The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-12-02
D HE
TSE POISON?
Did They Die Naturally?
Concerning the Five Wives
of an Iowa Man.


REACTION. ia. Nuv. -. Fremont
Onrtv is excited over the mysterious :
bath of Mrs. William May or. Events
r,rding her death make il All tbclnorc
-,prrsting. Several years ago William
lNhUr, then residing in AXtcll. Kan,
Acrtiscd in IA Kansas City paper for Il
ousckcepcr and Mrs. Erbcck, a widow
yith two children applied for the posi-
ran. Mrs. Erbcck was u remarkably
EaDis0mc IA and when Mayhor
me-, her he at once engaged her services.
Three months later she hCcamc Mrs.
Major. She was May hnIa fifth wife,
,a four preceding ones being dead.
IN October 2olh Mrs. Aialor 40. >
lied very suddenly. Three former wives
TNayhor had died under circumstances
that were to say the least suspicious and
when Coroner Defrios heard Of the death
a Mrs. Mayhor No. ) hc determined to
lid an inquest. Her body was disin-
tered and Il jury summoned. On the
yltncss stand MayhUr testified that his
Il wife was greatly annoyed by tooth
chc, and that she used q%uinine to allay
HE pain. October II she secured from
doctor at Sidney a small quantity Of
uninc and some empty four-grain cap
.u.cs. NayhOr says on that day he
filed six capsules with Iuinine, and
mat Mrs. MayhOr took three Of them.
II ; o'clock on October % she took three
more. and in an hour Mayhor was bcrcft
Or the fifth time.
The coroner felt that the evidence
pointed conclusively to death by poison
Ior. but he decided to make further re-
Searches. The jury adjourned to await
chemical analysis Of the dead woman 5
tmach. brains and lungs. These organs
rre sent to the state chemist at Iowa
Civ. Last Friday the chemist reported
nat %strychninc had been found. \ pc
,u!iar feature about the body was that
the blood had not concealed when il was
iisintprred. three days after death. Yes.
,prday the %coroucr'5 jury reassemblco
aud rendered a verdict To the effect that
Mrs. Mayhor came to her death 10y pois.
ming.
William Mayhor camc 10 this country
from Ireland and is 60 years Old. lie
married his wife in California III lSJ1
She lived but a short time and dlcd, :,
Nayhor says. of consumption. In 1866
Mrs. Emma Travis Of Sidney. la. wen,
10 California with her husband. lravls
he'd and in IA little over a year Mrs
travis met Mayhor and they were soon
married. They came to the vicinity OF
Sidney to live and their domestic rela'
tons soon ceased TO be agreeable. Mrs
Navhor No. > was taken suddenly Ill ant
was attended by the wife Of her hus
bands brother. The nurse returned
home one day and had been there nul
short time when Nayhor sent word thai
his wife was worse. When the nurse re
turned she saw that Mrs. MayhOr Wa
diving and she accused her hrOtherln
law of administering the wrong men
cine. This he did not deny, Mrs. Way
nor No. > soon died and the matter Wa'
dropped save by the tongues OF gosS'ps,
Mayhor took possession OF ms serohV
E!fe's farm. but was compelled 10 rem
quish it by the law Of the statr a'pri
ing the husband Of any right IN ms WIG :
state unless they had chlidred. In less
than three months after the dealn "
wife No. :. Mayhor married agaln. WIG
No. ; was Matte llOOn. who Mas worm.
ing in a Sydney hotel at the time 81 '''
marriage. Mrs. Mayhor ~. D. WIZ
was the H'",lyI ~ nrd hor,
mid iIved t"&,'' I'',TT, ,,r n.arrru
t%o children to Nl%,lo', tIm,, !, is ,nn.
NE was far iron" r''a,"n''o } n.r husband
mon rum0r thai - ".'' i n,n ljaynul
With a tight rem ~ ".. r,r .,rr lime
vas taken sick an' wa, ,oi nnr;rc
under the care "I " i,, r.r,..I T.. al.
the period OF S'rHnn., ~. . mrli.,mr
low his wife I" a'i''h'.l'. .Ir n,i,bt
declaring that ne .rit," na- me- IN
poison him, and so pGrSiTa,iI rrom taXl9g
this belief that ne aoS,a'"r nrsnm WAS &c,
medicine until another P''7'"
cured to adminis''I w. - ,>toll. Kan.
The Mayhors mo''n i" Mrs Ma,
after a time, n Il u'oIun' tahlr nni,
nor sat down to the hr'aNnJ7' Jr"m dead
to throw up her hana7 "',G E ~ SyInc,
llei pouy ~us rH.u Navhur. after;
short courtship, gained Miss han,"
promise to marry him, and the a~nlo'n H..
-- llIf l'.H ~ a