Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-05-01

lease of the house. Eckel claimed
that the widow had asked him to
keep these papers some weeks before.
The second paper the coroner declar-
ed Mrs, Cunningham had stolen from
the safe after the murder, though
Eckel swore he had received it six
weeks before. The servants all
agreed that at the time Eckel claimed
to have received the papers Mrs. Cum
ningham ard the doctor had quar-
rel, he accusing her of stealing some
papers. 1t soon appeared that the
widow ia the first place entered the
house as the doctors mistress, and
after a time took steps to make
him marry her. She had in October
previous brought two suits for breach
of promise in the supreme court,
which where dismissed by the plain
tiff on Oct. 90, and six days later she
claimed he married her.
As to Eckel, he proved that he did
not know the widow before Oct. IA,
when he took rooms with her. Was
it probable, then, that he would enter
into a conspiracy as accompllce IN
so short timer To marry a middle
agsd widow with five children and
10000 The jury took different
view. and rendered a verdict Of will
full murder against Eckel and Mrs.
Cunningham. Snodgrass and the
daughters were held as accessories.
Mrs. Cunningham was plaeed on trial
at the next term of the criminal court.
The trial lasted several days, and the
same evidence was rehashed. The
case was weak against her, and the
Judge summed up IN her favor. The
other parties were dismissed. Acquit-
ted, Mrs. Cunningham at once set up
a plea to administer on the doctors
estate. as he died intestate. While
these matters were pending, the pub
lie were startled by rumor that she
was soon to become mother. 1t ap-
pears that she visited an als1shouse,
disguised and under feigned named,
and said she wished to adopt an in
FAINT from its birth. She was recog-
nized by enc of the officials, who at
ones notified the district attorney of
the visit. He resolved to give Mrs.
Cunningham plenty of rope. As
soon as the almshoase woman became
a mother, the child was con-
veyed by trusty messenger to Mrs.
Cuuningham's residence. Then 1t
enough. The surrogate decided
against her, declaring the marriage
not proved. She appealed and was
defeated. Barnum hired her for a
few weeks in his show, and she left
for California, and a few years later
kept sporting-hcusei in New Orleans.
While in transit from New York to
the Crescent City with company of
cyprians she had recruited in the
former city, she went down in the ILL
fated Evening Star. Eckel, during or
just after the war, entered the dlstlIl-
ing business, and was arrested fer
revenue or whisky frauds. He suf-
fered short imprisonment, and some
years since died. Thus ends one of
the murder mysteries to solve which
time has not yet furnished the key.
THE NATHAN MURDER
Benjamin Nathan, millionaire, de-
scended from Portuguese Jewish
family, and living at No. IL West
Twenty-third street, New York, be-
tween 10: 80 and Q A. M. Friday, July
80, 1870. was murdered. Theft had
been the object of the murderer, as
the clothes of the deceased.were rifed
of Perreguoux watch, 5,667, three
diamond shirt-studS, what money the
pocket contained, and the key of the
small safe, which stood in the library
beside the bedroom door. From the
outside the crime presented peculiar
enigmas. 1t was reasoned that Mr..
Nathan had awakened gu hearing the
noise at the safe, and entering tie
library door was grasped by the burg
lar, the gas-light glarIEg in his face.
Fearing identification, and ignorant
of Mr.. Nathan's defective vision, he
struck savagely at the oil! man with
a short iron bar, turEed at the ends,
and commonly called ship carpen-
ter's "deg." This weapon was carried
down stairs and laid on the hall floor,
The two pulling features were the
weapon and the brutality. The detec-
tive, Jourdan, declared that the dog
was the great puzzle. It was not o
weapon used by burglars. 1t led to
the mechanical world, and here the
circle was illimitable. The man had
been most cruelty beaten and mauled.
One blow was enough, but the old
Jew was hammered and pounded as
though his carcass was tough as a
rhLnoceros, and his head as solid as a
block of lignum vit;e. What sneak
thief or burglar would have done thisG
There were no marks of violence
about the house; no one had been
seen lurking there. No jimmy
marks were found on the windows,
nor was there an imprint of the burg
lars foot or bloody hand, or a piece of
his clothing torn in the death-strug-
gle. Efectually were his tracks cover
ed up. The police on his part declared
that when he passed tie house at 4:30
A. NJ he tried both front doors and
they were fastened and when he passed
little before the hall-door was
closed. The house and stables were
thoroughly examined.
Sleeping Ia the house ct the TINA
were Washington and Fred Nathan,
his sons, Mrs. Kelley, the housekeeper,
and her son, and none of them heard
any suspicious sound in the night.
The night gown of Frederick Nath-
an had blotches of blood upon it, S
stockings were blood soaked, but it
was evident these resulted from con-
tact with the corpse after his brother
had discovered the murder. The pawn
shops all over the city were searched,
but the assassin was too prudent to
thus give himself away For ten days
the thieves of the city were severely
overhauled. Ten thousand dollars re-
ward was offered by the New York
stock exchaage, besides large rewards
by the mayor, huge placards We're
posted and every city IN the union
notified; but from that day to this not
the slightest tangible clew has been
; offered. Hundreds of letters vera
written by would~be wiseacres offer
ing advice, many of them evidently
jobs put up to direct suspicion to the
Nathan boys. The theory of the po-
lice, who followed up every clew, and
spared neither time, pains, nor money
to unravel this murder, was what it
had been from the first-viz that it
was committed by sc outsider, some
fellow known as "duffer," who fol-
lows an honest calling by day, and at
night sallies forth to rob and house
break. Nobody, they argued, but
such one would have carried such