The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1896-04-02
A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR.
Persistent Efforts TO Poison Mrs. Hiram
Smith and Family at Coburg.

Smith and Family at Coburg.
Our readers will will remember an
account published recently Ofattempts
to take the life of Mrs. Hiram Smith,
OF CUburg, by means Of poison. Since
that time, says the Eugene Guard,
several more attempts have been made
to accomplish the same purpose by
some unknown person. but so far un.
successfully, though Mrs. Smith and
her family have been thrown into a
constant state of the greatest fear by
the repeated and persistent efforts of
their prosecutor to take their lives. In
the last visits made by the person who
would have the lives of Mrs. Smith
and her family, he left anonymous
notices of warning, in which he makes
the threat that he will continue to
visit the premises until he accomplishes
his object. He also predicts dire pun
ishment for the family after death.
Mrs. Smith is the widow Of the late
Hiram Smith, Of Harrisburg, a man
who was quite wealthy and prominent
in social and political life. He owned
large tracts of land below Coburg, and
at one time was a candidate for con-
gress. He has been dead for a num-
ber Of years. Mrs. Smith is now aged
73 years and lives on farm about four
north of Coburg. She never had any
children of her own, but had four
adopted children. She has residing
with her the four orphan children of
one of her adopted sons, who is dead.
I The first attempt to poison Mrs.
Smith was made about ten years ago,
Recently two more attempts were
made, of which an account was pub.
lished few weeks ago.
On last Tuesday another attempt
was made to administer poison to the
family. Some unknown person visited
the house during the day and left some
kind of powder on top of the jars of
milk. Mrs. Smith does not know
what the powder was, but thinks it
was some kind of poison that is used
to destroy rats and squirrels. On this
visit the person left two notes. They
read as follows:
NOTE NO, !.
"Done by an unknown friend. | in
tend to kill you all. My name will
not - May hell punish you; g.
d. you. You ali, | will kill you
all. NJ. A. E. s. +. 5. V. S. g. S L
s."
NOTE NO. 2.
"Done by an envious friend, and
will come again. Have been five times
already; g--d--- you tolks.n
On the afternoon ol the next day the
unknown person again visited thu
premises and put another kind ofpow
der In the cream in The pantry. The
powder was of whltish color, looked
like soda and tasted like concentrated
lye. On this visit two more notices
were left as follows:
NOTE NO. 8.
"The ones we want to kill Is Hiram
Smith, l.. Smith, Mary Smith, Glars
Smith"
NOTE No. 4.
II am coming again; this is done by
one you will never know. God il
building the fire for you now, f
D. you"
On the days that the above notices
and the supposed poison were left, Mrs
Smith and the two little girls were lef
alone at the farm, the young men,
Leet and Hiram-being absent OF
business. Judging from the way not
No. 8 reads it would seem that the un
known party only desired to take tn
lives Of the four orphan children VIII
live with Mrs Smith.
Thursday the family persecnto
again gained admittance to the prem
ises, unseen by any one, and scattered
poison about in the well and watering
troughs and in the grain bin. Thwart
ed thus far in his efforts to take tn
lives of the members Of the family
this mysterious individual now seem
determined to poison the stock on tn
ranch. The family now live in con
slant terror, not knowing what min
ute their property may be destroyed o
their lives taken by this unseen enem!
who from the very fiendishness of hi
actions, must be some person who /
bordering on the brink Of insanity.
The matter has been placed in tn
hands Of the officers of Eugene, VIII
will ferret it out aud doubtless in
short time show the guilty party VI
unses tlis powerfdl light of the law.