San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1885-04-23
FROM ST. LOUIS.
From our Regular Correspondent.

Sf LOUIS, Aflil III, 1850
EDIToR FREE Pass The horribl,
and ghastly discovery made in room
lii of the Southern hotel yesterday
morning utterly boats the record il
the history Of crime Two stylish
and dudish young Englishmen oi
wealth and culture came from the
tho east aud registered at the hotoI
about April 3D.. First came Walter
II. Lennox-Maxwell, NJ. d., whose
foppish and intensely stylish and Of,
Terminate manners attracted tho atten'
ton of all. He was Il veritablo ape
aud perfect dnde with a walk like u
woman. II afew days came G. Arthur
Preller and registered at tho South
orn and took room near Lonnox.
Maxwell's. Preller, who was n man
Of wealth, was travelling through the
world leisurely andpartly on business
as representative Of his fathers ex-
tensive commercial interests in Eng
land. The young men became ac-
quainted in crossing the ocean on the
steamer Ceshalonia. Maxwell was
short OF money. Preller had thou
sands. CDR" Maxwell from the mo-
ment of that fatal meeting tracked
his acquaintance and logged his steps
all over the eastern cities till by fire.
quent letters and kilograms he
coaxed his victim to st. LOUIS. At
the hotel they were intimate, occu-
pied each others rooms. drank freely,
and were having good time general
ly.
On Easter Sunday while the whole
city seemed to enjoy the beautiful
Easter Day, the most cold blooded
and awful Tragedy ever pcrpetrated
in st Louis was consummated in
room LA. Nothing in the weird and
diseased imagination of Edgar A.
Poe could exceed the realities of that
frightful scene. Maxwell admins
tered TO Preller some corrosive poison,
evidently in a glass of champagne,
then hastened to drug store qui ckly,
procured largo. quantity of chloro-
form with which he piled his victim
until his writing struggles and
groans were quiet in death. He then
forced the body into large cheap
trunk purchased for the purpose the
day before, and screwing the lid, went
to his supper at 10 o'clock. The next
day, Monday, the murderer, after
robbing his dead companion OF his
and effects, made many pur-
chases, shaved off his fuzzy beard,
put himself (as he said), in disguise of
D Yankee, and leaving the room and
it's contents scattered over the floor
and his murdered friend and coun-
tryman in the trunk, fled towards
San Francisco there to take the
steamer City of Sidney, on the 18th
Of April, bound for Auckland, Now
Zealand.
Your correspondent viewed the
remains of Preller at the
morgue q few moments after the re-
moval from the hotel. 1t wasa sight
never to be forgotten. On the inside
Of the trunk the murderer attempted
TO mislead and deceive the outraged
community by the following inscrip
ton to make believe the murder had
l political significance instead of
theft: $50 perish all traitors to the
Great Cause" Nothing, however,
will battle or defeat the diligence of
jhe police; every city in the United
States and England have the particu-
ars, and the wretch will be hunted
Town speedily. The excitement here
Is intense.
Yesterday the new democratic may
u, David r. Francis, took possession
If his office, and the whole republi
,an administration will step down
md out
The spring weather has come to
Is at last to stay, we hope.
CARL SMxTHE.
The State Convention OF the Wo-
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