The San Francisco call., 1898-08-27
POINT ARENAS
 MURDER MYSTERY No Clue to Mrs. .Morse's
 PoiSOner. TWO PERSONS SUSPECTED LACK OF EVIDENCE PREVENTS
 THEIR ARRESl. Sons of the Aged Victim Using Every Means to Trace the Mur-
 derer, but Their Efforts
 Seem Hopeless.
TWO PERSONS SUSPECTED
LACK OF EVIDENCE PREVENTS
 THEIR ARRESl.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

Special Dispatch 10 The CdH.
 POINT ARENA, Aug. 26.-Although three weeks have passed since the foul murder of Mrs, E. P Morse no trace of the assassin has been found The yine-coyered cottage where the horri- ble crime was committed is deserted save for the birds that appear each morning expecting to be fed by the kind-hearted woman whose lire was crushed out by some unknown hend.
 Two persons are under suspicion. put for lack of evidence 1t is not hKely that their arrest will be made. The sons of the dead woman have employed one of Morse's men to ferret out the perpetrator of the awful crime, put thus far he. has been unable to ootaln a clew which would lead to the oe- lection of the criminal. one thlhS IS certain. Mrs. Morses death was not result of accident. The detective has satisfied himself of this and is looking around striving against hope for suffl- cient evidence upon which to make an arrest.
 When the unfortunate woman died it was first thought her death was que to ptomaine poisoning. Analysis or the mush which she had eaten, however, disclosed that it contained a suff1clent amount of arsenic to have Killed dozen people It is now certain that some one entered the house unoo- served and secretly placed the deadly nelson in a bag of oatmeal which was in the pantry. Mrs. Morse and her son Le Grand partook of 1t In the form of mush. the former dying about hVe
 
 though he had a narrow escape IroIh sharing the fate of his mother.
 Mrs. Morse was 80 years of age ana was not known to have an enemy Thursday evening before her death one of her sons, who conducts the general merchandise store here, LOOK nome tbe oatmeal, which was afterward enrinlIed with arsenic. It was placed in the pantry along with other provls- ions. The following morning Mrs. Morse prepared some mush, which was partaken of by her and her son Le Grand and no evil effects were felt after eating it. Shortly after dark that evening the aged victim went to the house of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Downs who lives only a short distance away. Under the same roof lives Mrs Spaulding, also a relative by marriage. Mrs. Spaulding is considered peculiar hy the residents of the town, pre- sumably on account Of her fnoroinate appetite for morphine. It IS claimeo she is q slave to the drug, dally uslnS about five grains Of 1t.
 At first suspicion was directed to Mrs. Spaulding, and many favored having her arrested. Le Grand Morse, how ever. refused to believe that the woman had a hand in the tragedy, and yigor- ously resisted any attempt or her ac- cusers to have her thrown into prison
 When Mrs. Morse entered her daugh- ter-in-Iaw's house she was met by Mrs. Spaulding, who pleasantly saluted her. Mrs. Morse asked her why she had not called on her. The woman replied that she had been busy, and cutting short the conversation went upstairs to her room. She did not appear again until Mrs. Morse had left. It is argued by several residents, who wink knowingly when asked about the crime, that If Mrs. Spaulding was the perpetrator of the diabolical crime that she had ample time to go to Mrs. Morse's house, place the arsenic In the sack-of oatmeal and then return to her own home.
 The detective who Is working on the case scouts the theory that Mrs. SpauIding is the guilty party. He has had several interviews with her and is thoroughly satisfied of her innocence. Although advanced in years, Mrs. Spaulding still shows traces of beauty. She is seldom seen on the street and speaks only when spoken to. She has been a slave to morphine for a number of years.
 While I dislike to think that she had a hand in the awful death of my poor mother" remarked Lewis Morse to- day, yet there is a vague suspicion in my mind that she might know some thing about it. My brother was very kind to her, having provided for her for some time. However, have not lost all hope, and earnestly pray that the real criminal will some day be brought to account for the awful crime"
 Mrs. Spaulding has daughter living in Fl Paso, Texas. She was formerly the wife of Le Grand Morse, but he was compelled to get @ divorce from her. Her movements are being closely watched.
 There Is still another person at whom the finger of suspicion is pointed. He struts the streets of Point Arena, su- premely indifferent to the venemous whisperings of the residents. He knows he is suspected. but for all this he has made no attempt to clear himself of the stigma cast upon him.
 Every effort is being made to find out where the poison was bought. It is nothing unusual in this town to see 8 person enter drug store and purchase quantity of arsenic. No physicians prescription is necessary, but the sale and name of the person buying it arc recorded in a book. The record of the only drug store here has been thor oughly exploited without gaining a clew to the murderer.
 Notwithstanding the efforts of the sons and those of the authorities 1t is strongly believed that the murder o1 Mrs. Morse will be added to the bloody record of unexplained mysteries of this State unless the assassin voluntarily gives himself up to the police
 STATE OF ANARCHY
 IN c0IJNTRY DISTRICTS