Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-07-20

WV
standing side by side, at Edgcwood,
were both struck by lightning. Slight
damage was done to the buildings,
both Editor Shepard and Mr.. Orcutt
being somewhat shocked by the dis
charge. Mr.. Circuits steel-bowed
spectacles were knocked off his head
and across the room by the electrical
current. 1t was a fortunate escape.
An attempt was made to murder
Henry Dersham, an aged farmer resid
ing ten miles northwest of Eldora, Il
few nights since. Some one secreted
on the premises shot at him, the bull
let intiicting flesh wound in the left
side. This is the second attempt
made upon his life. Last winter his
home was entered by two men while
the family was at church. He was
knocked down, robbed and left in an
unconscious condition. The last grand
jury investigated the case and some
evidence implicated a family in the
same neigh borhood, and it is believed
they intended to kill him for fear he
might have recognized them and would
yet be able u testify against them for
assaulting him.
1t has been alleged that there was a
woman in the case" of the sensa-
tioDal disappearance of f. A. Aveiklc,
manager of the Wyman- Rand company
&c III
eloped with Mrs. eastman, wife of Il
photographer at Oskaloosa, who was
celebrated for her beauty. Mrs. Gest-
man came to Ottumwa on the night
AveikIe disappeared, was met by him,
and the couple left Ottumwa for
Omaha, it is alleged. Farther than
that they have not been traced. The
Wyman- Rand company will not at
tempt to prosecute Aveikle, as the
amount of his defalcation with the
firm was not large, and he is relative
of prominent member of the firm.
He left a large amount of unpaid bills
about town.
The contract for the construction of
a new railroad $50 miles long through
Iowa and extending about $50 miles
into Minnesota, has just been com
pleted and signed in Des Moines. The
contract was made by what is known
as the Gulf & Manitoba Railway Com
pany in Iowa, and the Jackson South
ern Railway Company of Minnesota.
The two companies are to be CONSOLE
dated, and work on the construction
will begin in short time. The
counties of Dickinson, Clay, Buena
Vista, Sac, Carroll, Guthrie, Adair,
Adams and Taylor will be traversed
and the towns of Spirit Lake, Storm
Lake. Spencer, Sac City, Carroll, Bed
ford, Guthrie Center, Greenfield and
Corning lie close along the proposed
route. Whether all of these will be
taken in or not depends entirely upon
what aid they will contribute.
A sensation has been created by 4
Cedar Rapids paper making the direct
charge that Frank Novak is still alive
and concealed by his relatives in Wal
ford. Last February Novak's bank.
store and lumber yard at Walford
were burned, and in the debris of the
bank was discovered the charred
remains of man. Novak has not
been seen since the fire, and his rel
atiycs claim it was he who persisted in
the fire. The missing man carried
insurance policies on his life amount
ing to S33, 900, and his wife has insti-
tuted suits for the payment of the
policies. The Cedar Rapids paper
asserts positively that Novak is still
alive and in concealment in the vicinity
Of Walford, charging that he has been
observed at night, aud only few days
ago a neighbor passed him on the rail
road track and spoke to him. The
people in Benton county are inclined
to discredit the charge, although the
sheriff and his deputies are watching
the case diligently. The insurance
companies are leaving no stone un-
turned to solve the mystery.
NUN NltSIS. living OIl lCdScu
seven or eight miles east of Northwood,
in fit of rage, aggravated by drink,
shot his wife twice with a shotgun
loaded with buckshot, then pounded
her to jelly with the butt of his gun.
After killing her he lay down beside
her and shot himself in the jugular
vein with revolver. The first charge
of buckshot struck Mrs Citers in the
hand and wrist as she was fleeing.
Then she turned toward l.er husband
and pleaded for mercy, but he waited
till she came near and fired the second
charge into her breast, missing the
heart and not k ling her He must
have eXerted demoniacal strength in
beating her with the gun, for the
stock was broken into pieces and the
double barrel was considera bly, bent
by the blows on her head. His own
death was instant, as the ball passed
through the jugular vein and went
through the brain obliquely upward
and lodged against the upper skull,
eight inches from the entrance. The
tragedy was witnessed by several of
a IL. 4 4 q \