Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-07
A DARK MYSTERY.
Sensational Experience Of a
Wealthy ST. louisan.
CAPTAIN sLATrERYS ADVENTURE

avenue and Dayton street, Ed KOS .erman,
. saoonkeeper whose place OF business is
located at 26J3 Cass avenue, and Alexander
Hunt, friend Of Kio>terman, bearing the
unconsc Gus b dy OF Capt. ID. p. Slattery,
one of the bsst known business men in the
city
A Sensational Story.
Historian told "A NEST sens ltional story
rs follows: About / O'Clock, he said, he
started upstairs To the rooms occupied by
himself aud wife, over the saloon, accom-
panied by Hunt His wife ran from her
bedroom crying out that there was a man
in her room. Stat cry followed the woman
out and attempted to pass the two men He
was without coat, hat and vest Hunt
struck him and be fell down stairs Kloster-
man and Hunt then, as they claim, went
down and finding Capt Slattery unconscious
Immediately took him up and carried him to
the police station some two blocks away.
a short time after they arrived there an
unknown young man cams in with a gold
watch and chain and some money which he
sail he had found in Capt Sattery's vest
The Captains Diamonds Gone.
Sergt. Gregory sent Immediately to DR.
Hendricks who dressed the captains
wounds and pronounced them very serious.
He was then taken e. his home On Pine street,
still unconscious The sergeant then went to
the residence Of Capt Sattery and learned
from his daughter Merle that when her
father left home he wore a diamond stud
valued at 81 900 ami solitaire diamond ring
valued at s. o This property was not on
him when he was brought tn the station
Mrs. kIostermsn's Narrative.
The sergeant then went to the house of
klosterman and questioned Mrs kloster.
man. She said that she retired about IL
o'clock and that about half an hour later she
looked toward the door, which was ajar, and
saw = man standing in the ball She watched
him for several minutes and then aske who
he was He started toward her door and
she jumped out Of bed and ran into the sd-
joining room, occupied by her mother. She
then raised the window and called her hus-
band, who was in the sa loon below. Her
husband, she says, ran upstairs, found the
man in the room, and struck him twice with
his open hand. BY this time John Hickey,
Klostermans barkeeper, had arrived, and
helped Klosterman to get Slattery out of the
room. They took him to the stairs, and
when there she recognized the voics OF Alex-
snder Hunt, saying anyrily, What are you
doing in my friends roomf Then blow
was struck and she heard somebody falling
downstairs She says she does not know
Capt. Slattery. nor did she motto, any jew
elry on his person.
Hunts Brutal Assault.
There seems 10 be no doubt that Hunt,
after beating Capt Siattery IN a brutal
manner, threw him downstairs All this
time the captain bad not spoken, according
e the statements of his ASSISTANTS. After
striking The pavement Slattery was dragged
about sixty feet by Hunt, who was striking
the captain repeatedly, in the face of the
protests II the crown which hai gathered
Hunt ordered the crowd back with an oath,
! and lifted his victim to his feet. standing
him up against fence, and again striking
him repeatedly. The captain tried to speak,
but could not, and by this time
pitiable sight. At this juncture parties in
the crowd claim they saw Hunt unscrew
Capt. Slattery's 81, 900 stud from his necktie.
John Meshsn. a tsamster, interfered, and
| Hunt knocked him down.
Arrest OF the AssaIIsnts.
The prominence OF the victim caused con-
siderable excitement in police quarters, and
| detectives were quickly at work Oh the case
Within two hours the following arres Is had
been made: Alexander Hunt, no occupa-
| ton. Edward Klosterman, proprietor Of
the Cas- avenue saloon: John Hickey klos-
termaH'S harkeeper; Oliver Garneau. a
| baker; Henry Barton, paper hanger; John
Meehan, teamster. Later kiosterman, Gar
| neau and Barton were released, but the 9TH
ers will he held Hunt claims that KIoster-
man did the beating, but the evidence seems
| t. h. overwhemiugly against Hunt The
| captains friends think he was decoyed into
the saloon for the purpose of being robbed
slattery's Statement.
Capt. S.attary's story which Is implicitly
believed by his friends and the physicians
shows phase of unconscious cerebral ac-
| tivity that has few parallels in medical an
mails. Capt. Slattery Is a slight man whose
youth was spent on the sea. The vigor at
tanned ON the ocean wss exhausted IN accu-
mulsting millions in the elevator and grain
| business lie began TO suffer from nervous
exhaustion two years ago and made a trip to
Europe. yeaI ago be returned and plunged
| into business again and was soon suffering
from his mental troubles According To- his
physicians his mental condition bordered on
the insane, and he carried medicine which
he took when be felt the periods of aberra-
| ton spprosching. HIS wife died two months
| ago, and this event gave vtcor 10 ms malady.
| onIy Remembers Being Hit.
| After rrCaining the power of speech last
| night he told the following story OF his ad
venture: 81 WINS at work yesterday ON the
option that the United Elevator compaB y
had given the English syndicate, and / wa'
anxious TO get the matter settled before
sailed for Europe. At 8 O'Clock in the even.
ing felt one Of my periods of depression ap
preaching. and l took the medicine as pre-
scribed ] then started for the home Of Ton
Harris, superintendent Of one Of tn,
elevators, who lives near Jefferson avenu,
and Cas- ! must have taken an overdos =.
OF the medicine, for my brain began to &C
queeriy. remember leaving the street car
and that IS the last | remember until now
| have an indistinct recollection of being hit