The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-24
A ST. JOSEPH TRAGEDY.


Colonel Strong, OF the st. Joseph Herald,
Shot by DIR. Richmond, Who Then At
tempts to Hill Himself.
ST. JOSEPH, No., June 19.-At eleven
o'clock yesterday morning as Colonel j. VI.
Strong, manager OF the Herald, was sitting
in the counting room with his back to the
ioor, DR.. S. A. Richmond entered the door
way and drawing revolver fred one shot,
which struck his victim in the left side OF
The neck. Colonel Strong jumped up and
staggered towards the back office. Rich
mond fired two more shots and Strong fell.
Richmond then turned outside, placed the
revolver to his temple and fred, dropping
instantly to the sidewalk. At the time OF
, Ehe lnoOting Colonel Strong was engaged
conversation with some unknown man
and was totally unconscious of the approach
Of the enemy until he was struck by the
FIRST bullet. Richmond drove up to the front
Of the office in a carriage, sitting on the
back seat, the driver in front. de is said TO
have alighted and cOOly walked TO the
Herald Office door without any trace of eX-
element. When he commenced to shoot
was after turning to look for the carriage
and finding it gone, that he shot himself
Colonel Strong fell struck by the two bull
lets, one of which, as stated, STRUCK him in
the neck, ranging upward into the brain,
the other struck in his back and is believed
to have penetrated the heart. He said: Il
am dying" and passed away III five min
utes after the first shot was fired. Rich
mODd's bullet took effect in the left temple,
and as yet il is impossible to tell whether
it will prove fatal or not 1t is believed,
however, that he will not recover, as he is O
raving maniac at present The trouble is
solely of RichmOnd's own making. He has
long been known to the newspaper fratern-
ity as the discoverer and manufactured
Of Samaritan Nervine," and has
been an extensive advertiser and has
had an enormous business in his nos
trum. Some year and half ago Colonel
Strong was one of the principal attorneys
for him in his suit with Harlan p. Hub
bard, advertising agent of New Haven,
Conn. 1t is believed that his business af-
fairs were 100 weighly for his brain, and
that he became crazy. Some five months
ago he disappeared from this community
and left lot of papers, evidently the work
of either a knave or hopeless ltnatlc.
lie charged Colonel Strong aud other prom
inent attorneys of this city with having
ruined him, and indicated that he had ended
his career in the river. AT that time opin-
ions differed as to his condition, some hold
ing him crazy, others believing him simply
working a TuSe to obtain $4,000 life insur-
ance. Two months ago he turned up in
Chicago crazy and was brought home. Since
that time he has not been seen about town
but once or twice until the tragic event of
yesterday. All the people acquainted
with the circumstances know that Colonel
Strong was entirely innocent, as were the
other parties, of the charges made against
them, and RichmOnd'S manifesto, in which
he claimed that he had only been restrained
from killing Strong and others by the great
est moral tffCrt, and the deed of yesterday
proves Richmond'S iunacy beyond doubt, ol
at least such is the popular verdict. Colonel
Strong leaves a large family, consisting Of
a wife, three sons, the eldest Of whom is
John =. Strong; edtOr-in-chief of the Her
aid; other sons aged respectively fifteen and
twelve. Tie eldest daughter is Mrs. VIII
liam B. Summey, OF Washington, who
married about a month ago, and another
little girl of ten years. lie was sixty-one
years old, lawyer by profession, and q
man who had been very prominent in the
Republican party of Northwest N ssOuri
for nearly thirty Years. He was a man OF
violent preiudices, but we'll liked and
highly esteemed by those who knew him
hest