The Wichita daily eagle., 1900-03-18

One doctor who attended the victim
says that the wound in front of the right
arnpit. at which he presunin' the bullet
entered at first, was three times rs large
as that at the back. From this he le-
verced the opi1'on he had formed b:fore
he made a examination and concluded
that Goebel had been shot from behind.
On examination, however, he found that
ibres of the cloth of Goebels coat at
the breast had been given an inward
tendency, as if carried through by the
bullet in its flight, and this discovery de-
cided him that the point of entrance was
in front.
Colonel Jack Chinn, who was stand
ing beside Goebel on the day of the shoot
ing, and who is close to the Pinkerton
men who were looking up this case, says
now that enough is known to fasten the
actual crime upon one man and TO inplf-
cate at least twelve prominent Republi-
cans. Whether or not, or in what meas
ure Colonel Chinn is addressing high
heaven through the roof Of his sombrero
is not known at this time.
II is said that on the day bef '-'a Goebel
was shot Republicans were expecting
trouble from the fighting men among
their Democratic opponents, and that
they received information to ''sell wheat"
which indicated tha: something had 1een
arranged. Whether this someth'ng was
the perfection of Plan - remove Gceoel
by murder is one of the things which
Sherlock Holmes, were he now in Ken
lucky, might determine.
1t was half-past eleven on the morning
of January 80 when the murder occurred.
Goebel left the Capital Hotel to attend
the meeting Of the legislature at the state
house, accompanied by Colonel Jack
Chinn of Lexington, and Warden "Eph''
Lillard of the Frankfort penitentiary. AS
they entered the state grounds, Liliard
walked in front of Goebel and Jack
Chinn. The two latter went rapidly up
the broad pathway, Goebel three or four
steps ahead of Jack" Chinn.
AS Goebel reached a point some forty
feet ahead of the state house and about
one hundred feet from the nearest angle
of the Executive Building the firing be-
gan. While four or five shots were being
discharged Goebel sank to his knees, and
then fell heavily on his left side.
The first physician to examine the dying
II. =.
in the basement of the Capital Hotel
Goebel was carried to this office, and Dr.
Hume made 81 hasty examination, pro-
nouncing the wound one that must cause
death in a short time. Goebel was then
carried to his room on the second floor of
the Capital Hotel. In the treatment
afterward there were engaged Drs Hume,
Mccormick Ely, McMurty, Walker, Dan
bridge, Chinn, Mckenzie. Barrow, Tobin,
Milligan, Bosworth, Welch, Vance and
Cartledge-ffteen doctors in all. 1t is
agreed that there was a perforadon with
large orifice between the right nipple
and armpit and smaller orifce lower
down and at the back, to the left of the
spine.
Goebel died and was buried, and the
only valuable evidence now remaining Is
the testimony of the doctors regarding
the peculiarities of his wound and the
condition of his clothing
DR.. Vance says:
II certainly would have been Of the
opinion, after the examination which I
made Of the wound, that Mr. Goebel had
been shot from behind, were it not for a
prior examination which / had made of
his clothing
The wound just in front of the right
armpit was fully three times as large as
the one in the back. With this condition
apparent, and with only an exterior ex-
amiation of the wound, the theory that
animation had entered at the back could
hardly have been disputed. However,
upon entering the room where GoebeI lay
L first inquired for his clothing.
81 took his coat and vest, and at nv
request DR.. Tom Welch put them on.
Then I perceived that the fihres of the
cloth around the edge of the bullet hole
in front all projected inward toward the
body, while those torn by the bullet in
the rear thrust their jagged edges out
ward. This discovery decided me in the
belief that the wound of entrance was In
front"
Here, in the evidence of one of the at
tending physicians. is a strange conflict
upon the one vital point in the Goebel
mystery-whether the bullet entered ar
the back or front. DR.. Vance saws that
the evidence of the wound itself. the ori-
flee at the front being three times larger
than that in the back convinced him that
the shot had been fired from behind.
He felt certain that a bullet made a
larger opening at its exit in the human
body than at the point of entrance.
Yet the evidence Of the clothing all
pointed the other way. The bullet made
altogether eight holes in the clothing Of
Mr.. Goebel, two each in the coat, vest.
shirt and undershirt- The bullet holes
in the front of the coat and vest showed.
says DR.. Vance, Jagged edges in which
the fibres of the cloth were turned toward
the body. This would indicate that
Goebel had been fired upon from the
executive building. The bullet holes.
moreover, in the back of the coat and
vest, supported this theory by showing
that the fibres of the cloth were turned
outward. These facts induced DR.. Vance
to alter his first conclusion.
II is right here. however. that Sher-
lock Holmes would bring science to bear
upon a solution Of the mystery Bullet
holes have frequently been made in cloth
ing where the fibre of the cloth was
actually turned outward in the direction
from which the missile came This has
occurred with stiff canvas and coarse
Innings Cotton. 1t is said. will turn one
way ana WOOL anotner under these cir
cumstances. A bullet fired through silk
viii turn the silken f1bres outward
Nothing has been said in regard to the
nature OF the clothing worn by Mr..
Goebel. and ii does not appear that ex-
periments have been tried upon his gar
ments TO ascertain the exact effect Of a
bullet fired through the fabric
The value OF DR. vance's testimony
upon this point, moreover, is greatly
weakened by the fact that FIVE hours
elapsed between the time Of the shooting