The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1899-01-07


south. and then west. He visited
many places, but since the death of his
first wife he has passed more time in
Buffalo and St. Louis than
At times he has advertised for women
to marry. At other times he has 90
eL and won women whom he met. HIS
victims are nearly all women who
worked for a living, and who looked
to matrimony for better conditions.
What manner of looking and acting
man is this creature who has broken
all matrimonial records? One might
expect to find a tall, strong man, hand
some after a certain coarse style, a
man with an impressive personality.
The things that have been told about
him suggest a black moustache and
a dashing air. And the s%trangest part
of it is that Woodruff is very homely.
He is another Illustration of the truth
that men who have the greatest power
over women are seldom handsome
men. Thus Ct all the prisoners in the
Erie county Jail Woodruff appears the
last man who should have won so
many hearts. He is thin and under
sized; his frame is shrunken from i'll
health. He seems crouching in fear
of a blow. His hair was once red. He
has a fringe of gray above his neck.
The top of his head is bald. A scraggy,
red mustache falls weakly over his
mouth. His skin is green and blotch-
ed, his hin weak. He has good eyes.
There is a certain frankness and d.
roPtnnGG in than In lnnkn Ctrniohf
at you when he is speaking. He
shakes hands in a firm, honest way,
likely to inspire confidence. His trade
has given him strong muscles in his
arms. His voice is pleasant, although
he talks with hesitancy, natural
enough to a man in Jail who fears that
he might say too much. He married
five or six women before he left Buff
falo in 1890 and sought other fields.
There is evidence to prove hat he
married eight or ten women before ne
reached st. Louis. One or two of those
live in New York. He was a masseur
in the metropolis and called himself
Prof. Woodruff. He drifted to San
Francisco, where he posed as an en-
gineer. There is nothing to show that
he married in California, or in New
Mexico, where he afterward appeared,
although letters found in his trunk
indicated that he was corresponding
with women in that region with matri-
mony in mind. One of the remarkable
things in connection with Woodruff
was the celebrity with which he could
cover the ground between the meeting
with a woman n the altar. 1t is
impossible to learn the identity Of half
the women whom Woodruff married.
The documentary evidence in the
hands of the police indicates many by
their first names only, and the photo
graphs may include several whom he
contemplated marrying. More than
5000 letters with love and marriage
for their theme were found in Wood
rufus room. The chief charm of the
man was his appearance Of sincerity.
1t is not likely that he had any moral
perception hat he was doing wrong.
He knew that he was breaking the
law, but did not feel bound by legal
enactments. In each instance ne
plunged into wooing with enthusiasm.
L II ~ nave d Sltdl ulutISldUu-
ing of the viewpoints of his victims.
At times he took care to be well
dressed and talked about his wealth
At others he vas a plain man, max
ing a good income and offering a good
home and deep love to the woman who
would become his wife. He seemed
able to make each oma believe that
no other had ever attracted him as she
had, a characteristic possessed by al
men who delight in %conquering WON
en-. He always gave the impression
that he was a sober, sedate man WHIT
had tired of the follies of youth. II
some instances he admitted that ht
was poor. AS a rule he offered thu
bait of wealth, usually prospective
When women were few or when NJ
vas in a strange town he advertised
He found the theatrical bait the mos
attractive. He announced that he wa.
forming a company and wanted