Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-04-11
THROUGH THE STATE.
HArrENrSes In ran COMMONWEALTH
Death OF an inssne Man, VINO Has necn
Uonnned More rnsn sixty Years-A
conductors strange Death

Death OF an iossne Man. VINO has neon
| Connned more rhsn sixty Years-A
Conductors strange Death.
| Daniel lawn, an insane man, who has
! been kept in solitary confinement by his
| brothers since lS23 died in Juniata town
ship, six miles from Huntingdon, ON
| "Wednesday. The announcement created
much surprise in tho community, as Ia
keeping with tho mystery which has so
long surrounded him his illness during the
| last two weeks was unknown to tho public
| His death was. however, au event
which might have been expected Mt
any time ON account OF his great age,
which had reached eighty four years. The
| maniac was one of five or six brothers
who, when young men, worked together
ON their fathers farm. His maady is said
to have been caused by drinking from q
stream whilo overheated In tho harvest
field. lilo was Immediately confined by his
brothers and ever afterwards totally ex.
cludcd from the world. But once in the
subsequent sixty years did he regain his
freedom, and that was about fifty years
ago, when he succeeded in escaping aud
ran down the Raystowu branch of
the Juuiata river, on tho banks of
which they lived. Ilo was soon captured
and returned to his imprisonment. No
intercourse WAS permitted him with
others during his long captivity, except
such as was absolutely necessary between
him and ono of his brothers, who served
as his attendant. The room in which hs
was kept was of small dimcnsious with
but one window, and to prevent him from
reaching the latter he was chained in an
opposite corner. \ stove was placed in a
small opening in the partition with the
facing into hall so that fires could be
made without entering tho room. Fouro
the brothers, besides Daniel, remained
unmarried aud lived together, accumulat-
ing land 4aa money, which they held in
common. Two of them survive and are
the owners of 900 acres in the township.
AUonductor's singular Death.
| Douglass Packer, one of the best known
freight conductors on the Lehigh Valley
railroad, met his death Thursday morning
near Sltiugton. Packer left the caboose
Tor the forward part of the train. HIS
absence WAS 50 prolonged that his asso :
ciates became alarmed. Search was made
and he was found dead on a car loaded
with lumber, his head terribly crushed.
Just how the accident occurred will
probably never be determined. The theory
Of the engineer of the train is that iu
running over box car Packer stumbled
aud fell down on the lumber car. Others
think he was standing on some lumber
extending from the side OF the car and was
struck bya projecting rock and thro oyn
on the train. Packer was 3j years of age
aud leaves family at Mauch Chunk
An Important Legal Decision
The question involved in the case of
| Robb and others against the city of Scran
ton, which the supreme court has Just
decided on u writ of error to the court Of
common pleas of LIckawanna county, is
whether a certain instrument made in
1873 between the deYisees of Chas. Robb,
deceased, aud George 5. Anderson of the
one part and John CraiSer of the other
part was lease or sale. Tho case arose
over the question as TO who was 10 pay
the taxes, The instrument in question
conveyed all the coal beneath the surface
of = certain tract, with the right to mine
the coal and remove the same. The max
imum quantity to be mined aud removed
is unlimited, but the minimum average
quantity is fixed and certain aud that
minimum quantity must be paid for in
each year, whether miner or not. The
duration OF the interest is unlimited.
Justice Clark, who delivered the opinion
Of the supreme court, holds-reyersing
the court belOw-that this conveyance,
like many other nominal leases, is 10
reality sale of portion OF the land
here was such q severance of the surface
from the underlying strata as created a
divided ownership in the distinct portions
that the instrument is called lease and
the price for coal denominated rent is not
. strong enough to prevail against these
facts. The court holds this mineral right
to be taxable separate from the land.
Hung While PIsyIus oIrcus.
Lawrence Smith, aged 49, of l43l Mar
Shal streets, Philadelphia, employed as
hostler IN Bergner Is Engel's stables, a,
Thirty second and Thompson streets, who
has of late been affected with the circus
craze, was on Thursday evening found
4 hanging dead with rope about his neck
. in the second story of the stable. Smith
had been practising acrobatic performance,
; aud it is supposed that by some accident
the rope became caught around his neck,
\ strangling him. The body was still warn
= when cut down, but life was extinct
a Smith was general favorite about the
: brewery and was skilful athlete.
, Burned to Death In Her Yard.
8 The clothing OF Mrs. Daniel Fetterolf o
z Mount Carmel, caught fire on Thursda!
1 while she was burning brush in her yarC
IN Upper Mahanoy township, and she wa
s burned to death before friends who cam
!. to her assistance could extinguish tn,
4 flames.
i Man Missing with $4,000.
t Frederick Jackson, o member of tn
g firm OF Jackson S McCaull, machinists, 0
8 Bald Ridge Butler county, has left 70
parts unknown, taking with him S3, coo O
|. the funds OF the firm.
KILLED BY a KIyAL LOVER