The Indianapolis journal., 1896-02-11
THE TRAVELLING MAN MISTAKEN,
Yet His story Led to Miss HoliinEs-
WOrth's Further Confession.


The first clew superintendent Colbert
received that led up to the telling OF May
Hollingsworths remarkable additional
story came over the telephone wire yester-
day morning An unknown man called
him up and said he had some valuable in
formation to give with reference to the
case He refused to give his name but
said that he could be found at Williams's
barber shop, 5O4 College avenue. Detective
Frank Wilson Investigated the report and
got trace Of travelling man who claimed
he saw young man and a girl on a c.,
III. 6, D. train, bound for Cincinnati, that
answered the description of Pearl Bryan
and Alonzo NJ Waling. This was on the
Friday morning prior to the murder. The
travelling man, Ray l.. Sutherland, was
found at his home, 462 West New York
street and at detective Wilson's request
called on Superintendent Colbert. Mr..
Sutherland said he boarded the 1850 train
for Morristown on Friday, Jan. 81. He
entered the ladies' coach. Shortly. after
he entered a young man, accompanied Dy
a girl about Pearl Bryans age, came into
the first seat in front or him. The girls
face bore traces of tears: her cheeks were
swollen and her eyes were red from much
weeping. The young man was haggard and
careWorn They sat talking in a low voice
for a few moments. when the girls COM
panion arose and went toward the for
ward end of the car Mr.. Sutherland said
he did not notice whether the young man
entered the smoking coach or alighted
from the train. At all events, he saw moth
ing more of him. His impression of them
at the time was that they had been attend
ing a funeral When Mr.. Sutherland left
the train at Morristown the young woman
still sat in the same seat and had not
been reioined by her escort. Mr.. Suther
land said he thought no more about the
case until week ago, wnen he saw PIE
lures of Walling and Miss Bryan in the
Cincinnati papers He fancied that there
was something familiar about them and he
recalled the incidents OF ms ride to Nor
man and woman who rode with him that
day were Miss Bryan and Walling:
Last night Mr.. Sutherlands wife heard
him reciting the story TO Journal re-
porter and afterward told him he was mis-
taken about having gone to Morristown on
that date. To convince himself Mr.. Suth-
erland hunted up his date book and found
that he was on Panhandle train EN- route
to Greenfield at the time the couple rode
in the car with him. If Miss Bryan and
Waliing had left this city for Cincinnati
they might have gone over the Panhandle.
but it would have been over an out-of-the-
way route, and Mr.. Sutherland later was
inclined TO think the couple were relatives
of John r. Haines. the farmer who killed
his wife and afterward hung himself. on
a farm near Brightwood. Mr.. Sutherland
says that he now remembers that Haines
and his wife were buried on that day.
He is confident that he was mistaken in
first surmising that the couple were Pearl
Bryan and Waiiing, as they would have
more likely taken c., Fl. & ID. train to
reach Cincinnati
However, the breach of his memory fur
nished the superintendent with sufficient
Information to put Miss Hollingsworth in
the sweatbox again. The officer concluded
that If Miss Bryan was here Thursday
night May Holingsworth would have
known of the circumstances, and he asked
her few leading questions that led the
girl to believe he had positive evidence
that Miss Brxan had been here and was
seen en- her way to Cincinnati. He asked