St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-13
A TERRIBLE DEED.
Rev. Mr.. Collision. of Chicago, Kills
His Wife and Fatally Wounds
Himself.
The Details of the Tragedy as Gathered by
Our Correspondent.
lSnecinl Telegram 10 the Glohe. |

Special Telegram to the Globe.
CHICAGO Aug 12.-Rev Henry L. Coli
son killed his wife and shot himself fatally at
his residence, No. I'LL WrghtwOod avenue,
this afternoon. Where happiness was sup
posed to reign supreme there is naught now
but grief and anguish The babbling of
pretty children and the affectionate tones of
Il loving father and mother have given way
to tears and sUbs. A minister of the gospel,
whose life had been passed in preaching tine
tenets of Christian faith and
exhorting congregations to obey the laws
and the Divine commandments, has proved
that his teachings awaited the preceptors
nothing. Condemning the sin of murder,
he, himself has terribly fallen in disobeying
the command, 'Thou shalt not kill" A
man of peace, called of Christ, his last act
has given the lie to his life, has crowned
long line of good deeds with a terrible crime,
has despatched a spotless reputation with
human blood.
At 3 o'clock this afternoon friend of the
family called to take Mrs. Collision out riding
and found her with her husband, both APP
parently on the best of terms with each
other. During the preparations for the ride
Mr.. Collision seemed in the best of
humor aud accompanied the la
dies to the buggy, but just be-
fore they started re-entered the house and
called to his wife. She answered his call, re-
turning in a moment, but was called in
second time. AS she reappeared after that
the lady noticed that her face was pale and
her lips were trembling. She seemed to be
in a dilemma. as though she were 10th to
leave, ard yet was not DESTROYS of maldngan
explanation to Mrs. Burdck. Standing by
the side of the carriage, she heard her hus-
band call for the third time. Her face
clouded, but she responded with alacrity.
Mr. Collision met her at the door, and when
she had entered it, he closed it behind her
crash! II was pistol that had made that
sound. Another pistol report rang out on
the quiet air.
This time there was no doubt that the shot
was fired in the house and young Mrs.
Collision, sister-in-law Of the preacher, who
was standing near the buggy, bounded up
the steps and opened the door She stopped;
she reeled; she grasped at the balustrade for
support; her head was swimming. ''There!
there!" she cried in strained tones, out
stretching her arm toward the floor in front
of her, then sank in faint. 1t was Mrs.
Collisions body she had pointed to. The
woman was still in DEATH From a gaping
wound in her temple her life blood gushed in
q great stream, dyeing the carpet crimson
and forming CORY pools A film was even
then gathering over her eyes.
The people, alarmed at Mrs. Collisions cry,
passed on in search of the husband. At the
parlor door, few feet beyond where the
dead woman lay, a moan arrested them.
They entered the room. Stretched before
them was the small, athletic figure Of
once handsome man, but now the brown,
full beard was full of blood and the limbs
were writhing in horrible agony. The
wounded man suddenly arose with an eff
fort and tremblingly drew up
his hands TO his forehead.
"Good God," some one calculated, and
then they noticed amid the blood that COW
cred his face, that his eyeballs had burst
from their sockets and lay a swollen, dis
torted mass on his gray checks. ''Sue,"
he murmured, and he moved his face slowly
as though to discover somcthing
familiar in the circle of faces about
him. The blood gurg.ed and he gasped for
breath. Then his hands beat the air wildly,
and with the name of his wife on his lips he
sank back unconscious, perhaps never more
to live in the light Of reason
The doctors appeared and the crowd with
drew. The medical gentlemen pronounced
Mrs. Collision quite dead. Her husband they
said was MORALLY wounded. He was re-
moved to the Swedish Lutheran hospital at
No. Isl lincoln avenue. The physicians
attending him say that death will probably
ensue in three or four days They assert,
too, that even though he live he will be-
blind He was deaf before; 80 deaf that
only loud tones attracted his attention. Now
If he lives, his life must be that Of the blind
and the deaf.
Friends Of the family account for the
deed upon the hypothesis that his mind had
become unsettled by trouble with his late
congregation. The members Of
his church, the Fullerton Az.
enue Presbyterian church. grew weary
him, the Trouble arising from dissatisfaction
with the small number of his pastoral visits
and because of his domineoring spirit, and
it ended by his formal resignation last June.
Mr.. Collision is an Englishman by birth,
and was forty-fve years Of age. He was
ordained minister Of the Presbyterian
churchin England, but after a short expert
ence in that sect he abandoned it for the
Reformed Episcopal. His conversion
created considerable excitement and
involved him in long theological
discussion with some OF the most eloquent
and thoughtful of the Episcopal ministry.
At its close he came to this country and
took up his residence in Alabama. There be
wooed and won Susan Rix, whom
he had previously met during
visit By her to England.