davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
y Desperate

fact, where the desperate almost fell
against him when Reed shot him. Mr..
RydstrOm has been in Skaguay since
last January and has seen the rapid
growth of the place from simply a
group of tents, constantly being put up
and constantly taken away as the mi
grating herds OF humanity came and
went. From the start "Soapy" Smiths
reign has been supreme. He had
gang of twentynine toughs, all as des-
perate as himself and all completely
under his control. Like the able leader
in villainy he was, he had his crew
we'll distributed among the municipal
offices and in all places where they
could be used to best further his
schemes and to best afford protection
to himself and the gang. Boss"
Tweed never in his palmiest day had
such a perfectly and Systematically Or
sanized band of robbers. There were
always three of them in the city coun-
Gil his first lieutenant was the deputy
city marshal and his second officer was
the editor of the one daily paper in the
town. The others were disposed to the
best advantage possible.
Smith was a genius and a general in
his line. His place was among the
high officials, where he acted as adviser
and director in all the affairs of the
city. He could easily have been the
mayor had he chosen, but that would
not suit his purpose half SO we'll as
being in the position he occupied His
hand was never actually seen in any of
the yillainics rerpetrated, and it was
known how useless a task it would
have been to try and fasten any of the
he was the leader Of the gang just the
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

plication for divorce it was found that
he possessed queer, boyish traits Of
characte He used her much as a
child uses a playmate, only he carried
1t 10 excess, and would draw a knife
across her throat Or put revolver to
her head and threaten to kill her. He
then wandered around in boyish fash
ion for about six weeks, when he found
another neighborhood girl who was
sweet on him and they were married
They lived together about three months
and he treated her the same as he
did his first wife. He then gained di-
vorce and was then married to a girl
named Dora, who lived down near
Terre Haute. 1t was the same story.
He was divorced some time ago and
now he is to take a fourth bride, and
still he is just past his eighteenth birth
day. 1t is doubtful if there is another
case in the nation that will compare
with this.
The last Indiana reports for 1897
make some interesting shOWings in this
respect, and it seems that certain sec
tions are particularly blessed with
happy marriages, while On the other
hand trouble seems to agitate the
matrimonial seas Of other counties.
In fact, twelve out of ninety-two coun-
ties in the state furnished AZ per cent,
or almost half of the divorces for the
entire state. For the whole state 1t
is found that for every one marriage
there were seven divorces granted.
The matrimonial waves down in Clark
county We're unusually pacific, there
being only one divorce to every 835
marriages. In Marion county, on the
other hand, there were but three mar
riages to one divorce. This goes to
show that a country community gen.
orally superinduces domestic happiness,
while the hurly-burly of city life
drives people to the divorce markets.
Clark county is without even railroad
and the people are of the agricultural
classes. Marion county is the seat OF
indianapolis, which is recognized from
one end of the country to the other as
a great divorce center Of great di'
vorce state.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
MANIAC AND THE MOON.

Residents of Florida street, near
Twenty-second, San Francisco, arc
thankful that Charles Prettijohn has
been sent to Agnews asylum. They can
go to bed now with the calm assurance
that their rest will not be broken by
clamor to which a Chinese riot is not
circumstance. They can look the full
moon fair in the face over their right
or even their left shoulders and fear NO
evil consequences. The god has been
yanked out of the machine and peace
broods once more over a quiet neigh
borhood. Prettijohn is a nurseryman,
the owner and, until the other day, the
only occupant of 1017 Florida street
In his front yard stands the tallest
eucalyptus tree in all the mission. Ir
his brain existed a belief that blood
thirsty enemies We're ever dogging his
steps. For three-Guarters of each
moon his fears of a tragic end only
drove him to keep himself behind
doors tightly locked and windows
heavily barricaded. The remaining Pc
riod, when the moon got too full fol
utterance, Prettijohn could smell them
coming and, for greater safety and to
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
King Of Tbjpvps

The Viennese police have reason to
pride themselves on the capture OF an
individual who is regarded among the
light-tingered gentlemen OF the CONT
nent as the king OF thieves. This man
appears to have possessed magic
power over bolts and bars, and no few
er than 2C0 burglaries have been scored
to his account during the last few
years. He affected somewhat the line
of policy adopted by Robin Hood
Claude Duval and Dick Turpin, for he
exhibited at times the traits of chiv-
airy and generosity which are popu-
larlf supposed in fiction to have mark
ed the characters of some of the his
torical knights of the highway. He
burgled, not always with the sordid
object Of stealing, but from a profess
sional pride that prompted him to
overcome obstacles. The more diff
cult the bolts and bars tie more he
desired to win his way through them.
When he had succeeded he would
leave a card or q written commitment
to the locksmith and 90 away with
empty hands. But his ambition has
overleaped itself and he has landed in
a cell, which is no wonder, seeing how
the actions of chivalrous burglar are
liable to be looked upon with suspicion
by the ce.-Westminster Gazette.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
FOURTH OF JULY IN SKAGUAY.

same. "Soapy," however, was an ad-
mirable strategist and often laid plans
for bold robberies that completely de-
ceived the good and honest citizens and
invariably proved successful. One of
these schemes, which was carried
through with mastery generalship, will
serve to illustrate the ability of the
man as leader and campaign plan
ner. There was a Canadian minister
in town who was anxious to raise
enough money to build a church for his
congregation. It was "Soapy" Smith
who put him in the right way to accom-
plish his purpose. He advised the
minister to make personal canvasA of
the town and solicit subscriptions from
the prominent business men. To show
his genuine interest in the matter he
at once put down his name and really
gave up $3.50 in cash toward the prof.
marked effect upon the "other" good
citizens.
They all subscribed literally, and the
minister was gratified to find that in
a very short time he had raised sew
eral thousand dollars. But that money
never was used to build church. The
minister had no sooner completed his
work and had the money in his pos
session than he was way!aid and
robbed of the whole sum. 1t is GER
tainty that "Soapy" had his $3.50 duly
returned to him and with a liberal in
terest added, while the rest of the
gang, to the same certainty, profited in
dividually, according to their rank in
"Soapy's" army of robbers.
But such was this mans power that
no one dared openly denounce him. It
was bad enough to know tha. he sys-
tematically plundered from the strang-
ers who CHANGED to land in Skaguay
with gold dust, but it was worse when
his scheming brain devised plans to rob
his fellow citizens and set his band to
carry them out. And yet his reign con-
tinued, though Skaguay had grown to
be a city OF 5000 business men. He
was at the height of his power just pre-
vious to his being killed. On the
Fourth Of July Skaguay had resolved
to be patriotic and general celebra-
tion was inaugurated. One of the feat
ures was a grand parade, and in this
"Soapy" Smith was the leader. But
.ven then matters were shaping them
selves to bring about his destruction.
About the first Of July miner had
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

twice from tbe same man. In every
casa these living exponents Of divorce
Inheritance had been the applicants.
This includes all Of the present gen
Grafton. 1t is needless to trace back
further in detail except to state that
the further back the family tree is
traced the more complex it becomes,
until it is found that possibly it rivals
that Of the divorced Mrs. Allen Lemon.
1t was shown in the trial that divorce
was q mania, and it was attempted to
prove that it was handed down from
generation to generation.
Only last month a still more notable
case came up in the superior court OF
Anderson, wherein a mother and her
daughter--Mrs. Ella Barton, mother,
and Mrs. Minnie Stanley, daughter
appeared in the same court on the
same day applicants for divorce. Each
preferred the charge OF incompatible
ity. Both were granted DEGREES on
the same day. The matter attracted
great deal Of attention and was COM
mented on at large all over the coun-
Try. investigation fcVcalS IH0 Ihcl
that while the mania, II such 1t is, may
exist in the family and can be traced
back several generations, still 1t Is not
nearly so pronounced as in the Black
and Lemon incidents. 1t was, how
ever, very strange and unheard-of
coincidence and this was carried still
further when they were married on the
same day three weeks afterward. the
ceremony being a double one.
In the neighboring county OF Hen
bricks still more marvellous divorce
record is being established by young
man named Benson Eggers. Young
Eggers has just added a third divorce
to his collection and still he is but 18
years of age. His history reads like
romance. with plenty of action on the
part Of Cupid. He started out when he
was 10 years of ase by marrying a
girl, who had just ac-
CURED the age Of 15 They lived to-
gether just three weeks and in her APP
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

desertion, shortly afterward marrying
a younger woman.
Samuel Breakwell, son of the mur-
dered man, says Pethke had exerted
and exercised an undue influence over
his mother for years, and that had it
not been for Pethke the divorce would
never have come about.
Young Breakwell is a believer in
spiritualism as well as hypnotism, and
says that he has talked with his faith
er's spirit several times since the mur-
der. He is kind erisugh to say that his
mother was Influenced by Pethke, but
there are others who say Pethke Was
under the influence Of the old woman.
The latter did not so to the funeral,
and as the cortege was making its way
to the cemetery Mrs. Breakwell was
waiting at the Jail to interview the
murderer. She did not see the victim
after he was stricken down, although
her children say she would not have
been turned away. She had lived with
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

come Into town from the north pv,.h
some $4,000 in geld. One or the gana
succeeded in getting him in town and
took him to one of, the dens where tbe
robberies were committed. It wac
Smiths policy never to use extreme
measures when it could be avoided
although q murder or two cut no flc.
ure with these villains. The ordinary
plan was to get the victim drunk and
draw him into shell" game, and thus
relieve him Of his money in "legiti-
mate" manner. In this way the miner
Was robbed of his $4,000. He howayer,
made vigorous flick and an effort vas
made to induce "Soapy" to give up the
spoils. But this "Soapy" would not do,
and the refusal led to his tragic end.
For the first time since his reign be-
san he was publicly denounced. There
were open and private meetings held
and measures were in the way OF
adoption to depose the "boss.''
On July large number of the citi-
Zens had congregated on the wharf and
the city surveyor was just calling upon
the people to take some decisive action
and drive Smith and his gang out of
town, when the desperate himself ap-
peared upon the scene, Winchester in
hand. He deliberately shot Reed, who
fell to the ground, but, wounded and
dying as he was, he pulled his pistol
and shot Smith in the head killing him
instantly.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
the dead man more than thirty-nve

the dead man more than thirty-flve
years. .-a...-~
Mrs. Breakwell always spoke of her
husband as tyrant, and Pethke came
to regard her as a much-injured wom-
an. Living in the same house with the
divorced wife and hearing her con-
slant plants, fearing that disaster
would overtake them and both be driv-
en- into the street, he brooded over the
situation until, as he claims, he be-
came desperate
He says the influence Of Mrs. Break
well was such that he could not resist
doing what he did, but he claims ne
cannot tell what that influence was.
lie asserts that the aged minister in
suited and reviled him every time they
met, and drove him crazy with his
taunts
lie is pitiable object now as he
sits in his cell fearful of the fate that
awaits him as a consequence of his
crime, and his keepers think he is
upon the verge of madness. His only
visitor is Mrs. Breakwell, who, how
ever, fails to cheer him with her pres
ence or her words of encouragement.
Her influence over him is gone.
These two constitute a strange cou-
pie. Pethke was the company tailor
IN his regiment and met Mrs. Break
well at Fort Sheridan when she came
there as nurse in the families of the
officers. She went out nursing, al
though her husband was rich. and soon
she and Pethke began occupying the
house. He said he built the house
while Mrs. Breakwell owned the lot;
that he borrowed 5000, and that Mr..
BreakWell induced the lender of the
money to sue him.
This led to the murder. Pethke says
the clergyman put his wife out of his
house and refused to support her, and
that is why she went to Pethke's. she
having no other place to go. He claims
that Mr. Breakwell used the vilest Ian.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

guage toward him and that he was
abusing him when the murder oc.
Cured.
The Rev. Mr.. Breakwel!'s life was
a mixture of romance and hard busi-
ness sense. Forty years ago he was a
wellto-do tradesnan in an English
village. His wife dyins he married
her sister, widow named Mrs. Jane
Speers, Notwithstanding the English
law did not recognize marriage with
a deceased wife's sister. This wife
was the Mrs. Breakwell who lived
with Pethke.
To further complicate matters, the
second wifes son by her first husband
married her husbands daughter by
his first wife, and this created dis
sensions and quarreling Her hus-
bands children by his first wife de-
clare the second wife was grasping
and constantly demanded money.
They say this is how she got the
money to buy the land upon which
Pethke's house was built.
These stepchildren also say their
stepmother had most violent tenn
per, and being older than their father
had great influence over him, just as
she had over Pethke later on. Her en-
nifty, it is claimed, was particularly
directed toward her niece and step
daughter, who had married her SON.
Breakwell's estate, worth 100000 or
more, win so to his children by his
first and second marriages and his
present wife. He has no children by
his latest marriage.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
She Won Ifcr Bet.

A confirmed bachelor was sitting on
a rock watching the waves and a group
of summer maidens in bathing costume
were sporting in the surf and on the
beach near by. Suddenly out from
their midst ran vision in white, and,
running up to the sitting figure, with
out word of warning and hugely to
his surprise, down she pumped grace
fully, right in the bachelors lap. He
was so astonished that he didn't have
presence OF mind to throw his arms
about the beautiful girl and hold her
there. The vision quickly jumped up
again, rejoined her chums amid a
chorus Of cheers, and grabbed a S. bill,
the amount Of the bet she had made and
won.-Bath (Me.) Independent.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

months after having contracted her
second marriage and within half a
year after she had been divorced from
Black. This of itself makes a most
complicated case. It was brought out
in the trial that divorce was an in
herent mania in the Black family. and
argument was made along those lines
to bring out some most vital points
1t developed that Frank Black had not
only been divorced, but almost all Of
the men and women folks of his fam
lily, if not all Of them except his own
father and mother, for some years
hack had been applicants for divorces
and had gained an accumulation OF de-
crees numbering from one to three,
There was Joe, James, Milt and Henry
Black, Mrs. Dave Harris. Mrs, Clark.
Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Fritz all broth
ers and sisters still living, and Mrs,
Fritz's daughter, Mrs. Lower, also liv-
ing, all of whom had been divorced
from one to three times. In the case
of the last one she had been divorced
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

voiced wife or the Rev. Samuel Break
well, cut the throat Of the preacher on
the public street of the village of
Hlghwood last week. On the other
hand, Pethke is accused of having ex-
erted a similar influence over the di-
Vorced wife OF the murdered man, and
was the cause of the separation of the
couple.
1t is a strange and in many respects
revolving story. The divorced Mrs.
breakwell Is seventy-eight years old,
and the skin on her face is puckered
into thousand wrinkles. She was the
second wife of the murdered man, who
was many years younger than she, and
after the divorce the husband married
much younger woman, who survives
him.
The second Mrs. Breakwell was the
mother Of three children, one son and
two daughters, who are married and
live in the vicinity. Pethke is surly
fellow. forty-five years old, and lived
IN the house with aged Mrs. Break
we'll. In fact, the couple have resided
in the house for several years, and
Mrs. Breakwell lived there when her
husband obtained the divorce on the
ground Of desertion.
The victim was a Baptist minister.
and for a year past had charge in
Darlen, Wis. He was a retired merchant
and had accumulated considerable
property in the town of Highwood and
the surrounding country. The house
IN Which Mrs. Breakwell and Pethke
lived was built with the money of Mrs.
Breakwell and her husband, but after
the divorce Mrs. Breakwell decided Or
signed her share to Pethke. Mr.. Break
well claimed his share in the house, on
the ground that he had loaned her
money with which to complete it, and
1t was the old clergyman attempt to
obtain possession of the property that
led to the murder.
a constable notified Mrs. Breakwell
and Pethke two weeks ago that they
must vacate, and Pethke claims he was
driven to desperation because the min
lister would show him no mercy.
The murder was one of the most
fiendish atrocity. On Wednesday, ALL
gust II, the aged clergyman came down
from Darien to visit his children. AS
he was walking along the principal
street of Highwood, his Bible under
his arm, Pethke stole up behind him
and, Selling him by the beard, cut his
throat, severing the jugular vein.
AS the victim fell the frenzied MUIR
derer stabbed him time and again in
the face and throat, cutting his nose off
and inflcting most hideous wounds.
Pethke then gave himself up and
claimed to have acted in self-defense,
although the dead man was unarmed
and fully twenty-five years older than
his murderer. Owing to the excited
state Of the public mind. Pethke was
hurried off to the Jail at Waukegan
and a strong guard put over him to
prevent mob violence.
What was the influence the aged d.
vorced wife had over Pethke and what
could have been the cause OF her great
liking for him? Pethke says the Rev.
Mr.. Breakwell was so stingy and mean
that his wife was forced to leave him,
and that he took her in out of pity.
She refused to go back to him. and he
obtained a divorce on the ground Of
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02

the penetrating darts of Cupid? These
questions and others OF sociological
nature easily arise, the result Of legal
procedure in the courts OF Anderson,
Ind, which go to show that neltrl-
monial infelicity often is the result Oh
inherent qualities. Allen Lemon has
just been granted a divorce. he mar
ried his wife, Minnie, some months
ago, and from the very first there
arose strife, and in the light OF the eVl-
dence brought cut in trial, II
may be presumed that she was the
fountain head of all of the trouble. In
diana divorces are quite often granted
on very common evidence, but this de-
cree was issued because of most re-
markable sociological demonstration
After showing that she was disagree
able, faalltfnding and suspicious Of
him on every possible occasion and
was otherwise anything but agreeable
the defendants attorney introduced
her family tree, and d most interest
ing one it proved to be.
In order not to go back over one
hundred years they began with her
at-Greatgreat-g grandmother, and
showed that she had been divorced.
This old womans two sisters and their
mother had also been divorced. The
applicants grandmother and her sis
ters had all been divorced from one
to four times, and their daughters. in
Guiding the applicants mother, had
similar records, except one had carried
Off all hOnOrs by contracting a fifth di-
vorce. That brings the women side
down to her own generation, all OF
them with black divorce records. The
applicants mother had been divorced
three times, and her name in her
fourth matrimonial venture, which is
now in the novelty stage, is Fox. The
mother had two daughters, the appli-
cant and her elder sister. The appli
cant's age was but %, but still she
had already contracted one divorce
and was due for the second, which
came in on time-quite good record
for one so young. Her sister, who is
two years her senior had just got
through her second divorce, which was
also a fair record for the last two OF
figure the number Of names that the
women OF this family have thus gath
cred into probably the most interest
ing family tree in the country, but
they mount up near to a hundred.
Tracing their history back still fur
ther, it is found that the women far
beyond the great-gr -gTeat-grand-
mother We're also built On the divorce
plan. 1t is also found that with prob
ably three exceptions the women were
always the applicants for the divorce,
and in the case of Mrs. Lemon she had
previously applied for a divorce from
Lemon and because she had resided in
the STATE Of Indiana six months the
case was thrown out of court. She had
then been married but five months
He then filed the cross complaint and
on this most remarkable showing the
court decided that probably Lemon
had gone up against the real thing in
the squeezer line and he promptly re-
leased him from the ties that bind.
The other case which is strangely
along the same line was a mixed up
paternity probate-will affair in which
the property of Frank Black, insane,
was at issue, young man named Gep-
hart being a claimant on the grOunS
that Black was his father, his mother
having previously been Mrs. Black,
and giving birth to the plaintff few
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
Precautions.

Landlady (of tea gardens at Hamp-
stead, on the eve Of bank holiday, to
her daughter, who is kneading the
dough fer cake): Maria, you'd bet
ter put couple of eggs and bit o!
butter into the cako. 1t looks as If we
We're going to have wet Holiday, and
may have to eat It ourselves. ."-Pich
Me-Up.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
CRIME AT SKAGUAY.
TOUGH BAND OF CRIMINALS
WIPED OUT.
Henry Eydstrom Tells OF tho Killing
of "Soapy" Siui.h"--A Chicago Man
illustrates How Skaguay Was RM OF
. Desperado.

Z n r Y r YD S.
TROM, formerly a
Chicago man, but
now a citiZer OF
Skaguay, Alaska,
was an eyewitness
Of the fight in
which the Hottrious
"Soapy" Smith was
killed in that place
by City Surveyor
Reed. He sto)d, in
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
Doing His Duty.

Percy-"Here, barber, what are you
doing?" The Barber-"Tm going to
trim your eyebrows, as there don't
seem to be any other hair on your
face."-N> v York Journal.
The Philipsburg mail., 1898-12-02
COniUCa! Amenities.

She--I was fool when I married
you. He-Aren't you fool still? She
No, am not He--Then you should
be thankful t. me for reforming you
Punch