Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-09-21
A STRANGE STORY.

a SIRANGE SlOhY.
During the afternoon of Thursday of
last week, lady, perhaps tbirty-fve
years old, neatly dressed in travelling
suit, and accompanied by pretty little
girl of ten, walked into the police sta
.tion, in Norfolk, and asked for the
chief of police. She was shown into his
private Office, and, giving her name as
Mrs. Jessie Mordaunt, told him ro-
mantle story. She said she had been
married twice, first to man named
Mordaunt, and, after his death, to one
Howard. This latter, however, was
an opium-ester, and dissipated. She
cared little for him, which accounted
for her taking the name of her first hus-
band, Howard being dead. Mrs. Nor
daunt said that Howard was stock
holder in the Norfolk and Charleston,
Railroad Company, which went to
pieces several years ago, after having
made several surveys of the route, but
accomplishing little else. Howard, al.
ready stakeholder, obtained SOS, 900
from his wife's people, most of it COM
ing from her mother, and with this
money bought controlling interest in
the road.
Shortly after this he died, under very
suspicious circumstances, in Philadel-
phia. Murder being suspected, an au-
topsy was held, the physicians arriving
at the conclusion that Howard had
been violently dealt with, blood being
found clotted on the brain. No tapgi-
BILE clue was ever discovered to the
murderer; but only short time after
another stookholder in the company,
whose name she did not know, was
found in the same room in which her
husband died, hung to a bedpost by 8
sheet, and stone dead. The mystery of
his peculiar demise was never explain
ed; but Mrs. Mordaunt, or, rather,
Howard, thought that he knew some
thing of the murder of her husband,
and had been put out of the way to
keep him from talking. Meanwhile,
the sos, 900 had gone into the pockets
of the company, and the paper she held
in lieu thereof was absolutely worth
less.
Some months ago she decided to in.
vestigate Howard'a death, and also
to make an attempt to recover
the money, and started on a tour
through the South to obtain data
at the various points worked for stock
by the company. Connected with
the company was q man named r. b
Jones, who was a large stockbolder.
Mrs. Mordaunt claims that he followed
her everywhere she went, stopping at
the same hotels where she put up, dog
ging her every step, and, she thinks,
trying to influence the different hotel
cooks to poison her. She was followed
by him to Charleston, S. c., Whining
ton, N. c., Roanoke Island, Windsor,
Little Washington and Winston, stop
ping ut the same hotels. What his OBJ
ject was she could only suspect, the re-
suit of her suspicion being the conclu-
sion that Jones was interested in the
suppression of the murder investiga-
ton, or the suit for the recovery of the
money, or more probably both. When
she reached Norfolk she had gotten
tired of this sort of thing, and her OBJ
ject in appealing to the police was to
ssk protection against her pursuer. She
wanted him ARRESTED if he fol-
lowed her to Norfolk, where her
business was the same that had car
ried her to the other points mention
ed. This protection was promised,
but during the FIVE days she was there
nothing was seen of the fellow, and,
though one stranger named Jones was
pointed out to her, he proved to be the
wrong man.
Mrs. Mordaunt was very anxious to
learn something about one Gillet, who
had sold stock for the company in Win
ston, N. c.. and after collecting nearly
$1,000 from some of the best-known
residents of that town, absconded, and
has not been heard from since. She
claims that this man, if found, could
throw some light on Howard's death.
She thought she could find this man in
Baltimore, and left for that city Tues
day night, having found, as she said,
all the material necessary to the open
ing up of the civil case, some of the
information obtained proving of much
value to her.
The woman is well educated and very
Intelligent, apd not only bore evidence
to the truth of her story by her manner,
but showed papers voucbing for the
vsracity of nearly all of b. I statements.
Local detectives made some search for
Jones, but have failed to find him thus
far.
While in Chicago, Mr.. Charles l..
Kahler, prominent shoe merchant OF
Des Moines, Iowa, had quite o serious
time of it. He took such a severe cold
that he could hardly talk or navigate, but
the prompt use of Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy cured him of his could so
quickly that others at the hotel who
had bad colds followed his example and
half dozen persons ordered it from the
nearest drug store. They were profuse
in their thanks to Mr.. Kahler for tell
ing them how to cure a bad cold so