The Press., 1884-09-04
Melvina Bntler met with a strange death

Melvina Butler met with strange death in her home in East Boston at nine o'clock Tuesday morning. She was attending to her household duties when bullet crash ed through the window, struck her in the left breast and passed entirely through her body, causing death in a few minutes. In- vestigation showed that the bullet came from the direction of the Charlestown navy yard, and it was soon ascertained that 8 marine named John JohnIC. Murray, who belongs in New York and recently enlist ed, had at precisely nine o'clock fired a shot over the head of river pirate who was endeavoring to steal some of the ma terial from the ship Pennsy lyania which is being broken up. Murrays' orders were to warn these thieves off verbally, and if they did not heed the warning he was to fire over their heads. If such action did not have the desired effect he should fire directly at them. Murray was simply obeying orders when he fired, and never had thought that the bullet would injure any one. The distance from the point where the marine stood to Mrs. Buffers kitchen across the harbor is one mile. Murray is under arrest.
 "A horse race failed to come off in Mex ieo recently. for the reason that, as the track was laid out one way it pointed to- ward the house of one man who had a horse in the contest, and the other way to- ward the house of his rival. Each con- testant though his own horse would go better if run toward home, and each wanted to begin the race at his end of the track. Several hundred people witnessed the dis pute and failed to see race.
 William D. McBryan and friend, while fishing last Sunday in the Housatonic river near Birmingham, upset the boat. The friend got ashore, but McBryan was drowned through the ill-timed playfulness of large dog they had with them. He evidently thought it was all play, and as often as McBryan got his shead above wa ter, would spring upon hs1n, thus forcing him under until he was drowned. Nc Bryan was married andf Nayes wife and two children.
 Jefferson Davis sent note to confed- crate soldiers reunion at Monroe county, Ga., the other day, in which he complain ed bitterly of the pensioning of union sol diers as discrimination. /" -s'Though the states are again united," he wrote, ''the funds collected by the general government are only appropriated to provide for the ex-soldiers of the northern states" He regards it as ''not the least meritorious manifestation" of the ex-rebels that they bear no ill-will to the government, on ac- count of this offensive favoritism. /"
 There is to be one party less. The sec- retary of the American party" so self styled, announces that its nominees, Messrs. Pomeroy and Conant, are to with draw in favor of St. John.8 The 'Ameri- ,e o1, to that the secretary says ''st. John has lodge meeting for seventeen years. He is practically with us in sentiment.
 A mob of several hundred strikers in the Hooking Valley, Ohio, attacked the guards of one of the mines and shot three of them they cut the telephone wires. The sheriff of the county was obliged to call on the governor and on the state militia for help to restore order. Ohio riots are getting to be formidable affairs.
 The secretary of the treasury has noti- fled custom officers that the unloading of old rags arriving at ports of the United States from foreign ports is prohibited for three months.
 A valuable hand book for republicans and 8 work of permanent value for his torieal and statistical infu4p,ation, Hon. Geo. Boutwell's "Why amsarepublican. " It is review of the past thirty years, by one who has been prominent in making the history of that period. It is endorsed as accurate, useful and instructive, over the signatures of Anthony, Hawley, Sher- man, Ingalls,, Dawes, Harrison, and other senatpfs, Clerk Mafhersen, Erred. Doug lass, and 9 long list of prominent states men, and newspapers It should be found in many libraries. Published by subscription. W. J. Betts & Co.,, Hart ford. Agents wanted.