The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-02

pump house. anu like door from ,:ie
girls side. tii.her both boys and girls
may NEE. 10 sake .heir :.irss or 70 wash
| ,heir hands
| Jus. one minnie altar Twelve there were
three pe.sons-Wi.lie Schneider, the &C.
cusej. Frank Tanser. the fve-year-oli
witness. and r;:,e josephine. the victim.
Josephine was frs; at the pump. She
had the ladie lifted up 10 her mouth 10
drink when Willie pushed against her.
She demonstrated with him He grew
angry. TN burn yooi- he said.
There-oon he drew out couple Of
N matches. lighted frs. one and then The
other. and applied them 10 her cloths.
Instantly she was In Q blaze. Wild with
frigh, and pain she rushed out into the
girls yard. and through an open door
into the woods beyond A man named
I.urch caught hold Of hen Tearing or
his COAT. he sought to smother Che flames
by wrapping Z. around her. He has
badly burned hands TO submit IN EVIL
dence today But De poor little girl. Ia
her delinun Of pain. broke away from her
resouer. rstracsd her steps 20 the girls
schoo,yard. and fell 10 the ground School
teachers and children. attracted by her
screams. surrounded her, tore on Aer
clothes and finally extn=nIshed ne
flames. but not before the lower part q
her body had been frighscuny burned
She was carried 10 her home Medical
aid was Instantly summoned But sAe
was heyoud the reach o. medical aid
Legs and abdomen were burned a,nos4
10 a c-isp She fingered unit, the next
day. and tnen. just about ~env-sour
hours after sae outrage. death pue An end
to her s0fferinga
The full horror Of the deed was not
known TN some days later. 7: was at
first supposed rhas the girls clothes had
where the janitor had. earlnsr IN ~ day
been burning some refuse. In face. the
girl, In her deltrium, had explained at
first that that Was the way IN which the
FIRE had oocuwed Af;erward she had
said that a red hafared boy had set fire
20 her clothes She had died without
making any ante-mortem statement THAT
could be accepted as legal evidence.
But II came TO the ears OF Principal
William II. Dumont that q ruInor had
spread among the school children faasten-
ing the crime on Willie Sohnsider He
determined to investigate. He called
Willie into his presence and ca:echised
the boy.
IT put no leading questions 70 him. ne
told me when I called upon him. 'T
merely drew out OF him bi: BY bit his
own story. asked HIM IL he hadn seen
any matches lighted. After some hesita-
ton he said yes. that ne had III, them.
Then he said ne had applied them 20 the
girls clothing josephine had angered
him by pushing him away form the
pump. That is why he had sought re-
venge. / took him before two OF the
teachers and soma OF the pupils He re-
peatsd the story"
l asked Mr.. Dumont what he thought
OF the child's Intelligence. He answered
tina, he did not think IL was. up 10 the
average Of an ordinary four-ysear-old.
willie came TO the school two years
ago. He is exactly where he was then.
A child OF ordinary intelligence would
have been promoted in six mr1onths. I
anna now making out the promouoels for
scholars for the next term. Willie would
not have been promoted. So tina; ne has
no, in the past two years made the pro-
gress which would have been expected
from an ordinary boy OF his years in six
months"
How was his behavior"
Every good. / have had to rep-imand
him once or twice. bu, or the whole his
conduct has been exceptionally good. !
think his teacher. Miss Tygert. viii bear
me out in this statement"
We went down 10 see Miss Tygert. Her
testimony was similar to rha; OF the prin-
cipsl Willie. she said, wjas very back
ward in MS studies. He was dull He
could not understand the most ordinary
question until It had been repeated 10
him two or three times. But he was
oobedien; and orderly.
/ next saw Mis-, Annie Chrey. She Is q
teacher. who first saw Josephine in flame
teacher, who first saw josephine In
flames In the yard. This was some three
or four minutes after twelve. WHEN the
yard. and had been surronnd.d BY her
playmates. Miss Carey had bean sum
monei 70 a window by the, ;tinrIIt. Then
she had rushed down stairs 10 extingyiish
The fire. with the resuii already described.
The ner; person I intervisHe, was IT.
tie frankie Tanser. He 10 bright Bttle
but-ae is 9niy Eve-yssr-
Old. When asked 10 tell his story. ne
told it systematically as gwen above.
josephine had angeret Willie: Willie had
said. II win burn YOU up Rad 2gisss
gu. q coupe Of matches and sppii>d :hefn
10 ne girls clothes. He stuck rerolut.4y
10 this story. asked h.ra X Hfge vas
good ooy.
NO" ne sad. "a bad boy
HAS he ever dore anything bad be-
fo.e?"
Yes; ne burned another girl"
VIVA: was her name"
Miller" be said.
Bat tia; IS The gtri be burned ne
other Gay"
Frankie smiled ard said yes Couldn't
get anything fuf;; II OUT O: him IN; I
asked the principal II he kasg anything
, bout former case q ioces3irism
Yes" saiE NJ. Dumo1t. "taste -
story TIA. ne burned an1iasr p-rson. a (
BOY. s0ne Two years ago I, l. sad tsat !
Ms soderouTDe. woman Wso hFeS /
across Ia. way. ~; olt tie fame
/ ascer.ained ArS. Sys~-nB.rs's s6- /
irsss and called U9on her. sac rernsfri- /
osred re inci5eu>- A 0oy named W.is I
Smith had been playing IN 'front.' g: her
louse zita ne Sshnsssr by. Toen 4
t1-s-fg. h.ys go, q, z-.- rfa .f-,-.f~- A..