St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-15
READS LIKE ROMANCE
A Mupdepous Effort the Re-
suit Of a Quarrel Between
Lovers.
Strange Story Told by a Man
Who Hired a Livery
Outfit
AS the Sequel Of a Singular
Occurrence on the Shell
ing Road. al
Wounds and Blood Stains At
tributed to a Fall on
Broken Glass.

Two PROSTATE bodies blocked the
road about mile from Fort Smelling on
Sunday night. One was that of man
about thirty years old, who lay with
closed eyes and face upturned to heaven.
while a stream of blood trickled from
the spot, leaving in its wake crimson
stain. The other was that of a woman,
young and. as far as the uncertain light
revealed, beautiful. Were they dead,
these two? 1t seemed so at first to the
two men who had heard shots and now
came upon the inanimate forms de-
Scribed. The woman, or girl, rather;
she was little more than that in appear
ance-lay half across the body of the
seeming dead man. Onearm was about
his neck, her head, with its wealth OF
raven hair, pilloWed on his breast,
while the other arm lay listlessly upon
the dusty ground, the white hand in
different to that Shiny red stream seep-
ing about it, and dimnIing the luSter
of the gems which cleaned there.
Tenderly the new arrivals raised
her, and as they did so,
noticed signs of returning conscious
ness, and hasty examination of the
other showed that the only wounds per-
q
part of the shoulder and another in the
left arm. Near by were buggy and
team, the latter apparently recognizing
that their services would be needed be-
fore the conclusion of the nights work.
standing immoyable as though carved in
black marble. The story of the affair
as told by the men VINO know most
about it, is a strange one.
Two private soldiers from Fort Shell
Ing, while walking back to the fort on
Sunday night, were startled when
about a mile from their quarters at
hearing five pistol shots in rapid sue
cession. Following the reports,
Groans We're Heard
as of one in mortal agony, and at inter
walls shrlll, terrified shrieks, betraying
that there was the usual woman III the
case. Hurrying to the spot, the soldiers
discovered the situation to be as de-
scribed above. One of the soldiers had,
by good fortune. flask of whisky in
his pocket, and liberal doses of the fluid
administered to the principal charac-
tiers in the drama resulted in the return
of both to consciousness. AS she real
lied the situation the woman cried
historically, and beSought her COM
panion to say that he was not much
hurt. Evidently the man was more
frightened than hurt, for, having re-
uuested another drink from the flask,
he found his feet, and with the assist
ance of those about him, removed his
coat. The shoulder wound was found
to he of no consequence mere scratch.
The other was more serious, however,
and the trembling woman, removing
one of her skirts, tore it into strips and
Nd tI,ni y,ir
coat was readjusted, and then the blood
stained male actor in this midnight
drama turned and, addressing the girl
before him, said tercely:
''Now. On you, get into that buggy
and see if you can drive any better than
you can shoot"
The woman turned without a word,
and was assisted by one of the soldiers,
who had been at the horses heads, to
seat in the rig. The man followed with
more difficulty, the whip cracked. and
without even parting goodnight to
the men who had helped them, the mys-
FERROUS twain disappeared in the dark
ness, leaving nothing but the stains OF
blood at the roadside.to prove that the
entire affair had not been dream.
Where the Buggy Was Hired.
About $50 on Sunday night man
and woman answering the description
of the couple described called at the
| Ryan livery stable and engaged rig,
| saying that they wanted to drive TO
North st. Paul. There was nothing in
| their appearance TO excite suspicion,
| and they were provided with buggy
and a safe team. The name inscribed
on the stable register by the man, who
| paid for the rig in advance, was James
| f. Kirby, and he remarked incidentally
| while in the Office that he was from
| Minneapolis, and also made inquiries as
to what time the last train left st. Paul
for that point on Sunday nights. Mr..
| Kirby said as he drove off that he didn't
expect to be gone more than an hour.
| The rig was not returned until
! nearly II o'clock, and it was noticed
| that the woman was very pale, while
Kirby had stains of blood on his hands
| and cuffs, the fact that he wore a black
| coat favoring the. concealment of his
true condition. Kirby, in explanation
| of the blood, said that the team ran
away, upsetting the buggy, and he had
Cut His Hand
on some broken glass in the road. It is
said at the stable, however, that the
team is one which never did run away.
and that the rig gave no evidence of
haning been upset. The couple left for
the depot Immediately. Kirby tried
to buy an old waterproof coat which
hung in the stable, saying he wanted to
cover up the dirt on his clothes, and the
coat was given to him, being almost
useless to any one. Nothing can be
learned of Kirby or the woman other
than that to be cleaned at the stable.
but it is safe to say that the drama on
| the Fort Smelling road was of their pro-
duction. Whether Kirby tried to kill
the woman and then himself, or whether
she fired the five shots at him, as his re-
mark to her would imply, will probably
remain mystery, unless future devel-
opments result in revelation of the
scene upon which the curtain fell prior
to the arrival OF those who increased the
cast in the second act to four.