The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-03-26

ing at his feet, his head thrown
back and eyes closed.
About nine o'clock last Saturday
morning Mr.. Fred Abbott, of Almena,
brought the news to Paw Paw that
A. A. Fosdick had been killed the night
previous while sitting near the stove in
the same room where the shooting of
his brother, Dr. Marvin Fosdick, oc-
CURED few weeks since. The report
rapidly spread and soon interested
groups could be seen upon the streets,
eXcitedly discussing the all absorbing
topic. Opinions and conjectures, as To
the probable cause and as to who did
the shooting were nearly as numerous
as were those who ventured to express
them.
The officers were soon notified, and :
without unnecessary delay they left for
the scene of the tragedy-the small
! farm house, of the Fosdicks, situated on
the county line in the northeast corner
of the township of Almena. Notwith-
standing the muddy roads, high winds
and raw, disagreeable state of the
weather, curiosity was sufficiently
strong To induce quite a good many,
besides the officers, to make the trip of
about eleven miles. On entering the
room in which the shooting occurred, a
most CHASTITY and bloody spectacle con
fronted the observer. The floor and
walls were bespattered with blood, the
clothing on the right shoulder of the
victim being literally soaked with it as
it had flowed from the two bullet
wounds in his head The weapon from
which the murderous shots were fired,
had. evidently, been held close to the
dead mans head, as the hair was burned
away around the spot where tire balls
entered. Either one of the shots was
sufficient to have caused the death,
which must have been instantaneous.
There were no evidences whatever
that any struggle took place, on the
contrary, appearances would indicate
that the victim could have made no
movement further than such as
would follow the natural relaxation
of the muscles incident to sudden death.
The party who did the shooting must
have entered the room unobserved, or
have possessed the confidence of the
victim to such an extent as to diyest
him of any suspicion. AT any rate the
position of the dead man would fully
warrant such conclusion. The in
terror of the house, aside from the APP
pearance impaired to it by this tragical
circumstance, is anything but inviting
or pleasant. Apparently no effort at
cleanliness or comfort had ever been
put forth by its inmates, on the contrary,
conditions the most filthy and repulsive
prevail throughout the building. The
walls and floor are black and dirty with
the accumulations of years, the furni-
ture old and dilapidated, the bedding
scarcely fit for the occupancy of dog.
Words are scarcely sufficient to convey
an adequate idea of the repulsive condi-
ton of the place which these two men
called their home.
DR.. Fosdick says that, on Friday
night he left home between six and
seven o'clock and went to his neighbor's,
John Campbell's, and spent the evening
there, returning home at about 10
o'clock; that he entered that part of the
house occupied by himself and went to
bed; that he had arranged to 90 to Kal
amaZoo on Saturday morning, and
arose somewhat earlier than usual in
consequence; that he first knew of his
brothers death when he went into the
room in the morning to put some water
on the stove and was confronted with
the CHASTITY spectacle; that he at once
gave the alarm and sent for the officers.
The attempted killing of DR.. Fosdick,
in February last, his charge that his
brother Albert did the shooting, the
arrest and subsequent discharge of the
latter, are still fresh in the minds of all
and some believe that the intention of
the assassin, in the first instance, was to
kill Albert, instead of the doctor.
Others profess To believe that the first
shooting was done by Albert and that
he met death at the hands of his brother
Marvin, and in support of this theory
they insist that, since Albert's release
from custody and return home, the
doctor has been fearful that he was
again planning for and would soon
consummate the job that he had prev.
iously failed to accomplish. Aswas said
above theories are numerous and wide
ly divergent.
A coroners jury, consisting of the
following gentlemen, was made 'up:
w. +. French, John Campbell, G.
Palmer, Fred Hall, Henry Van Duser
and Herbert Ashton. Justice of the
Peace. Levi A. Brown. The verdict re-
turned was that, Albert A. Fosdick
was killed by some party or parties To
them unknown.
The funeral was held at the Center
Church, in Almena, Monday noon.
There was large attendance of inter
ested and curious spectators.
On Sunday morning last, DR.. Whalen
assisted by Drs. Bartram, of Paw Paw,
and Butler, of Alamo, performed
post mortem examination on the body