The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-05-09
POISON ON ENVELOPES
An Anonymous Letter Relating to
the Slayer of Mrs. Cloud
Creates a Sensation, but Contains Little
Truth-HOw Snyder Was to
Kill Himself.

Yesterday afternoon an anonymous letter
was received at the police station. For a
time this letter caused a great deal Of ex-
citement and speculation The letter read
as follows:
"Mr. POWELL have a secret that / must
tell you as It is worrying me to death:
When Mr.. Snyder decided on giving himself
up we agreed he should kill himself before
he wuld be hung or go to the Pen. 80 we
decided when ne Was I'D 1aal we % n
kles arsenic on them and then If he was
convicted for kill Ola, he Guild kill himself
received one or two ENVELOPES already but
you take them from him so he can't piSen
himself. The letters were all to be sent IN
your care, so no suspicious would arise
The letter was written In ink, but the en-
velope was addressed in lead pencil. The
penmanship was very poor. The postmark
was May 8. and the stamp was missing.
Captain Campbell. acting as superintendent
in the absence of superintendent Powell,
stated that he thought the letter was the
work OF a rank. He turned the letter
over to Sheriff Emmett, who has charge
of Lou Snyder, who killed Mrs. Ola Cloud
about the first of the year The letter un-
doubtedly referred to Snyder. Sheriff En-
NETT also thought the letter the work Of a
crank. However, he will investigate the
matter. Superintendent Campbell stated
that death Through such means was by no
means impossible. He cited the case OF
I1llll l. 1Cla 11AC AAOASA wv OAO0'f
who killed himself by taking a quantity
of arsenic brought In small quantities by
friends to him at the jail where he was
confined, ~laundried by the friends in cuffs:
Sheriff Emmett stated that the rigid
search Of tho letters before they were
to the prisoners would have detected
any such unusual thing as mucilage on the
envelope.
Last night a Journal reporter barded the
ANONYMOUS scrawl to Snyder at the jail.
He was called out :nto the corridor by
Sheriff Emmett. and under the Pickering
light Of a gas jet, read the badly-spelled
words. He was nervous and the page
shook like a leaf In his trembling hand as
he spelled out the letters.
Well this thing makes me nervous and
he laughed, turning the letter over and
over In his hand and adjusting his glasses
for another attempt. He read the missive
four times and then passed it over to the
reporter with the remark:
II believe that / recognize some of the
say positively. but L think that is the hand
writing of Mrs. Clouds brother. What the
motive was I can't imagine"
He was asked If there was any truth in
the startling statement and replied: of
course not: I am not the kind of a nan TO
do that kind of a thing. l have been in
iail for four months and have not received
a single letter, as the sheriff knows. My
letters are all written by my daughter at
my dictation, and 1 never place my hand
uDon the envelope. This is the worst sort
of folly and it worries me. L think that
the man who would write a letter like
that is a sneaking coward and not fit to
always had of an anonymous letter writer.
| haven't any use for arsenic and wouldn't
tamper with it If a bucket of the stuff was
placed in my CELL