The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-23
A REAL LIVE EL0PEMENT.
Foreman John Lee Takes a Lay-Of End
Mrs. Charles Collins Makes
Visit.
An Irate Husband Takes Their Trail and
Captures Them at Pueblo, Colo.
Where the Gay Pair ara
Locked Up

| Wetk- Ii Is one CHaC makes a tOOtnSOm
morsel for the Mother Grundy of Wichita
street society. 1t is long time sine
| Wichita had an elopement and. of course
it will be relished wnen the details ar
made public through the columns ol
! papers more devoted to sensational affairs
than the EAGLE. John A. Lee, the yarc
foreman of the Missouri Pacific, and Mrs
| Charlie Collins are the central figures III
| this drama which illustrates maE's du
| plicity and woman's worse than weakness
| John a. Lee had comfortable home OF
Wichita street and good job with thu
! Missouri Pacific road that paid him sS0t
or 5000 a year. Ia addition to this he had
a round faced, kindly looking wife that
seems, judging from her looks, to be {
model wife, and housekeeper fit for a
duke. He was foreman of gang of rail-
| road men, cut considerable of a
figure in Second ward poll
tics, belonged to two or three
societies and was considered a mighty
| clever fellow by all who knew him. He
was satisfied with all these until some
time ago when the charms of Mrs. Collins
captured his fancy and from that day till
| this John has not been himself at all-at
ALP as a son of Erin expressed it to the
EAGLE man last night. Mrs. Collins was
a little woman of twenty-three or twenty
four, had quite handsome face, and in
the language of the same son of Hibernia
was as round and fat as roll of butter.
She was by all accounts just the kind Of a
woman whose smile would derange the
mental equilibrium of man of AZ, which
was Johns age Well, to make Il long
story short, both Mr.. Lee and Mrs. Collins
boarded last night in the city calaboose of
Pueblo, Colorado, having been arrested
there yesterday morning on the complaint
of the injured husband
On Tuesday last John Lee secured a lay
off for thirty days from the company to
visit the mountains of Colorado and in ad-
dition to this got pass to Denver. In the
afternoon he boarded the train and off he
went Just before going he was talking TO
Charlie Collins, who worked under him,
when Mrs. Collins appeared on the scene
with her husbands dinner. "Reddy, ;"
said she, 81 want that check to pay the
grocery BILL" meaning the check he had
received for his pay. Lee has 1t, said
Reddy, for Charlie has red hair and is
called Reddy. 1t was the custom among
the men to give Lee their checks to have
them cashed at the bank. She then turned
to Lee and got the check amounting to
about thirty dollars. Reddy ate his dinner
and again went to work with a light heart,
for he no doubt thought he had the best
wife in the world. When the sun was
sinking slowly toward the horizon he
picked up a lot of kindling wood and not
withstanding the days toll he walked
home whistling a merry tune and feeling
good in anticipation of a hot supper pre-
pared by the dImpled hands of the queen
of his humble but happy castle. When he
reached the house the dinner dishes were
unwashed, the bed was not made up, and
the wlfe's old dress and skirts formed
a perfect letter 30" on the
floor where she had stepped out
of them and then he smelt a good-sized
mouse. Upon Investigation he found that
her trunk was gone and then he smelt
still larger sized mouse. With the speed
of John Gilpin and his famous steed he
flew towards the various depots, and at
the Rock Island he found that his wife
had bought a ticket to Halstead. 1t then
began to dawn on him that there was some
connection between the departure OF his
boss and his wife, so he went into close
with Mr.. Magnire. the road
master, with the result that he had Sc
cured q pass to Denver. He took the first
train in hopes of heading her off, and fin
ally succeeded at Pueblo, according to a
dispatch to the EAGLE last night, where be
secured their arrest.
After awakening at least twenty families
on Wichita and Water streets, aud a hard
tussle with that many dogs, reporter for
the EAGLE at last located the home of
John Lee, between Third and Central on
North Wichita street, at II o'clock last
night After a vigorous knocking Nor
pheus finally loosed his embrace on the
wife, and she opened her
door and with a kindly "how do you do"
bid the reporter enter.
''Where is John?" asked the reporter
He is visiting his old home in Illinois,"
was the answer of the unsuspecting wife.
Il am sorry to inform you that he is in
Jail in Pueblo for having eloped with
Reddy Collins wife" was the reportorial
reply.
This caused the poor woman to bring
the palm of her hand down on her knee in
an exclamation of distress, while big
lump gathered in her throat and a tear
glisteued in her eye.
What did tell you, father:' said the
poor woman, and then venerable head
peeped out from under a blanket in the
seNt room. 1t was sad sight indeed to
see the poor woman, and sadder still to
see the look of horror and surprise on the
wrinkl led face of her aged sire.
Il know all now" said Mrs. Lee. Il
was at Millerton a few days ago and | was
told there that John WAS going to see an
other woman, on the West Side. near the |
school house. Their description of her |
answered the description of Mrs. Collins, |
out | didn't believe that my John was un- |
aithful TO me. oh, yes, l see it all now. |
Whenever l asked him TO let me go any
where he grumbied, but this time he never |
altered word of objection. On the con-
rary he seemed anxious that ] should go. |
Ind when l said l would be back |
n the evening he persuaded I
ne to stay till next day. told him then |
hat would be back the next morning, |
md he told me not to come back till night /
N. Yes: | see it all now" And tear
oiled down the face of the poor, deserted /
wife that would harrow a soul OF ada
naut.
Nv hen he left, said she. ''he took his /
time and all the money we had except SIS.
took that up town, and paid the butch
10. and s.. IS to another man, and didG't
lay him ali l owed him either, and now |
ave only p cents on earth. Oh, what
viii me and my poor old father do nowy'
md again another tear rolled down The poor
cheek. wv hen l was putting his
Test In the valise' she continued "a fifty