St. Paul daily globe., 1888-08-19
QUEER THINGS.

| or restrains that excess is looked 2p0n
as an enemy. Probably this is the
reason why many men who advocate
| large police forces still look upon the
| Individual officer as an object of detesta-
| ton.
This places the officer in an unenyi-
| able position. He not only is forced to
combat the grinding effects of small
| salary and the autocratic powers of his
! superiors, but the snubs and Sneers of
that public which bitterly complains
when his presence is lacking.
"ThiS," said lieutenant of police,
"makes the lot of an officer peculiarly
dangerous. He is not only exposed to
the revengeful spirit of the crooks, but
to the malice of citizens, who not infre-
! quently take occasion to manifest it. If
| be dies in as mysterious manner as
HANSEN did, it is as fair to assume in
tracing the murderer that he was citi-
zen as that he was crook"
*x*
This may be drawing it strongly, but
an officer of any experience will often
| find it to be true that citizens put more
| pitfalls in his way than criminals.
AS for poor HANSEN, like all his
brother officers he carried his life in his
hand. The slight evidence at hand as
to how he was killed indicates that he
knew this when he crossed Virginia
avenue that fatal night.
| There is more of his murder told by
his pistol than by anything else. He
carried Single-actiOn gun-a treacher-
GUS weapon under any circumstances.
He drew it some time in his passage
across the street. Without doubt he
saw some one acting in a manner to
| justify him in drawing his weapon.
The gun was half-cocked when he was
found. Now it is known that, like most
of the single-action guns, it had failed
in its duty at the critical moment. For
the next day when it was tried it was
found that it would only half-cock and
no more. The hammer had caught and
there it hung, and HANSEN gave up his
life for that apparently trifiing defect
| Room is now left to inquire if he was
not intending to shoot first, and if his
pistol was up and failed just before he
was shot down.
Would not the fact that he had drawn
his pistol be sufficient to provoke the
fire of professional crook?
The police know now that at some
time OF Other-either the day previous
or that night-an attempt had been
made to enter certain house in that
neighborhood. There is evidence
enough to prove that.
Mayhap the designers of this robbery
came that night to execute their plans.
The window they chose was in direct
| line with where HANSEN stood when he
was shot. r
He saw or heard them and crossed the
street. He spoke, and threw up his gun
and the hammer caught. Then he was
killed.
That is good theory, any way.
~
There was a man one of these sum-
mer days who, like many other men,
suspected his wife of infidelity.
He did not upbraid her and send the
cold chills rushing down her spinal
column by fourishing a pistol.
Rather, he kept calm and cool and
devised cold-blooded scheme by which
he should know that she was either, a
relative to C1ESAR'S spouse or a base,
designing creature.
One calm, still night ne concealed
himself under the ed in their chamber,
and in the course of the wane of the
hours his better half Gas he supposed)
came into that chamber, having in tow
a masculine whom she called "CHAR-
LIE"
But when he heard her speak he was
surprised to learn that it was his wife's
sister.
He lay very still for time while the
couple billed and cooed, but when, by
arouSing the dust of his hiding place,
he was forced to sneeze, there was a
| commOtlOn.
She screamed and CHARLIE reached
under the bed. He hauled this jealous
husband out and gave him a first-class
trOuncing, and would have handed him
over to the police but for the revelation
of his identity when lights were brought.
Explanations were not Forthcoming.
MI. JEALOUSY nursed his sore spots,
and CHARLIE grinned. The true and
faithful wife said not word.
~x*
- There are funny things done by men
when in the dark, and afraid. Summit
avenue is lonesome place at midnight.
The impS of darkness and uncanDy
sounds make that their headquarters at
that time of night. A respectable citi-
zen passing up that avenue one night at
late hour heard the report of pistol,
and "whiZz" went bullet past his ear.
At the same time ahead of him he saw
three men jump behind as many trees.
He was armed, but still to pass those
men seemed a very hard thing to dc
after that shot had been fired.
Still he walked on, passed the first
and was just abreast of the second, when
off went another pistol and ''whizz'
sang another ball past his ear.
Then he did jump and pull his own
gun and level at No. 2 with murderous
intent.
Luckily for him, he did not fire. No. s
spoke, and, by SO doing, revealed that he
was also areSpectable citizen. Investiga
ton showed that the other fellows were
drunken strangers firing their pistols
for fun.
No. had mistaken them for footpads
and thus this comedy of errors arose. 81
80 Y
Something like that occurred on Day
ton avenue year OF two ago. where
two citizens, meeting late at night, anG
each suspecting the other of being {
footpad, jumped behind trees and blazet
away at each other until their pistols
were empty. Then the police rushed il
and the misunderstanding was straight
| onaH ont &c nond thino fo ,;,,t