The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-15

1t Was Faithfully True In Every
Particulars, as shown by the
Criminal Records of Kansas-AI-
exander Ramsey Shot Dead While
His Wife Dreamed About Him
She became Al Raying Maniac.
DENVER, Col, May n.-"Speaking of
dreams and premonitions," said Gen. d..
Cook, who for thirty-five years, has been
chief of the Rocky Mountain Detective
association, and for two terms was sheriff
at Denver during the ''palmy days of the
Western city speaking of dreams and
premonitions reminds me of a strange
psychological happening that came under
my own personal observation as a detec
tive, where a startling nightmare of ter
ritle and complicated death and murder
proved true in every single detail"
Detectives as a rule are not supersti-
tious and the idea of working out the
clew to crime on a mere dream is widely
n variance with detective methods. They
generally depend upon material facts as
they find them with their own eyes and
ears, but the following Renaissance, re-
NOOiNs
even the willy detective has to admit that
there is something in dreams" 1t is the
story of the killing Of a fellow detective,
and of the killing of two horse thieves
the story of a woman's dream, thrilling in
the extreme and yet faithfully true in
every particular, as attested by the Grim
inal record of the West The story deals
principally with Alex. Ramsey and his
wife, and is located at Hayes City, Kan,
the time being the fall of 1875. Ramsey,
at that time, was about thirty-five years
of age, and as fine a specimen of man
hood is met in a days journey. He
was thoroughly a Western, man-frank,
genial and liberal to a fault-as brave a
man as ever put spurs to horse" when
duty called him to action. He was a good
detective, eXcelling especially in his deal
iEgs with desperate characters. A few
years before the date of this story he
had married a confiding, impressionab,e
little woman down in the Missouri valley,
who loved him devotedly. She depended
upon him implicitly. believed in his PROV
ess in all matters, and really worshipped
him. Soon after their marriage they re-
moved to Hayes City, near the Colorado
line, and then the terminus of the Kan
sas Pacific railrOad-a live, bustling town,
full of life and Astounding in the rough
characters, such as accompany the build
ing of railroads in the West
Ramsey had not long been at Hayes
City when his courage, as we'll as his
many other manly qualities, became
known to the people of the place, for he
frequently had occasion to aid in the
handling of the violent spirits congregated
there. Hence IL came about that when
the people of that place wanted an exc
cutive officer in whom they could trust
they selected Ramsey. Gen. Cook as
chief of the Rocky Mountain Detective
agency, heard of Ramsey, and in 1871 in
vited him to become a member of his as
ISOLATION. The offer was accepted, and
Ramsey became one of the most active
officers of the organization, always con-
Quoting himself so as to win the appro-
baton and maintain the confidence of his
chief Ramsey had served one term as
sheriff of his county, and in the summer
OF 1873 was reelected, virtually without
opposition. Being in Denver soon after
his reelection, he told Gen. Cook that he
was the first sheriff who had ever lived 10
be elected to second term in Hayes City,
ms three predecessors having been kill
ed before the expiration of their resnec-
tive terms of office. II have gone through
one siege" he said, land I am going to
try II again. The chances are that shall
De Killed, but / will take the chances
1t was in October following his visit
to Denver that Mr. Ramsey was called
upon to go In pursuit Of two horse
thieves. A character well known on the
frontier in those days as Dutch Pete. -
and known by no other name, accompa-
med by PAL whose name is not known
at all one night made raid upon
band of horses belonging to a man lIy-
ing in Colorado and stampeded thirty
hVe head of them. When the owner
aWoke next morning he found the ami
mails gone, but he was able to ascertain
that the thieves had taken their BOOTY in
the direction of Smoky Hill or the Repub-
hcan river. His first impulse as he after
wards explained. was to pursue them him
self but remembering the skill and co,lr-
age OF Ramsey in running down such
characters, he changed his mind and went
to Hayes City and put the case in his
hands.
Ramsey cheerfully took charge of the
matter, securing Frank Shepherd friend
In whom he had confidence, as an assist
ant in the work before him, and, kissing
his wife goodbye, rode off in companv
with Shepherd, going toward Smoky Hill
with the intention of cutting off the re-
treat of the thieves
Mrs. Ramsey somehow seemed TO
feel an unusual desire to hold him back.
although she said nothing to him. for she
knew that he would attend to his duty
in spite of any forebodings of hers. which
he would consider childish. womanisb
fear
AT midnight the entire household. was
startled into wakefulness by a horrifving
scream that seemed to come from the di
rectlon of Mrs. Ramsey's room All were
aStir in moment and all rushed pelI-
nell into her apartments Thew found
her out of bed in her night clothes and
her two children, one of them mere
baby, clinging to her. She was talk
Ing in an incoherent manner at the ton
of her voice, and the children, thor
oughly frightened at their mothers
manner, were crying loudly. Those
gathered about the woman finally sue
ceeded in quieting her and at last pro-
cured an explanation from her Such
horrid, horrid dreamr' she exclaimed.
"Oh / know it's true. 1 saw it just as
plain as day, palmer than I see you
just as real and terrible as if I had been
there L just know that Alex is dead. 1
G1dn want him to go. I never in nv
life so longed to beg him not to go.
wish I had
After this the woman became moe
quiet and told those standing about her
that she had dreamed that she had seen
her husband and Shepherd come upon
the horse thieves and attack them: that
the thieves had started to flee on their
horses; that the officers had followed and
fired upon them, the thieves returning
the fire. Three men had fallen almost
simultaneously from their horses. two
of them being the fugitives and the third
her husband, who had been fatally shot.
Her dream had continued 80 as to take
her out to search for her husband with
the hope of meeting him llnnn his ro