Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-27
LIVES STEPPED IN CRIME.
MRS. COOMBS' STORY SECUTED
AND MURDER SUSPECTED.

A Drunken virginian's Freak Costs Him
his Life and may End in a OuadrupIe
Lynching-W Wealthy Mr.. Carpenter In
dieted for Pretty ZOra Burns Murder
and Jailed.
CHICAGO, Jan. ga special from
EIgin, Ill.,, confirms the report OF the
tragedy near there yesterday. 1t appears
that Mrs. COombs, covered with blood,
which was flowing from deep gashes,
and with long knife in her hand, stag
gered to the house of neighbOr near by
and said that her husband had tried to
murder her, and, thinking he had done so,
cut his own throat. COombs was
found dead on the floor of his house,
which showed evidence of a fearful strug-
gle. The woman was alive at last ac-
counts. She was COOmhs' third wife and
was considered an adventures before her
marriage to him, having had child pre-
vious TO that event. Some features in
her history and the fact that she and her
husband had frequent quarrels recently
lead to the suspicion that she may have
murdered her husband and received her
wounds in the struggle.
AN EMBEZZL.ER ATTEMPTS SUICIDE.
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 26.-Hiram II. Post.
superintendent and eX-Treasurer of the
Fourth Baptist Church Sunday school,
and confidential clerk and bnOkkeeper for
ID. w. Pratt, Agent of the Mccormick
Harvesting and Reaping Machine Com
pany of Chicago. made an unsuccessful
attempt to commit suicide last evening at
his residence. He had taken dose OF
laudanum and had cut his throat in a
bungling manner, when he was discover
ed by young man rOOming in the house.
ho rtc 10 t,a,k ..1.k
necessarily fatal. The cause of the act
by POSTS own confession, was that he
had been discovered to be an embezzler
from his employer 20 the amount OF $5.-
80. POSTS wife is in New York. He
has two children here, aged and 8 years.
POSTAL THIEF ARRESTED.
WASHINGTON. Jan. 26.-POst Office In
spectOrs Henderson and Smith on Thurs
day arr ested Emmett F. Knight, Assistant
Postmaster at FarmvIlle, Prince Edward
county, Va, for rohbing the mails.
Rihed letters were found upon his per-
son, and he confessed his guilt. He was
held in $1,000 bail by the United States
Commissioner to appear before the Fed
eral Court. Knight is a son of the cashier
of the bank at FarmVille and ras borne a
good reputation. The accounts of the
Postmaster at FarmviIle were discovered
some time ago to he several hundred dol
lars short, and Knight has confessed that
he robbed the Postmaster. His system of
rif1iDg letters was so perfect that the let
ters presented no appearance of having
been tampered with after passing through
his hands, and the inspectors have had a
dlmcult task to nix the crime upon him.
NEGROES KILL A DRUNKEN MAN.
CHARLESTON. W. VA, Jan. 26.-Last
night while John Massey and William
10. es were walking on the railroad track
near Coal Valley, Massey who was drunk,
called to a negro woman walking ahead
of them to stop. She refused and Jones
fired at her. the ball striking the heel of
her shoe. Four negroes emerged from a
cabin and fired on Massey and Jones,
fatally wOunding Massey, who died this
morning. There is strong talk of lynch
ing the negroes.
CARPENTER INDICTED FOR FORA BURNS
MURDER.
CHICAGO, Jan. 26.-A dispatch from
Lincoln, His, says: Late yesterday
afternoon the grand jury completed its
labors. a tSa bill of Indictment was
him with the murder Of the s;-I Zors
Burns. Carpenter was out on $10,0Uo
bail, but the court declared that the of
fense was not bailable, and remanded
| Carpenter To the custody Of the Sheriff
who committed him to Jail"
FIVE THIEVES TRAPPED.
NEW YORK, Jan. 26.-On the 7th instant
q cafe at the First street station Of the
| First Avenue Elevated Railroad was
opened by thieves, who secured 1000
tickets for travel on the line. The num-
bers of tickets were reported to the police,
and yesterday they arrested five well
known criminals, who, during the COM
mutation hours have daily patrOniZed the
road for the purpose Of picking pockets,
using the stolen tickets for their tare.
GRAIN MERCHANTS HELD FOR TRIAL.
LIVERPOOL. Jan. 26.-JOhn Herd, Jr.,
/ and VIM. j. Mullins, corn merchants, who
/ failed on the 10Th inst, and who were
arrested on the 11th inst. on the charge of
/ obtaining 916.000 from the Northwestern
/ Bank by means of false pretenses. after
! several examinations before the Police
I Court we're to-day committed by Justice
/ Raff1es for trial.
SENTENCED TO HANG.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. pa dispatch
! from Vicksburg, Miss, says: "The Nc
Kenna trial was concluded to-day, the
! jury sentencing the prisoner to death by
1 hanging. The attorneys for the defense
moved for "a new trial and the arguments
/ will be made on Monday"