St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-06

| had no children, and they did not well
come the society of their neighbors
| They had formerly lived on farm at
Hamilton, sixteen miles southwest of
Lilydale, and are presumed to have
come originally from New York The
| old people were Catholics, but rarely
attended the church at Mendoza. Mr..
Newman made his presence felt only
during an election, when his ardent
| Democracy found ample expression.
He was presumed to have brought
some money with him, the income
from which was supplemented by the
sale of hogs raised at Lilydale. In
addition to the hogs a cow and
horse added to the retired farmers
cares.
Yesterday morning William Boerner,
occupying one of the score of houses in
the village, had his suspicious aroused
by the frosty window panes of the New
man cottage. He spoke to his wife,
who recalled that she had not seen Mr..
Newman attending, as usual, to the
animals in his stable. Boerner waited
until after o'clock, and then, observing
no movement across the street, he con-
suited with John Tendula, another
neighbor. They both proceeded to the
Newman house and found the door
locked. Entering the stable, they en-
countered shivering, whinnying, un-
fed horse. They returned, broke in the
Kitchen door, and groped their way
through the gathering darkness into
the bedroom at the front Of the house.
No one answered their calls. Tendula
lighted match. Before him was the
old couples bed, in which, sleeping
calmly, from all appearances, with eyes
closed and one hand alongside her
head, lay Mrs. Newman. The match
went out as Tendula exclaimed. Where
is the old man?" Another match was
Hghted, and the Searchers. crossing the
room, saw James Newman stretched
upon his back, at full length, on the
floor alongside of the bed. His ewes
tco, were closed. yet he seemed merely
asleep. But he was cold, and as dead
a. was his wife. Nothing was disturbed
ABOUT the small apartment, whose di-
menslons n,,e were only ten by twelve feet
Inc WlndtavS and the door had been
tightly closed. But these circumstances
connected with the presence of a coal
stove, clearly explained a fatal acct
dent The old couple had been asphvx
lated by coal gas. Newman himself had
probably felt the pain of suffocation.
ana nao risen from his bed to fall at
once upon the floor
Ihe stove was an old-fashioned one
ana sef-feeding. The central. reser,
voir, which is to be kept filled, had nev-
er been utilized, and was entirely emp
" Coal had, instead, been shoyeled
into the stove from the side doors
The smaller pieces Of hard coal were
mixed with large Jumps of the bitumi-
nous variety. All the dampers were
tightly closed. The fire, of course. had
long before died out Profuse gas aris-
ing from the soft coal burning in the
stove, with all exits open, except that
up the chimney, had poured forth the
previous night into the small and close
room. and proved the ready cause for
a slow though painless death.
Boerner and Tendula at once COM
mumcated with John Ball. one Of the
leading men Of the village, being town
clerk Of Mendoza township and school
clerk Of Lilydale district. Mr.. Bali
went himself to the Newman house
and confirmed the opinion Of his neigh
bors Then he proceeded to this city.
where he Is employed as night watch
man Of the Berrtsford cracker factory.