Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-09
A MILLIONAIRE'S FATE.
SHOT DOWN IN HIS OWN HOUSE BY
DESPERATE BURGLARS.


from Sleep to Die by BulIets-One sus.
pect in Custody with VilIainnus exit
OF TooIs-Acenunt of the Crime aud y
Sketch of the Victim.
| CHICAGo, Feb. 9-The city was startled
| Wednesday morning by the report that A J..
| Smell, we'll known resident for many years,
and millionaire, had been murdered in his
house on Washing ton boulevard by burglars,
| who had broken into his house. The crime
| was committed about o'clock in the morn
| ing, bot was not discovered until 6 a. n,
| when the coachman went TO the house 60
| build the fires. The reason Of this was the
| unroasoning fear of tho only other occupants
Of the plac, besides Mr. Snel-two or three
| young women, who, although they heard
the shots and could get no answer to their
calls for Mr.. Smell, went back to bed instead
Of giving the alarm.
| The burglars had entered the house at the
| rear Of the basement and robbed an I'M
locked safe in the dining room Of unknown
| vnluablss supposed to have been "A few
United States bonds, and from thence had
ascendel TO the main floor AMI fading the
rarlor doors locked proceeded to open them
by force and here tho fatal shooting took
place.
Mir Smell slept alone in room directly
over the middle parlor Quietly as the bur-
glars had worked, they had aroused the aged
but rugged millionaire. lilo rose from bed,
seized his revolver, and stole stealthlly down
the main staircase, at the bottom of which
he no doubt heard the thieves at their
work He was in his night robes,
The white figure had gone but
half way down the stairs when the
parlor doors were closed by one OF the men
inside the room. The noise startled the old
man. He leveled his revolver at the panels
of the doors and fired. The bullet passed
through the center of one of the doors,
about five feet from the floor, and crossing
the parlor pierced a white silken banner
upon which a cluster of flowers hal been
painted, and struck the wall just above the
marble FIRE place. 1t then fell upon the
floor. Mr. Smell, fired again, but no trace
of this bullet can be found. With an armed
man standing at the doors through which
they entered the room the burglars became
desperate One of them discharged his
weapon, and the bullet a heavy one, show
ing great explosive power behind it, pierced
panel in the door and lodged in
the wall just above the banister
post, where it now remains The three holes
in the door tell the story of tho blind duel.
There was nothing about the figure lying in
the middle Of the richly tapestriel corridor,
with his gray hair matted in blood and his
right hand clinChed about the handle of
revolver, to give the helmeted officers any
positive idea as to how the millionaire made
his last stand for his life and his property,
Il is thought however, that the instant the
burglars fired through the panel they opened
tho doorl and with tho barrels of their re-
vulvers and flood OF light from their lantorn
lsveed at tho head Of the bowlered old
man, shot him before he could utter a worl
Thor bloody work finished, the assassius
slipped out of q side door and disappeared
The work was done by skillful burglars.
as the tools thoy left in their fight testify.
They are of tho best make and the work of
opsning the back door indicates the accom-
pihhei orncksman. IA soon as the police
were notinsd the whole forco was put on the
dut vive, but the fact that four hours had
elapsed since the murder made it difficult to
find clsws that were sufficiently encouraging
to Givo much hopo OF results. One capture
was made, however, which ia interesting
even if the culprit had nothing to do with
the crime A couple of officers saw a suspi-
oious character loUugtng about the postotlica
late ia the evening with a DuadlO und0r his
arm. He said he had washing in the bundle,
bat an examination showed this 10 be false
and upon opening it the followin g crooks ar
s0nnl was developed
Six dark lanterns six chilled auger5, one
ehtlal extension bis, SIX S-ounco Glung shots, |
six stssl knpoliles, TIVE ounces OF dynamite, |
two ounces of giant powder, three dirk |
knives, thrRe IN ifl-d alarm whistles, six AZ |
calib1r Colts navy r3yolvars, four steel jim
mics, six box9s of lucifor fuse, four mail
pouch keys United States rogulatiou), a
bunch Of skalaton koys-forty- different |
one da ond glaaa-outte
The chilled extanion bit found in tue kit |
lifted without deviation the holes drilled IN |
the safe 10 Mr.. SMELLS residence. 1t was
pow one, the snd Of which evidenced untuis- |
.akably that it had been USED within forty
light hours. In its thread chung portions of |
black granite euumelltng, such as bit
" Guild 1Tst coma into contact with on enter
ug the door Of a safe While tho surface
If these particles were black and highly
polished, tia obvssre sides showed corroIed
ron.
He sold his name WAS c. V. w. Benedict
And that he lived In Marshalltown, Iowa.
is belonged to al organized gang of rob
2ers composed of four mon, bimsUf inclu-
i've. The three others' names are Frank
LcCorl, agai - years, Of MsrshalIto WI,
md son of the sheriff of that city; George
Dunn, aged II, OF Aarshalltown, and Thad,
lias "Plus" Hall, aged 81 years, also of
wn. The four men had been work
ng the country lying north and west Of t he
Yellowstone and Missouri rivers for the past
Eighteen months Their tools had become
seless and ne had ben delegated to Pur-
base a new outfit in Chicago For this pur
'ose be came to the city Saturday last. He
lad contaminated the purchase of the kit on
fonday and was on his way to tho train
ghen arrested He was locked up.
The post norton examination showed that
DR.. Smell had a bullet in his heart and an
Their in his brain He was sef-made man.
lis birth place was near Fort Plains N. Y,
nd he was little over 62 years old. He
married. henrietta Sudan, of Newport, Ky,
ono time after coming west, and leaves
our children and h wife. Mrs Smell was
OF in the city when the tragedy occurred,
ut was photographed for The dead man had
raveled extensively through Illinois, Wis
onsn ami Michigan as salesman
liquors for Albert Crosby, dis
Her; he had kept hotel, and tried
Is luck ut various businesses. He got his
art, however, as contractor for ties, timber
nd fuel on the Chicago " North western
lilway, after settling in Jefferson, this
ounty. He then purchased tol-road in
etferson, and made money investing it in
ty lots which be improved or sold as OPP
0rtunity offered and in this way became
cry wealthy He was a genial man with
amy friends. and great lover Of his home
lis estate is estimated at 5000, 90
Want 1t Exterminated. /
pEs MONIES, In, Feb. g. The Temper
ace alliance passed resolutions Wednesday
eclaring it's purposes to keep up the fight
fbn ~.