Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-03-23


| tour in Colorado, they were not at all
| SURPRISED to read in the Denver papers,
| July 2, that the notorious Starr gang
! had been captured In Colorado Springs.
| and with them the little horse dealer.
| who turned out as the unfortunate
marshal had supposed, to be the wife
| Of the chief
Mamie often wonders why the
| woman tried to run away with her.
$4,000; the metropolitan board OF
police, $4,000; the chief Of police, TO-
600; Judge Oshima, OF the Toxic local
court, $4,000, and half dozen others,
the sums ranging from $1,000 TO s10,-
900 While the young Viscount was in
prison he became the father OF son
by a girl who was allowed to walt
upon him In jail.
Nishigorl held a power OF attorney
from the viscount. and with this he
was able to make large amount
! Of trouble for the conspirators. They
/ finally decided to secure the annull-
ment of this document, and they In
duced the prisoner 20 sign blank
document, which they represented was
a plea to the imperial household de-
partment for his release. They filed
in this blank document with n revoca-
ton of this power of attorney but
/ Mitzen for lieutenent governor.
the judge Of the Toxic local court.
/ who had succeeded the former bribed
| official. seemed TO have some doubts
of the authenticity of the paper, and
in February last year gave an order
that the long-imprisoned viscount be
produced IN person in court on the
ed day OF that month,
This was a bombshell for the con-
spirators. and they at once set about
means OF preventing compliance with
the courts order. The only way to
accomplish this was to remove him.
on February q. the day before he
] Of Ion -ft,s,-
/ prisoned nobeman was taken to Me-
/ PIro. his old home. for a holiday trip.
He went gladly and without suspicion
at eof the food which was given to
| him. In this food poicon had been
1 mixed which 1t was calculated would
produce his death at six o'clock on
| the following morning. On that morn
| ing notice was sent to the judge that
/ the yiscount had suddenly expired,
but Nishigori claims that the victim
did not die until $50 o'clock that same
evening, He asserts that the con-
| spiiators entered the chamber Of the
dying nobleman and. finding him stu
alive suffocated him with bed pillows.
/ Then on that same night he was
buried buried in grave thirty-iive
feet deep, the object being to prevent
the disluterment Of the body.
Nishigori made a demand upon two
Judges of IN eTokio court that the
burinl certificate be revoked and that
the corpse be dsnterred for medical
| examination. but he asserts that the
Judges were heavily bribed by the
conspraturB, and that nothing was
done to throw light upon the real
cause of the viscounts death. Al
| though he left a natural son, the
younger brother succeeded to the title
aud the estate.
After waiting nearly year, Nlshi-
gori gathered evidence which he
]
charges, and formally lodged an ac-
ton in the Toxic court against the
| viscuunt's relatives and retainers,
Thechief Of the accused were the new
| Viscount Soma Yoritane, his mother,
his three stewards. two servants and
his family physician. when these
charges were printed they naturally
created an enormous sensation. as the
/ Soma family is among the Oldest and
| richest OF the noble families in Japan.
Nishigori produced mass OF evil
,dence bearing out his assertions, but
most of his witnesses We're people OF
the lower class. and those who could
! be reached by monetary considera-
ton. on the other side the thirty or
| forty witnesses brought forward by
the accused nobleman and his re-
| tanners We're people of good character
| and antecodents.
The exact nature of the testimony adj
duced in these 10 days of trial will
probably never never be known, as
the method in Japan Is TO conduct
preliminary criminal hearings of this
kind in secret. All that the public
j gained was a mere outline Of the pro-
| Ccedines. which We're marked at cer-
tain periods Y domicilary visits to the
houses Of the accused, by the arrest
| Of certain other persons who We're in
cluded in the conspiracy. by the dis
/ Increment of the viscount's remains
and by the examination OF the body.
| Whatever may have been the nature
of the testimony, the decision of the
court was handed down on October
80. 1t was in effect that the charges
made by Nishigorl had not been es-
tablished; that the confession OF sew
eral of the former retainers OF the
viscount, on which the case mainly
rested, was a forgery, and that all
| the accused were, therefore. acquitted.
As a result OF this unexpected YER
dict, for a large number of the Japan
! ese Vernaculnr papers seemed to put
faith in the story, Nishigori his wife
and the leading counsel We're arrested
on the very day of the verdict on the
charge of bringing false and malicious
accusations against those who had Just
| been acquitted. A few days later Judge
famaguichi Of the Toxic local court
was also arrested by special imperlni
order, charged with collision with the
consprators.
Since the arrest of the conspirators
and the Judge, many curious facts
have come opt, showing that in sus-
tanned imposture and in ingenuity Of
forgery this case has never been sur
passed in the criminal annals OF nny
country, The facts bear out Nlshi-
gorrs claim that he did make EFFORTS
to secure the release of his former
lord, but that he had no real ground
for the charge that the visoount was
not insane, nor that he was murdered.
HIS antmus against the younger bro
ther as well as against the retainers
whom ne accused OF 80 many crimes
was that he. himself, was DISCHARGED
Tor dishonesty and inot Impotence. Burn
ing Tor revenge. he set about institute
ngs which would overwhelm in shame
ana disgrace all those who had brought
about his removal.
He was assisted IN this worl, nv
his wife, who was OF superior educa-
ton, being the daughter Of wealthy
merchant near Toxic. She was al
vorced by her husband for misconduct
zen IN with Nlshigou, and seeing the
possibility Of his scheme, agreed 10
assist him In his great undertaking
she lived with him as his wife and
advanced him the first money FOR legal
eNpenses Since his arrest a large
number OF people have come forward
nnnnHFtanaNa ~