Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-11
BOTH TOOK POISON.
Marshall Gillon and His Wife Prefer r
Death Before Arrest.
THE END OF A CONFIDENCE MAN.
When His Scheme is Exposed They Try to
Die With Laudanum.
lie SUCCEEDS BUT SHE WILL GET WE'LL

HALIFAX, n. S., Dec. 10.-A dispatch
was received here on Monday from Boston
stating that the police of that city were
anxious to ascertain the wherea bouts OF
Marshall F. Gillon, alias A. C. Stew art, who
is charged with fraudulently obtaining over
$40, 600 within the past year from Mrs.
Matthias Mills, an aged widow OF Needham.
In the latter part of July last man Of
prosperous appearance, apparently between
30 and 40 years of age, arrived at Hubbard's s
Cove, Halifax county, accompanied by his
wife, who was good looking aud stylish.
The couple took up their residence at the
house of Josiah Miller, well-to-do fisher
man, whose wife was sister of the newly
arrived woman.
With the exception of frequent visits to
the United States made by the man, the
pair have sojourned at Hubbard's Cove ever
since. They spent money like water, seem
ing to have an inexhaustible source of sup
ply. Whenever their funds run short, the
man would start off for Boston and return
i'll few days with a fresh supply, which
which would be expended as lavishly as
was that which had gone before.
Looked Upon With Suspicion.
The stranger was so mysterious in his
movements that all the inhabitants looked
upon him with suspicion, and concluded
that the money he was spending was not
honestly come by. As a rule, he left his
wife behind and went on these excursions
alone, but on the last occasion something
unusual seemed to have occurred in Boston,
as he sent for his wife, e,who started off with a
large sum of money her husband had left
behind.
This time he came back by way of Mon
treal, accompanied by his wife. He was
heard on several occasions to say that he re-
ceived his supplies OF money from an old
woman in the United States Tor whom he
was doing business, and this assertion, to-
gether with other circumstances, led people
more firmly to believe that he was an embez-
zler or something of that kind.
A Man With Many Names.
After his last return from the United
States he lived more recklessly than ever
and became dissipated. The man was
known by several names. At Hubbard's
Cove he said his name was Marshall Gillon,
but he received letters addressed 10 Frank
Fringe, and Henry Schurman, and when
he came to Halifax he always travelled
under the name of Frank Fringed. For
some days past the couple seemed to have
day their fears reached climax when the
dispatch from Boston mentioned above was
published in the Halifax papers.
Giilon turned deadly pale when paper
ccntaininn the dispatch was shown to him.
He evidently told his wife what had oe-
CURED, ior, in short time, the couple
started out of the house and went toward
the woods. They did not return, and after
some hours the people with whom they were
living began to suspect something serious
had happened. A search Of their room re-
suited in the discovery of a note left by
Gillon's wife, in which she said that she
preferred death to arrest and wanted to die
with her husband. She left her gold watch
and chain TO her sister and bade her goodby.
Tried to Die With Each Other.
Parties at once started out to scour the
woods, but the pair were not found until
yesterday afternoon, when they were dis
covered lying together on the ground in an
unconscious condition. A large empty bot
tie that had contained laudanum was found
close bv, together with a breech-loading
rifle, and in Gillon': pockets were two
loaded revolvers. Tine couple had swal-
lowed the Iaudanum between them, but
they were still alive, although suffering
fearfully from exposure and tie effects of
the poison. They were conveyed as speedily
as possible to Joseph Miller's house and
doctor was summoned.
Of the two GUlnr was in the more pre-
carious state, and, although the doctor
worked with him all night, the man died
this morning. His feet were badly frozen
when found. The woman was not in such
serious condition, partly owing to the fact
that she had vomited the poison she had
swallowed, having taken too much. There
are hopes of her recovery,
Gillon made no statement during the
night, and spoke only once, when he asked
for cold water. The quantity of laudanum
swallowed by him was four ounces. The
woman states that she did not want to see
her husband arrested. and they determined
to commit suicide together. Now that
death has placed him beyond arrest, she
does not feel anxious to die herself The
couple had little, if any, money left when
they went TO the woods to take their lives.