Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-09-19
REVEALED BY A DREAM,
Strange PremOniti0n of Mrs, John.
son, a Port Byron Lady.
SENSATIONAL DISCOVERIES RESULT
Apparent Evid nces of Infanticide
UUearthed by Pursuing Sugg.s-
lions Which Com to Woman
in Her steep-POrt BY
ron stirred In.
The upper end has a sensationl

Today Coroner Halves is being enters
tanned by the 6enizens of Port Byron and
vicinity and is pursuing an investigation
which may develop something of a nature
quite out of the ordinary, but the facts,
no matter what they may be, are attended
by Circumstance highly romantic
Last evening about o'clock Ben Was
sell, living in the upper end of Port By
ron, rushed breathlessly into store in
that place and told a story of how
CHASTITY discovery had been made by two
women in a corn field in what ls known
as Canon about mile above Port
Byron.
An ARGUS reporter was present at the
time, being at that particular moment
awaiting train on his return from the
fair. Hurrying into buggy the reporter
and Mr.. Wassell drove to the home of
Mrs. Victor johnson, who related a
strange story to tie reporter, which,
while it may seem peculiar, is neverthe-
less true. and can be vouched for BY a
number of people.
MRS. JoHNsoN's STRANGE DREAM.
On Thursday night Mrs. johnson
dreamed that young lady in the neigh
borhood had given birth to q male child
and had deliberately put her offspring to
death and buried it beneath pie of brush
in neighboring cornfield, and that Mrs.
johnson in company with Mrs. Larson,
a neighbor, had gone to the spot and
found the child and returned it to its
mother.
On Friday Mrs. Johnsons dream of
the previous night SO weighed upon her
mind thai she called on Mrs. Larson, 10
whom she related an account of her sim
gular dream. The latter was also
amazed as the girl spoken of in the
dream as being the mother of the child
! had called on Mrs Larson shortly before
and appeared greatly excited, and when
Questioned regarding her strange actions
she became angry and left the house, say
ing as she did that Mrs. Larson was too
ready to suspect her of wrong doing.
Mrs. Larson noticed that when the
girl alluded to left her (Mrs. Larson's,
house she went directly home, and Short
ly afterwsrd was seen going up the river
in skif in company with another fe-
male, which is supposed TO have been
hs Lot i1+a haiD
linked together, the two women conclud
ed to make an investigation of the field
in which Mrs Johnson dream.
ed they had found the infant
and accordingly the two proce eded to thu
spo. and underneath a pile of brush il
the corner of tie field sure enough the J
ACTUALLY FoU Nd THE REMAINS
Of a male infant witch they quickly GOV
cred up, being afraid to inform anyone
until the return of their husbands from
work in the evening, TO whom they re.
lated thestrange circumstances surround
ing the case.
The reporter in company with several
witnesses was then taken by Mrs John
son through dense wood TO lonely
spot in a corn field where she pointed on,
the spot where the infant lay. 1t We
found about six inches under ground anC
was nude except handkerchief, which
was wrapped about the head. The
ladies stare that the child was dead wher
first found by them and it was apparently
not more than day or two old.
Coroner Halves was Immediately mott,
fed and the body in the meantime wal
taken in charge by Undertaken Wendt.
THE INQUEST IN PROGRESS.
A Jury was empaneIled this morning
consisting of JamesJ La Velle, foreman
L. S. Pesrsall, D. A Malarkey, Mari
Ashdown and A 81. Wendt, and mum
Der of witnesses ere examined. DR.. W
s. Block made post mortem examfna>
ton and reported that the infant haC
been torn alive, and in his opinion haC
come to its death by being smothered.
The inquest is still in progress and vii
probably be finished late tonight. The
testimony duplicates one Lena Dunn
s,randt. the young woman whom Mrs
johnson had q premonition Of in the
dream.