The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-10-23
DEED OF A BASTARD.
Mrs. Phil Adams Assaulted, Shot
and Robbed.
A Corset Steel Arrests the Progress Of the
Bullet aud Saves the Womsn's life
The Assailant Known, But at Largo

IN lone adobe cabin last night. in the
very outskirts of the city, one of the most
cowaroly and fiendish attempts at murder,
TO aid in deliberate plot of robbery. that
has ever characterized the police annals of
the city was made.
A coored woman, the wife Of an honest.
reputable and hard working resident of the
north bench, was shot down at the hands
of white ruf1lan and the house robbed of
the earnings of the couple for many
months.
So isolated is the scene of the outrage, so
well planned and rapidly executed was the
crime and so great was the confusion and
consequent inadequate information OF the
perpetrator growing out Of its discovery,
that in all probability the would be MUIR
derer aud bandit has made good his escape
from the clutches of the law, and 1T has
become question whether he will be ap-
pretended or not.
SEARCH OF THE HUSBAND.
Everyone in town knows Phil Adams,
the colored bootblack. whose stand Is on
the Godbe- Pitts corner az irst South and
Main street Last night, in company will
his nephew, Henry Adams, he closed up
his shop and took car for bis home at
Eighth and streets. They left the Godbe-
Pitts corner al about 800 o'clock. and
nearly twenty minutes later got to the
little adobe cabin which they occupied.
As they nesred the cabin light flashed for
an instant through one of the windows,
and then suddenly went out. This at
tracied Adams attention at once, as never
before had he failed TO find a lamp burning
steadily in the front window, but even then
the only remarkable thing to him was that
the light which had illuminated the interior
of the room had gone out entirely. Adj
Yancing rapidly 70 the front gate he found
it locked and they were compelled to go
around TO The side of the house
they entered the yard door
closing softly attracted his attention. To-
gether the two men went to the doorway
and found it swinging open. Everything
was dark in the house, and Adams in
strucred his nephew TO strike a light be-
fore entering. AN undehnable fear of
something wrong shot across his mind, and
as the light Of o match in his nephew's
hands flashed for moment on the interior
of the room that suspicion of horror be-
came certainty.
A SCENE OF CONFUSION.
In that brief incident he saw beds and
bedding heaped in confusion on the floor.
Clothing and furniture was piled in disor-
dered heaps on the floor, trunk with its
lid torn from the lock and hinges was
turned on its side and the contents scat
tered over the carpet. The full horror of
that scene was not known, however, until
2 lamp recently extinguished was re-
lighted. In the middle room which
they had entered, a great pool of blood
made stain on the carpet. From the pool
of blood great splashes marked plain
track into the adjoining front room. In
here everything was in even worse con-
fusion. Clothing and bedding soaked and
clotted with blood lay on the floor, while
near the bed another great pool of blood
lay. Two trunks In this room had beer
burst open, and several chairs and table
were turned upside down.
With eyes starting with terror, Adams
cried: MY GOD my wife is murdered
As yet no sign of the woman could be seen.
She was in neither of the rooms, and seiz-
ing q shotgun Adams ran into the yard and
fired two shots to alarm the nelghborhood.
He then ran to his next door neighbours,
house occupied by Thomas Keys, white
man.
HE FINDS HIS WIFE.
Here his wife was found. She was re-
cining on q lounge her head ana face
gashed and bruised and covered with blood.
The clothing being torn away from her
breast revealed a CHASTITY wound from q
pistol bullet. from which the blood oozed
slowly. The reports of the gun and cries
of Adams and his nephew soon brought
assistance to the spot and the police being
notified, Chief Paul. Captain Donovan,
Sergeant Sheets and Detective Walker
were soon on the spot. DIR. McAchran
had in the meantime been telephoned for
and arrived some moments later
Mrs. Adams was at once attended to
and was shortly resusitated. Her wounds
were found to be a long cash in the scalp
III. -, l,Ft Ill
the bridge Of the nose and several abrasions
of the skin on the cheek and neck. Above
and to the left of the naval pistol shot
wound made by u bullet either from 80
or 3S-calibre revolver was found. On prob
ing the wound it was found to be barely
half an inch in depth aud the bullet was
lodged in the thick inner coating of the
abdominal walls. An examination revealed
the fact that the bullet had struck and
gone entirely through corset steel, and
this alone saved the woman's life, SO de-
stroying the force of the bullet that it only
penetrated the outer and middle walls of
the cavity, lodging in the muscles over the
diaphragm. After her wounds had been
attended TO and stimulant adminisier
Mrs. Adams related her story.
MRS. ADAMS STORY.
She stated that about o'clock white
man, whom she knew from his having been
to the house time or two before, knocked
at the door and enQnired for her husband.
Being informed that he had not yet re-
turned, the man said he would wait and was
invited to enter. He went into the house
and as the woman turned to place
q chair for her visitor he drew from his
pocket q checked wooden muller with some
heavy substance inside of it and struck her
q vicious blow above the left temple She
fell. but at the same time screamed for
help. Another blow was struck her in the
face and then dropping the improvised
slug shot he pulled a revolver and fired one
shot et her, another scream from the
woman and the hend sprang at her and
raising his heavy shod feet stamped her in
the face until from the repeated blows and
loss Of blood she became ins6nsible. Re-
covering shortly she found the man st work
breaking open and ransackiDg the trunks,
three OF which stood in the room. Again
she became insensible and when she re-
covered the man had disappeared. Muster
ing all her strength she dragged herself to
the house of Thomas Keys next door.
where she found Mrs. Keys slone. The
woman at once proceeded to minister to
the wants of Mrs. Adams and was
about to start to give an alarm when
Adams and his nephew arrived.
THE sLEUTHs AT WORK.
The police made a thorough search of
the. place. out the only clue they found was
the instrument with which Mrs. Adams
had been first assaulted. IL was a heavy
wooden muffier. inside of which was two
pound chunk of Rabbit metal, evidently
melted in some plumbers working pot. Its