog-
nized MI. Kirchner's likeness and in
quired for him. They told her a story
OF his being called away suddenly and
unavoidably to the woods, and that he
could not return for q day or two; that
they had been asked by him, in case
he should not return by the time she
arrived, to take her home with them
and await his coming. Mistrusting
nothing, she was conveyed with them
in a hack to Mr.. Zinrom's residence.
In the carriage her new-found friends
exerted themselves to appear cheerful.
Having a. desire, however to know
whether she could have entertained
sentiments other than the warmest for
the unfortunate deceased, they ques-
toned her about the letter which had
been received and which was supposed
to have caused the commitment Of the
deed. She smiled innocently and said
she could o for a moment entertain
such a thought. Then in quite an en-
PERTAINING manner she recounted that
on leaving her brothers. house on May
l, and in the hurry conseqent, she had
not had time to write to her afianced,
and had asked her brother to do so, and
to say that she way on her way. The
truth then dawned upon MI. Enron
and friends. In a moment of thought
less pleasantly the brother had written
to kirchner a letter" of double meaning,
not announcing that she was coming
but propounding the question: What
If she has concluded not to come, and
to r%enounce those feelings once so sim
cerely entertained?" The letter.. it is
said, was capable of being translated as
a bit of banter to most men, but Kirch-
ner, jealous of his love and alone in his
cabin, brooded over the possibility of q
disappointment until it was magnified
into a terrible reality, and being too
heavy to bear, he arose in the night,
and with a death-dealing shotgun
ended his life. And this is the story;
the sequence, and the girl is three
thousand miles from home, among
strangers.
"About noon Wednesday Mrs. Robert
Locke undertook the DIFFICULT task of
informing Miss Spinhorn of Kirchner's
death. After some preliminaries, the
lady, as gently as possible, told the girl,
carefully emitting the fact that it was
by suicide, and constituting it acciden-
tai. Miss Spinhorn was u~nconsolable
for some hours thereafter, despite all
that could be said to soothe her feelings.
However, after a time she became more
calm and rational, and was even con-
strained to reason. 1t is thought by her
friends, therefore, that she will in a
short time m~easurably get over the sor-
row at present unavoidable. Her sister
and brother-in-law are en- route 10 this
city via Panama, and, when they arrive
she will have Il home, and will at least
be among friends. They are expected
to arrive here in about three weeks.
Meanwhile her friends will make her
entirely comfortable, and no serious
fears of her welfare need be enter
tanned.
Editorially, the Ledger comments up
on the above as follows: .sThe II of
the whole misfortune is simply to be
traced to a jest made in the worst pos
sible taste. The foolish young man
thought, no doubt, that he was doing a
very smart thing in making Heinrich
Kirchner, in his lone cabin here, be-
lieve that his love had LEFT him for an
other, and the result was the finding of
q mangled body by the early visitors to
house on the morning fol-
the arrival of the letter and the
disappointment of the intended bride on
her arrival here"