The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-01-13
DIES SUDDENLY.
John Weis May Have Been
"DOped."
Well Known Young Mankato Man Passes
Away in St. Paul Under Sus.
piciOus Circumstances.

MIS-. INC w els, was iOSOlfOU w WV
phone at the city hall at two o'clock
Sunday morning. Mr.. Weis and w. GJ
Hoerr, who is a cousin of the deceased,
took the .early train for st Paul and
will bring the remains home on the 7:45
o'clock train this evening. The affair
has cast a shade of sadness over the en-
tire community, as Mr.. Weis was one
of the, best known young men in the
city. The sympathy of all will go out
to the stricken parents and sisters and
to the'other relatives of the deceased in
the city.
The following account of the death of
the young man is from today's st. Paul
Globe:
JohnsA, Weis, a salesman in the en-
ploy of H. Hoffman, a stove and hard
ware,dealer at 1874 East Seventh street,
died at the city hospital from opium
poisoning last night under circumstan-
ces which at once started searching
police investigation. The mystery to
be solved is whether Weis took the
poison himself or whether he was
''doped" To several acquaintance
young Weis said before he lapsed into
unconsciousness that he had been
"doped." He made no explanation as
to how or where he claimed to have
been given the poison. Weis was a con-
genial young fellow, always of cheer
full disposition, his friends say, and they
are not inclined to credit the suicide
theory, the only basis of which seems
to be the absence of other explanations
of his death,
The last seen of Weis in possession of
his faculties by his friends was about
~ oclocks Saturday night, when he was
in the Ryan hotel billiard parlor with
Howard,P. Sanders, a son of Capt. j.
H, Sanders. Young Sanders has charge
of stock of refrigerators in the same
building on Seventh street, where Weis
is employed in the stove business.
From business associations Weis and
Sanders, together with John Ransom,
living at 507 Holly avenue, were fire.
quently in each others company, social
ly. AS Sanders is living at the hotel
with his parents he and Ransom often
met Weis about the billiard hall.
Saturday, Weis left Sanders and Ran
som in the billiard room shortly before
12 o'clock. This was the last seen 9of
Weis until he drove up to the hotel yes
terday afternoon after 2 o'clock and
sent word into the billiard parlor for
Sanders to come out to the carriage San
ders went out, and says he found Weis
in partially stupified condition, al
though able to talk. Weis told him,
Sanders, says, that he had been
"doped." He talked somewhat at ran
dom on this line, young Sanders says,
continually making the claim in half
conscious manner about being ''dOped,"
Sanders says he attached no import to
Weis' story::about being poisoned, think
ing that his friend was merely the
worse for liquor. With this idea in
mind, Sanders decided to take Weis
around to the store and let him sleep off
the effects of the liquor he supposed
him to have drunk. He got into the
hack with Weis and drove to the store
Weis was able to walk to the door and
unlocked it himself Inside he drew a
chair up to the radiator and sat down.
During this time, Sanders says, Weis
appeared drowsy. Sanders went back
to the hotel, leaving Weis alone. About
4:30 o'clock Sanders returned to see how
Weis was getting along, and found the
young man apparently sleeping quietly
in the chair Shortly after 7 o'clock
Sanders, accompanied by John Ransom,
visited the store again and this time
tried to rouse Weis. He found the
yonng man unconscious. Vigorous eff
forts to arouse him proved Intellectual.
Becoming alarmed, Sanders and Ran
som summoned Officer William Smith.
The policeman realized the seriousness
of the case and at once sent Weis to
the hospital. The young fellow died
without recovering consciousness with
in an hour after reaching the in
stitution.
When Capt Rouleau learned that
Weis was dead he Immediately began
an investigation. Weis' movements
from theItime he left the hotel Satur-
day night until his return yesterday
afternoon were traced by Lieut.. Babe
and all of the time accounted for ex-
cept the two hours Immediately follow
ing his departure from the hotel Satur-
day night. Nothing was learned to
substantiate the theory that Weis might
have ended his own life by taking
poison On the contrary, facts were
learned that lead to grave suspicion
among the police and Weis' friends.
John W. Caspen, employed at Fred
Schroeder's livery stable, drove Weis to
the hotel He says when he went in to
report the arrival of the cab he was re-
quested to assist Weis down stairs He
says the young man could hardly walk.