The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-10-25
TILE O0FFEYYILLE R0MR.

The mystery enshrouding the whole
affair is as impenetrable as ever, al
though vigorous efforts are being
made to discover the perpetrators.
Dispatches say that the victims OF the
explosion, the wife and daughter Of
Agent Upham, are both dead.
The package, which was box II by
IS inches in size. was brought to the
agent last Thursday afternoon by a
man who said his name was e. Jasen.
1t was consigned to l., Lowden, Win
field, Kansas. lie asked that it be
marked glass, handle with care'' and
that the utmost care be taken of it.
1t being too large, as the agent claims,
to go in the safe, he took it home and
put it in small ware house u by Is,
standing about six feet from his resi-
dence. What occurred afterwards we
give as narrated in the Winfield
Courier.
Mr.. Upham was formerly a photo
grapher and still retains his apparatus
and has little room a few feet from
his residence and the warehouse in
which he often took photos. Thursday
he was to take picture Of his wife and
his fourteen-year old adopted daughter.
Mabel, who came home from school at
O'Clock for this purpose. The mega
tive was taken, and while in the house
arranging the chemicals he heard a
terrible explosion, and rushed out to
see the warehouse mass of smoking
debris. The screams of the girl was
heard from within. The alarm of fire
hrn1tnrht n nf nffi1nnd guh IN
at once set to work and soon had the
daughter out. Mrs. Upham was under
considerable debris, and was insensi-
BILE when taken out. Her condition
was horrible. Sonnet hing had struck
her on the left side of the forehead,
from which blood was streaming over
her face and which had produced, the
doctor said, a dangerous cOncussion. A
hole as large as ones fist had been
made under n-.r right arm. Big pieces
of flesh were torn from her le.J LIMB
and Il piece as big as your hand from
the fleshy part of her left foot. Her
left arm was broken. The do tor took
numerous splinters from her flesh. HeI
clothes were torn almost TO shredS.
The daughter was equally mutilated
and her clothes torn almost off. Hell
right leg was broken and mashed be-
low the knee; the knee cap being
mashed and the fleshy part of her limb
splintered to the thigh. Her left arm
was broken and her flesh all over more
or less mutilated. The girl was yet
unconscious. The doctor told Sheriff
Clifford that after putting Mabel un-
der opiates, he took splinters from one
to three inches long from the fleshy
part of her limb.
Investigation showed that Mrs. Up
ham and the girl had gone into the
warehouse or kitchen for something
and that one or the other had STUN
bled over or let something fall on the
box, causing the explosion. The un.
doubted smell of nitro glycer'ne showed
that this was the terrible explosive
that had done the devilment. The box
was in splinters and nothing could be
told as to how the explosive was
packed. Mr.. Upham, emerging from
the house, was struck and knocked
down by the door of the warehouse
which had been blown of its hinges
A hole three feet square in the ware
room floor indicated that the largest
force of the explosion had gone down.
ward, though the roof was separated
six inches at the gable and the side
torn out.
The tragedy set Coffeyville wild and
posses were at once sent out to run
down the consignor of the package
No such man as Jasen had ever been
known in that place and surrounding
and no trace of how he came int
town and how he got out could b
found.