Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-16
MONEY OR MURDER.
The Alternative Given Million
aire SHELLS Widow.
SOOUNDRELs AT LARGE IN CHICAGO

They Threaten to Kill oIrs. Henrietta
Smell Unless She sends Them Sc, 900
Dynamite To BE the Means of Slaughter
The Conspirators Wen Informed as TO
Police Movements A Second Letter
Received When the Cops" Are Called
Of-No Clue to the PIotters.
CHICAGO, Feb. 16.-For about four weeks
Mrs. Henrietta Smell, widow of the mill
ionaire murdered by Tascott, has been in
state of nervous prostration, which it
was for some days feared might lead to
her untimely demise. The cause of this
was the receipt by her of a threatening
letter written by unknown parties who
declared that unless she forwarded to
them the sum of 5000 she would be blown
up with dynamite The story of this
affair is strange one and furnishes an
other act in the tragic drama that began
when Amos j. Smell was laid low by the
bullet of rubber assassin.
Demand for s., 600
Every effort has been made by the police
department to keep the matter a secret,
and it was only yesterday that the affair
became public. 1t was about four weeks
ago yesterday that Mrs. Smell received a
letter that threw her into an agony of ter
Tor. 1t was written on plain white note
paper in an uncouth handwriting and ran
about as follows:
MADAM: Unless you send US the sum OF
S2,OW we shall take steps to murder you. We
will blow you up with dynamite some day
when you are stepping into your carriage to
take your morning ride Now treat us fairly
and we will treat you the same. If you accept
this offer insert a personalin the --- mann
ing daily paperl saying: Send for your hat
G.. D." We will take this as an evidence that
you intend TO deal with us in good faith,
Put the Police on the Case.
The letter was not signed and there was
not the slightest clew to indicate the iden-
tity of the men who sent the missive
Neither was there anything to indicate
whether or not it WAS the communication
of foolish crank or of some desperate
scoundrel who was prepared to carry out
the threat he made But it was enough
to throw the aged widow, already greatly
enfeebled by serious winter illness, into
spasm of fright. She at once placed the
letter in the hands of A J. Stone her SON
in-law, who in turn promptly. communi-
Gated with Inspector Marsh, and told him
to run the writer or writer's down regard
less of expense
Waited Till the "Fly Cops" Were Gone
Two of Captain Jack Shea's oldest and
shrewdest men We're called in and shown
the letter. They were then sent to the
house and remained qUartered there for a
week, during which time nothing oc-
CURED that would throw any light on the
matter. Finally the "fly cops" were called
off. On the evening of the day the detect
ives left messenger came to the house
with missive in the same handwriting
as the previous one, containing the sug-
gestion that the widow had better send
"the hiatt. e., the S2,OOO-by the bearer.
The messenger was boy. This created a
commotion and the police were notified.
The boy was thoroughly pumped, but
could only say that the man who engaged
him was a shabbily dressed young man.
There is no clue
No Crank In This Case.
A. J. Stone said last night that he was
greatly annoyed and surprised that the
story had gotten out. He thought it did
away with whatever chance there had
been Of catching the writer of the letter
At first he had been disposed to think il
was crank, but when the second letter
came he had become satisfied it was not
the work of crank The fact of the
house being so closely watched and that
the second attempt was made the day after
the officers had been withdrawn proved tC
his mind that it was more than the work
of a crank
Cannot BulIdoze Mrs. Smell.
If, however, it was any one who had an
idea that he could terrorize Mrs Smell into
giving him large sum of money, he could
tell him he had approached the wrong
individual, for Mrs. Smell was not to be
frightened in that way. He regretted that
the young man who was in the house the
night the boy came with the
message had not acted differently
If the boy had been followed
the man would have been caught, for he
felt sure that after leaving the note at the
messenger office the man had come directly
over to Mrs. SMELLS house in order to cap
ture the boy on his way back. No one had
seen the man so as to be able in any man
ner to identify him and he supposed the
whole matter would have to drop.