Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-10
MRS. COUGARS CONTEST.
Indiana'S Most Celeb ated Case.
a Review Of the Suit Which
Has Occupied the Legal
Lights of Lafayette for
Eleven Weeks
Andths Records Of tho Principals

Special 70 the Chicago Herald.
LAFAYETTE, Ind, April 6.-After
eleven weeks Of persistent litigation
the celebrated Islander suit Of Mrs.
Helen M. Cougar against Chief Of Pc.
lice Captain Harry Msndler is drag
ging itself toward an end. The
eleven weeks have uncovered q multi
tude of sins and laid bare to the sensa.
tional world q career Of social intimacy
between Mrs. Cougar and Captain
Wallace which they have e~ndeavored
to show was quite proper In every
respect. The case has been In court
so long, and such q multitude Of wit
nesses have been examined, that II Ia
little wonder the outside world has
lost trace of Its details and Is at sea 80
far as the main Issues of the case are
concerned. The Cougar scandal had
q quiet Firth, and there 10 little doubt
but that 1t would have died long ago
had 1t not been for the persistenoy Of
C,ptain Wallace In agitatipg the very
subject that he should have left Sc
verely alone to die aleng with the
other sewer scandals with which every
city IL afflicted. Mrs. Helen M. Gou.
gar Is Q little lady Of the blonde
type, forty years old, q wife but not q
mother, and was married by the
we'll known attorney, John d. Cougar.
She was 4 teacher In the public schools
In her younger days, and 1t wss not
until six or seven years ago that any
publicity was alta ched to her name.
Somewhat of a literary turn, and with
q woman's strong ambition, she had
but q taste Of the sweets of notorlety,
which developed Into o craving thirst
for more. She began with her news.
paper articles TO appease the mania for
popularity and distinction. This, In
time, was followed by her activity In
the really remarkable temperance re-
vival that swept the city five years
ago, and over ten thousand OF Its peo-
pie donned the blue. Growing out of
that temperance campaign was an or
ganizstion known as the b ne Ribbon
club, and In this Mrs. Cougar and
Captain Wallace joined forces, and
were the acknowledged leaders of the
society. Soon thereafter she and the
brilliant captain organized q Parlor
club for literary work. She assumed
decided views on woman's suffrage,
became q convert, then q determined
advocate, and finally an indefatigable
worker In that peculiar channel. Cap
tain Wallace likewise entered heartily
Into the suffrage movement,
and was known throughout Indiana a.
q formidable champion of the cause.
He Is . member of one Of the oldest
families Of the Wabash valley, and has
q lovely wife and four beautiful chill
dren-all girls. His venerable and
good mother resides with him. This
much 10 by way Of introduction to the
scandal chapter which has stirred our
little city 10 1t was never stirred be-
fore.
Captain Wallace was the nominee
Of the republicans for state senator.
The campaign Of last fall was OK.
tremely exciting, and the submission
of the amendments was one Of the
issues. One Of the strongest sup
porters Of Captain Wallace was The
Women's Christian Temperance
Union, Of which Mrs. Cougar was
member. Upon her return from Ne,
brasks, whereshe had made FIVE weeks
canvass In the In crest of women's sui,
frsgs, she entered at once into thu
work OF the campaign at home anG
made quite o number Of speeches,
Every tffjrt possible for q woman t.
make was made by her Ia favor of tn,
captains election. Hoop skirts and
whisky proved the Gibraltar of tn,
republicans In this county. The cap
tain was defeated, and old Tippe.
canoe. for the first time In the memory
OF the present generation, overcam,
q republican majority Of 500 and sem
. democrat to the senate by . major
lily Of less than 100. There wa,
much talk during the campaign about
Captain Wallace and Mrs. Cougar
All sorts of rumors were afoat-
to such an extent that Judg,
Gregory swore on the stand
1T was like blue
streak." The election passed away
and many of Its aches and pains wer,
healed In q few weeks, 1t was no
true, however, with Mrs. Cougar
Smartipy under the defeat Of he
favorite candidate and the rebuke l.
female Suffrage and prohibition, oh
wrote q caustis, scsthipg leader In he
paper, ovsv her own initials, and CAV,
1t to the CITY for mental mssticatio,
about Q weak after the election. 1
this she dealt blows right and lef
upon three men, prominent republI
cans, who did not support Wallace
These men abe attacked In = name
that fred thdr blood and filed tn
very air with bitter denunciation 70
the writer, TIE article was copied
the Sunday Tunes, November 19sl
and severely condemned. It create
Q prodigious sensation. Not Q wore
however, was sad, In the Times Abor
Captain Wallace. TaAt paper waa YER
friendly to him, and, Indeed, went |
the extent Of supporting Wallace, q
though Its editon are % eleanor
democrats a. cal be found ON Hoosis
ground.
sunday night, Nov. 10, was q oot
but pleasant and clear, bright nigh
The police had met at headquarte
aud dispersed to their beats. Gap
Mandler, the quiet Chief of Polio
whom MIRA. G ,ugsr called the ''dut,
barber" was walking along on Colur
bia street about 8 o'clock, and In h
immediate vicinity OF Captain Wallac,
flee. lie met Charles Poocke, W.
soon abruptly left and went east
Columb a street. In the course Of
4 few minutes he returned and infori
4 ed Handler that he had seen a m
and woman coming toward them. Th
turned suddenly and retraced tn,