The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1894-06-29
Ghelemutraf-SiM
TRACED ON MARBLE,
Suspected Murderer's Face Plsinly Traced
by Supernatural Forces on Els
Victims Gravostone.

Victims Gravostone.
New York World.
From the little prairie town 0
Washta, Cherokee county, Iowa, ;
story comes of a Poc-like yruesOmc.
ness about 4 gravcstoRe that is credit
ably said to show on its face the dim,
ly traced features Of Il murderer, the
assassin of the old couple whose re,
mains lie buried underneath. The
marvellous likeness OF this g~ravcstOnt
portrait OF the man, now that he is
missing after lIav been suspected
of the crime, has aroused the prose-
cutting attorney OF the county to a
vigorous search for him, while the
Superstitious country folk Whereabouts
tor miles around are making pilgrim
ages to the cemetery to see this won
dcrful manifestation of supernatural
forces, for such it seems to be.
1t is more than likely that this most
remarkable psychological mystery will
be investigated bv those past masters
in the scientific pursuit of ghosts and
other death mysteries, the society for
psychic research. But in none of the
b~lood-curdling reports yet published
has any psychic wonder had 50 many
elements of the phenomenal as this
n in Iowa.
The gravestonc marks the spot
where lie an old German couple named
Schultz, who were murdered in Their
own home in the middle of the night.
They lived a short distance from the
town and were staying alone in the
house at the time. The old man had
brought home IA few days before a
considerable amount of money, which
he had taken from a bank on account
Of the panic. In the morning the old
folks were found, their heads split
open with an AK, and there we're evil
dcnces that there had been a struggle.
The money was gone.
The murder created a great sensa-
ton on account Of its fearful details.
There was nothing to Indicate in any
way who had committed it, but the
neighbors suspected that the murder
err might have been W. 5. Florence, a
hired hand who had been in the en-
ploy of the Schultzcs' only a short
time before. A few weeks after the
murder Florence left that section and
went to Nebraska. AS soon as he had
gone the stories began to gain more
currency than eyer and the result was
that detectives were employed by the
county authorities to hunt him down.
He was found and taken back to Cher
okce county. The grand jury exam.
incd him, but, for want OF evidence. |
discharged him. lie promptly disap-
peared and has not been heard OF
since.
About the same time that the grand
jury was engaged in the investigation
of this case the relatives Of the couple
had a plain marble hcadstone placed
over their grave. The grave was in a
little country burying ground, on the
side of a hill, within sight of the
house in which the murder had been
committed. Before many weeks
strange stories began to be told about
it. At first they were whispered
about tho ncighborhood, and the SUI
perstitious people of the country side
shook their heads wisely and often
gathered in groups at the roadside or
at the village blacksmith shop. 1t
was said that the tombstone was
slowly but surely developing human
llncaments, just as a photographers
plate, under the action of chemicals,
devclopcs the lines in the negative.
The first person to tell the story was
an old woman, who had also been the
first to suspect Florence of the muir
der. 1t was received with incrcdulity,
and even those who curiosity led
to go and look at the stone declared
that the picture had no existence ex-
ccpt IN the imagination of the old
woman. But she insisted that she
could see a picture there, and that it
represented the features of Florence.
From time to time the old woman
declared that the picture was growing
more plain. At last she convinced
some of her friends that they, too.
could see the features of a maj on the
stone. The face grew more and more
distinct, and to be more and more
talked about, until it attracted the
attention of the authorities. They
inspected it and were compelled to
admit that they could see the features
of a man. A marble dealer was taken
to see II. lie declared that the fca-
lures were being developed as a result
or exposure to atmospheric influences |
OF the rust and veins in the stone.
The picture on the slab has become
distinct, even to the casual observer.
To-day there is not a person who
knew Florence, but says that It is his