The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-02-07

i
Crof,ord or Mrs. Hammond about he
death.
L. j. SPRINGER,
being sworn, testified as follows:
Live near Decatur City and am ac
quainted with Maud Stone. Have
known her about seven years. Las
saw her between Davis City and Beth
any Junction a week ago Yesterday
was going to Oklahoma and went bach
to the ladies' car from the smoker and
sat down beside her and talked proba
bly, five minutes. She said nothing
about her health, and looked as well as
usual. She did not complain and was
in good spirits. | came back yesterday
and learned of her death at the June
lion. | had no knowledge of there be
ing anything wrong with her condition
physically.
NJ. +. SPRINGER.
brother.in-law of deceased testified:
Have known Maude Stone about S
years, been With her on an average of
or times week. Had long CONVEX.
sations with her and she never said any.
thing to indicate that she was in poor
health or in trouble. She seemed cheer.
full aud | never heard anything through
the family about her being in trouble
nor have seen anything that would in
dictate it. She kept company with young
Hammond about is months; she enter
tanned him at home about every two
weeks. have the receipts for fare she
paid on the train. Found them in her
pocket book after her death along with
other papers, certificates and money,
The operator and train conductor told
| me one of the receipts indicated fare
from Kingston to Leon. After Maude
lert home on Tuesday, the I'D, the next
heard from her was Wednesday morn
ing, the 30th, lat ] o'clock. Mother Stones
hired man had come over and brought
me letter. 1t was directed to Mother
Stone and said: our daughter is very
low at my sanitarium with appendicitis;
come Immediately. DIR. Crotford.' |
took the letter to my wife, who was in
bed, and walked back in and said: ITO
hell with that letter; there isn't word
of truth in it: appendicitis, the. devilE'
thought it funny if she had laid there
week and hadn't notified her folks.
Think could find the letter at home;
| it was written on q piece of tablet paper
in lead pencil and looked like it might
have been written in hurry. We ask
ed the hand what mother had done and
he said she had gone to Lamont. We
drove to Leon arid caught the morning
train. When the train was going into
Lamont showed my wife the sani-
tarium and said. "There is the build.
.apG Inas a bad reputation and / dom t
ben we we will find Maude alive" We
cut 4Sross the lot and walked upstairs.
An attendant met us and asked our
business. 4 told him | wanted to see
Mrs. Stone. Mrs. Hammond was there
also and they said Maud was dead and
of course that was all they could say for
bit. My wife says to Mrs. Hammond:
SWAY didn't You notify us2' she says:
Mrs. Hammond, there is something
and says: whats up, anyway? there is
something wrong;' and She said: mo,
there is nothing wrong" l called for
the proprietor and they presented Dr..
Crofford and | says: There HAS been
some devilish work going on" and he
says: mo, there ain't'', and / says:
You come in here and give me state
ment of what has transpired, anyway"
So we went in and shut the door and he
says: "This young women came to my
place q will not be positive whether it
was Tuesday or Wednesday, She took
sick on the tram and got off and came
here and developed into very bad case
OF appendicitis, and then he went on
to tell about the doctoring he had done,
how she had refused to allow him to
notify her folks because her mother was
very nervous, and said that up to Mon
day she had done splendidly, She says:
You write letter to Mr.. Hammond
and have him come over" and SO the
doctor wrote letter to Hammond and
he and his mother came. She rallied up
that day and appeared to be very bright
and took some nourlshment. In the
evening he said he went out to make a
call in the country and when he came
back said he went in and sat down on
the bed and she smiled and looked very
cheerful. He then went to eat some
supper and the bell rang and before he
got in there her heart had ceas ed to
beat. The direct cause of her death was
heart failure. Mrs. Hammond came in
and went out. She wanted me to 90
in and look at Maude, said l didn't
believe | had the nerve to do it. [
turned around and said l might just as
well go in now. | went in and would
not have recognized her at all, she was
so poor. If had met the corpse out in
the street | would not have recogniz.
ed it. I said to Mrs. Hammond,
There is some terrible mystery
some place; there is something strange
some place" and she said no, there was
nothing wrong at all. | went back In
then and made some arrangements
about getting a casket and transporta-
ton down TO the Junction. Crofford
telephoned for an embalmer. MY wife
didn't want me to do anything and |
ordered that stopped. Then they in
sisted again. Mrs. Hammond thought
1t better to have her embalmed, and
they insisted that we come across the
country in the hearse; said the roads
were perfectly smooth. / gave up to
that once and then decided not to do
that. Then again somebody brought
the word that had better have her
embalmed, that she wasn't going to
keep. Then Rue came. He was her
brother, and it was left to him to say
whether we should go ahead and have
an investigation or not Just about
that time her cousin, Mrs. Spurrier.
came and went up TO the corpse, and
says. "this thing has got to be inyesti-
gated; this thing has been going on too
much; that girl was killed right here"
went down to my brother who runs
a livery barn in Lamont and told him
Maud was dead. He says Where"
and 1 told him. He says "that whole
damned outfit over there ought to 90 to
the penitentiary. / asked him if
there was anything wrong. He says
he has been to the pen once and isn't
damned bit too good to go there