The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1899-11-01
TRUTH REVEALED IN DREAM
a STORY OF ACTUAL LIFE.

u odb bh0 1Scht
Murderer Shown to Her BY Her
Slain Husband I'm a Vision of the
Night.
The Thornton murder, which oc.
CURED at the Mckinley mines, in Vir-
GINA, has developed into one of the
strangest sensations OF the times and
q profound mystery which develop
ed the bloody deed has been revealed
by q dream.
The innocent wife OF the murdered
man, who was incarcerated in Jail,
charged with the crime. seemed to
have had some strange visitation dur
Ing her sleep In her prison cell, and
the unknown murderer was revealed
to her In a dream, In which her dead
husband told her that her cousin,
George Ray, was his murderer.
John Thornton, who was so mystic
r1ously assassinated on the morning of !
July 3Oth, was q popular mining man
who bad many friends at Prosperity,
where he resided, and also at Webb
City, his former home. He was thirty
four years of age when killed. About
eight years ago he married q girl, and
for several months they lived happily
together. She was insanely Jealous,
and he seemed to often delight in triA.
Ing with her jealous feelings and to
amase himself by exciting her suspi-
cions, especially when she CHANGED to
provoke or irritate him.
On mt occasion he had aroused her
jealous fury to such an extent that she
got a pistol and attempted to kill him,
on the streets of Webb City, but the
bullet missed its mark. Two years
later she cgsin tried to kill him, but
he 'eized tho pistol and In the scufle
for 1t Mrs. Thornton was shot in the
stomach, but soon recovered.
After thai they lived more peaceably
together, and seemed happy and
devoted to each other, except for oc.
casional little family tilts, when she
would become infuriated with anger,
almost always the result Of jealousy.
once In her life she vowed that she
would never be happy until she had
drunk John Thornton's hearts blood,
but when her anger passed away she
was the same loving and affectionate,
but suspicious wife.
On Saturday night, July Goth, John
Thornton went to his usual work as
night engineer and watchman at the
Bulldog mine, one of the Mckinley
his custom to remain there all night
when the mine was not running a night
shift.
About midnight he received a visit
from a friend, e. D.. Hawkins, the
night Waterman of the Good Enough
mine, close by. During their CONVEX.
SETON Hawkins noticed q new ring on
T~hornton's finger and spoke of it ad
mirlngiy. Thornton said "Yes,
paid 50 for it on the installment plan
at 20 cents q week." Saying this. he
took Off the ring and handed it to
Hawkins who examined it and her re-
turned 1t to Thornton. The two men
chatted pleasantly together until after
l O'Clock, when Hs, ,Sls took hjs-5e.
parture. He was w last person, eS.
T cept the-2ssassin,, who ever saw John
thornton alive.
Next morning about 8 o'clock J, r.
Cornett, an employee of the Victor
mine, was passing, and CHANGING into
the engine room saw Thornton lying
down, apparently asleep. He called
to him, but receiving ne response
shook him, and then discovered thai
} the man was dead, with his throat cut
from a to ear and an immense gap.
Ing u and mass Of clotted blood
presenting q CHASTITY spectacle. Thorn
ton had been lying face downward in a
pool Of blood and q mass oil cinders
from the boiler, and his face was
covered with cinders and ashes and his
} OWE LIES blood.
Cornett soon spread the alarm and
the coroner appeared. When the muir.
dered mans face was washed a bullet
hole was found in the right temnle.
The coroner's jury returned a verdict
to b effect that John Thornton had
come TO his death at the hands OF some
person or persons to the jury unknown.
IL was q mystery to which no clew
could be found until Hawkins, the man
who had last seen Thornton alive. an.
peared. He told about his visit 70
Thornton and his chat about the ring.
1t was then noticed that the ring was
gone,, and robbery was supposed to
have been the motive of the murder.
While the mystt9ed miners and vii
layers discussed the strange killing
n advanced various theories as to its
and as TO the assassin, q curious
coincidence happened at the Thornton
home.
The wife Of the murdered man
handed her mother q gold ring and
told her to put In on Johns finger
that she wanted him buried with the
ring on the finger where he had worn
1t. Those who heard of this incident
and had heard hawkins tell of seeing
this same ring on Thornton's finger the
nlght before coupled the two incidents
together and thought they had found
a solution OF the mystery and had dis.
covered the assassin.
Mrs. Thornton was asked where abe
got the ring.
~ shook it out of Johns clothes.n
she answered, unconscious of the part
she ring was to play in leading to her
accusation of the murder.
There was talk on every side, The
vile OF the'dead man was belieyad. to
De q psssassfa -Qraa accomplice.
49, aal attempts to kill her hus-
Enand Nc recalled, as also her asser-
ZION tnae 1he would never be happy
hnsii q sfaad>drunk John Thornton;s
9aeeSSssps told of Mrs. Tho .nton's
past, and The dark spots In her career
we're ~mjagniied until she was made a
memo III human shape. The more thew
talkedtthe more firmly convinced were
tney 'of the woman's guilt, and NO
other| theory was considered and mo
otner7c lew was sought. Her guilt was
FULLY established, according to all &c.
cepted theories, and on Monday a war
rant was Issued for the arrest O. Mrs.
thornton on the charge of murder in
cne hrst degree, In some respects the
case resembled the great MAVERICK
murder sensation, but q merciful and
mysterious spirit or power reyeaied
she truth and saved Mrs. Thornton
fr0r1 the awful fate of Mrs. MAVERICK.
In Jail charged with her husbands
/ murder. Mira. Thorptnn o...l =