davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
MANY MURDERS SUSPECTED
An Ohio Widow Accused o. Killing
Fourteen Persons.
NO MOTIVE FOR CRIMES STATED

Mrs. A. j. Witwer, ot Dayton, Ohio, is
Alleged to Have Poisoned -Four Hus
bands, Five Children. a Sister and
Four Other Persons - Police Are
Making an Investigation.
Dayton, Ohio-Mrs. A. ]. Witwer, a
widow. residing in this city, was ar
rested by the police at the instigation
of the Coroner. and was held pending
an investigation into most serious
charges. Mrs. Witwer, the police say,
is suspected of fourteen murders, the
list including four husbands, one sis
ter and four members of different fam.
lilies in which she was employed as
housekeeper.
The last supposed victim was her sis
ter, Mrs. Anna Pugh. who died a week
ago under mysterious circumstances.
An autopsy. performed at the request
Of Mrs. Witwer's mother, who came
here from Detroit. is said to have dis
closed the presence of arsenic and cop
peras in the stomach.
Following closely upon the death OF
her first husband, Frederick Schweger,
came, according to the police depart
ment data. the death of two children.
The second husband died suddenly sev.
cral years after the wedding. and the
children of this marriage died in rapid
succession. Her last husband, A. D.
Witwer, died last April. In each in
stance death was somewhat sudden
and all were strangely alike.
The prisoner is forty-seven years
old, and formerly lived in Middletown,
this State. She has two sons in the
Philippines. and a sister, it is stated,
in q New York asylum. No conceiva'
ble motive for the suspected crimes
has been disclosed. Drugs which were
found in the house occupied by Mrs.
Witwer are in the possession OF the
police and will be examined.
Mrs. Witwer says she is entirely in
roccnt. While she admits that four
teen persons have died where she lived
she says that the deaths were natural
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Insects and the Weather.

NJ. Fabre, q prominent French ento-
mologist, has added an interesting
chapter to what has been written
about animals as weather prophets.
He has made a study of insects with
reference to atmospheric changes, and
has found that the habits Of some or
them may be safely trusted to fore
tell the approach Of e storm. The
beetle, commonly known as the tum-
ble-bug, is always lively in fine
weather, but If a storm is coming, 1t
becomes quiet and remains so.
There is a species of caterpillar In
southern France that Is also a good
weather prophet. 1t matches in Sep
tember and spends the winter In q
nest on q pine tree. 1t feeds on the
pine needles, and is in the habit OF
crawling far out on the branches for
this purpose, but nature has taught It
that it Is not safe to 60 far away
from its nest If storm threatens, so
it takes q forecast" before starting.
NJ. Fabre says that this worm has
eight "feelers" on it's back. which 1t
can push out or draw in at pleasure,
and that it no doubt uses them to
test the condition Of the air.
Honeybees are excellent forecasters
of the weather. On a bright, sunshiny
day, before a storm, they hover around
the hive, and will not leave It.. In
spite of the sunshine, they seem to
know that storm is approaching, and
that home Is the best place for them.
Some kinds of spiders, he says, are
particularly sensitive to air changes.
When q storm is coming, they cut
certain threads Of their webs, so that
they may swing loose, and not catch
the wind and be torn to pieces. Then
they seek a sheltered spot, and remain
there until the storm passes.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
WOMAN IN PRISON AS A MAN.
Serves a Year Before the Authorities DIS
cover That She is Masqueratling.

serves n Year Before the Authorities Dis
cover That She is Masquerading.
Lincoln, Neb.-Almost year ago
q be:-dless youth, giving the name OF
Burt Martin, was received at the state
prison on q two years sentence FOR
stealing cattle in Keyapaha County.
Through Martins cellmate the authori-
ties have just learned that the sup
posed man Is q woman. although when
received "he'' said he was married
and the father of two children.
The convict confesses now that her
real name is Lena, and she says she
donned mems clothing when a girl OF
fourteen. Her father deserted his
family and she was compelled to mas
querade as a boy to get paying labor
in a new country. She is tall and un-
calmly and her figure is without fem
mime curves. Her chest Is fat and
her hips narrow, facts that enabled
her to pass the careless scrutiny of
the receiving officer. Her feet and
hands are small, but her features are
coarse and unfeminine.
The girl. she is but twenty. feels no
chagrin over her unmasking. She
asked for a woman's garb at once,
however, and it was given her.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
MINOR EvENTSOF THE WEEK
WASHINGTON ITEMS.

Great Britain and the United States
will sign the new Isthmian Canal
treaty in November.
President Roosevelt appointed Ben
jamin F. Tilley to be Captain in the
Navy.
Seventy-eight-year-old Walter Dav-
idge. for fifty years lawye' 1t the
capital, founder Of the District Of Co.
lumbia bar, is dead.
President Roosevelt and Secretary
Hay expect important results from
the approaching Pan-American Con-
gress.
President Roosevelt appointed Mar
tin B. Cook. Massachusetts, Marshal
Of United States Consular Court, at
Che Foo, China.
Treasury officials approved a plan
for a yellow fever institute in the
Marine Hospital service.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23

has known Miss Palmer for nine
years, but his engagement dates from
six weeks ago.
"Yes." said Senator Depew, OTIS
true this time I'm engaged to be mar
ried. Naturally I'm elated, but for
six weeks have kept the fact per-
feet secret. I've been around every
where without any one guessing It.
II met Miss Palmer nine years ago
during trip abroad. 1t was at Vevay
in Switzerland. Miss Palmer Is an in
innate friend Of my cousin. Countess
de Seres, and it was through my cou-
sin that I was fortunate enough to
meet her. Since then I have seen her
every time I have been abroad. The
wedding will take place some time this
winter in Paris. The date has not
been set yet
Miss Palmer has lived practically
all her life abroad. but she was born
here in the family house on Fifth ave-
nue.. Yes, she more than fills the ideals
that I set for wife in an interview I
gave last summer"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
ouR ADOPTED ISLANDS.

Charles Hartzell, Of Colorado, was
appointed Secretary Of Porto Rico.
Spirits made in the United States
can be exported to Manila under the
same regulations as to any foreign
country.
Filipinos, excited by the Balanziga
massacre, are showing disaffection at
many points.
Large demonstrations were held in
Havana and other Cuban towns to
show Cuba's gratitude to the United
States.
The military in the Philippines re-
fused to recognize writ Of habeas
corpus emanating from a civil court.
Major Foote, of the Ninth Regi.
ment, said that Captain Connell was
fully warned, and had taken precau-
tions against the massacre at Balan.
giga, In Samar, P. I.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
A Darwinian Theory

The usual idea that a drowning man
is stretching out his hands for aid or
Catching at straws" is not altogether
satisfactory. A possible explanation
has lately been suggested, and this
supposes that the drowning man, los
ing all his acquired habits and even
some OF those inherited from more re-
cent parents, in his terror goes back
to the instructive movements Of his
arboreal ancestors, and the movements
of a drowning man are those Of a
frightened ape, seeking safety by
clinging to the nearest tree.
The movement is certainly instinc-
tive, for it can only be eliminated by
considerable training and voluntary
efforts, and yet it is fatal to the indi-
vidual, FOR the specific gravity Of no
human body is so nearly that Of water
that the removal of the arms from the
supporting fluid at once sinks the face
beneath the surface. In cases Of So
called Cramps" the victim, often a
highly-trained swimmer, generally
throws up the hands, but these cases
are probably due to heart failure, and
q similar movement takes place on
land when the subject receives fatal
heart wound; and it Is even COM
mon expression Of shock or astonish-
ment. The ordinary movements Of
walking or running would keep a
mans face above water, but these
curious climbing movements Of both
hands and feet made floating impossi-
BILE and are responsible for many
deaths by drownlng.-Cincinrati En-
uuirer.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
DOMESTIC.

Three persons were drowned at Muir
freesboro, Ark, while crossing the
Missouri River In leaky boat.
Burglar rifed the residence Of Claus
Spreckels, the sugar king, in San Fran
cisco, Cal, securing $4,000 in jewelry.
In q free fight on an excursion train
near Dallas, Tex, one negro was killed
and two fatally wounded.
For the first time in six years the
Republicans carried Indianapolis, Ind,
electing Mayor and full city ticket.
Murder in the first degree was the
verdict given against Bud Taylor, at
Kansas City, Mo-, for killing his sweet
heart.
Former City Clerk A. W. Miller, of
Sandusky, Ohio, who disappeared In
February last. leaving a shortage OF
$4,000 in his accounts, was appre-
hended in Havana, Cuba.
Detective Montgomery, Of the Santa
Fe Railroad. was assassinated at MS
home at Winfield, Kan.
Seven indictments were found at
Lemars, Iowa. against T. F. Ward, for
mer Vice-President of the Lemars Ma
tional Bank, for embezzlement and
fraudulent entries.
Masked men broke into the Jail at
Huntingdon. Tenn, and shot to death
Walter A1cClennon, colored, held for
assaulting a white man.
John Wyatt Turner, Of Rock Hill,
Ala, assistant instructor In the textile
department of the Georgia School or
Technology, committed suicide.
A S15o,OOO,0OO Lead Trust, covering
the entire country, is being formed
by J. P. Morgan and J. D. Rockefeller.
Governor N. o. Murphy took the in
itial step in the fight for Arizona's
Statehood in calling Territorial Con-
vention to be held in Phoenix on Oc'
tober &C.
Herman R. Pegg, an expert account
ant and prominent citizen of UTICA
N. y, committed suicide by hanging.
Worry over financial matters deranged
Mr.. Pegg's mind and led to his sui
eide.
Bills making anarchy and the teach
ing Of anarchy capital offences were
prepared by the Hudson County IN.
j. Bar Association, to lay before the
New Jersey Legislature.
The present officials of Massachu'
setts were renominated by the Repub-
lican State Convention.
General George w. Getty. who
served In the Mexican and Civil Wars,
died at Forest Glen, Nd
The cold weather interfered seri-
ously with the gayety at the Pan
American Exposition at Buffalo.
The expected strike Of Fall River,
Mass. spinners was postponed for a
fortnight.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
FOREIGN.

Lord Roberts distributed medals to
the troops which served In South
Africa, and in speech refuted the at
tacks of the press upon the Govern
ment.
Northern Japan was visited by
heavy gales, wrecking 400 fishing
boats. Twelve boats, with total crews
of seventy-four, are missing.
The inquest in the disaster to the
torpedo boat destroyer Cobra resulted
In q verdict that it was due to the
unexpected buckling Of the vessel,
which was too lightly built.
In medieval phrases the Earl Mar
shal of England issued rules for dress
for the coming coronation.
The Portuguese general elections re-
suited in a large majority for the Gov
ernment.
London papers are calling for the
expulsion of Anarchists from England.
Violent storms prevailed along the
Atlantic coast of Europe and IN the
interior. On the Portuguese coast a
fishing vessel foundered and nineteen
men were urOWueu.
German ironmasters called secret
conference in Berlin to consider the
acute industrial situation.
Naples, Genoa and Palermo are the
only Italian ports from which emigra-
ton will hereafter be permitted.
Efforts are being made to secure the
release of 5000 British soldiers who
are confined in jails for various Of
fences in South Africa.
The Lord Chancellor of England eE-
pressed himself as opposed to the re.
duction of Irish representation.
The United States Legation at Con.
stantinople, Turkey, asserted there
was proof Of completely OF the Mace
DOMAIN Committee in the kidnapping
Of Miss Stone.
A former Portuguese Consul-Gen-
eral at Pretoria wrote Il pamphlet on
the administration of South Africa
preyious 10 the Boer war. showing
that the British Government was Kept
informed of the Boer preparations tol
war.
Rudyard Kipling wrote q letter de-
claring that the recent appointments
of Sir Rcdvers Butler and Sir Evelyn
Wood haul back the British army tc
the old ruts.
The KAISER paid all Prince Chun's
bills while he was in Germany.
Preparations for Carlist uprising
ON the French border of Spain Were
said to be nearly completed.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
INSISTS ON "WHITE HOUSE,"
Not to Be Called Executive Mansion
While Roosevelt Is There.

Not to Be Called Executive Mansion"
While Roosevelt is There.
washington, D. C.-President Roose-
velt will not tolerate the name "Ex-
acutive Mansion" for the White House.
He says there are forty-fve executive
mansions in the United States, but
only one White House, and 1t Is his in
tention to call his official residence by
the old familiar name and not by the
more pretentious title.
Senators and others receiving letters
from him since he has been President
have noticed that they have all been
dated white House." Furthermore,
each of the Presidents letters of invi-
tation have said: "Come to the White
House and have talk with me-" or
words to that effect.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
AMERICA TO THE RESCUE
Powerful Influences Enlisted in the
Kidnapped Missionary's Behalf
BRIGANDS EXTEND TIME LIMIT

They Give Miss Stones Friends a Month
Longer to Raise $4,000, the Ran
som Demanded For Her Release-Ef-
forts OF State Department to Save the
Missionary's Life-Interest In Bulgaria
Washington, D. C.-Not since the
successful attempt to save the life OF
John Hays Hammond, the American
engineer implicated in the Jameson
raid. has the State Department put
forth such energetic efforts to save
human life as it is exerting in behalf
Of Miss Stone.
A sum of money has been forwarded
by cable to Spencer Eddy, the United
States Secretary Of Legation at Con-
stantineple, who has shown remarka
BILE energy and ability in unearthing
the ramifcations Of the plot which re-
suited in the kidnapping Of Miss Stone.
There Is little doubt that the Turk
ish Government has done all that 1t
L. could be expected to do to run down
the bandits, and what is now to be
done Is to secure similar action on the
part Of the Bulgarian Government,
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
POSTAL RECEIPTS INCREASED.
Deficit For Last Year is 81 500. 900 Smaller
Than Year Before.

Washington, D. C.-Henry A. Castle,
auditor for the Postoffice Department,
has closed the books of the postal ser
vice for the fiscal year ended June 80,
1901. The years business is shown
to be as follows:
Receipts, $11,631.193; expenditures,
S115,554.921; net deficit fncluding
losses by fire. etc., $3,9S1,521.
The deficit is about $1,500,000 small
er than for the preceding year. Ow-
ing to the extension Of rural free de-
livery and other augmented appropria-
tions in every department, the ex.
penses of the service were $4,000
greater than the preceding year. The
receipts increased S9,250,O00.
The sum total Of monetary transac-
tons Of the Postofhce Department, in
Guiding postal receipts and revenues
and money orders issued and paid,
foots up for the fiscal year 1901 $685.
359,577, an increase of nearly SS9,000,-
900 over the preceding fiscal year.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
paraoDRl Mention,

Secretary Of the Treasury Gage has
~our West for his vacation.
Andrew Carnegie is giving $50 or
rans TO churches in Scotland.
King Edward has invited Emperor
William to visit Great Britain.
Count Won Buelow, the German I'm
perial Chancellor, has accepted hon
orary membership in the Bremen Sing
ing Society.
Winston Churchill, the author, has
been appointed q member of the New
HamDshire Commission for the st.
Louis Exposition.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
SirnaIled by Cor,norants.

The Bell Rock lighthouse keepers
had singular experience the other
day. Toward midnight sthe Arbroath
tugboat hove alongside and wanted
to know what was wrong. The cap
tain stated that the signal Send boat
Immediately" had been shown. En-
plantations discovered that two cor
morantS, tired at fishing, had perched
themselves on the signal pole in so
peculiar way that at ArDroath,
twelve miles away, it appeared as if
the distress signal had been hoisted.-
London Globe.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Minor Mention.

.Saw South Wales has 1900 miles
o. wire netting us fence protection
against rabbits.
During the Italian army manoeuvres
experiments were made with al arm
ored automobile.
-Four immense searchlights and IO(
incandescent lights will he turned OF
the Yosemite Falls.
On ordinance has been adopted BY
the Town Council of Iorkville, S. e.
making it i misdemeanOr for any per
son to be seen staggering Oh the
streets of that town.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
DENIED USE OF THE MAILS.
Postofhco Department Issues a Fraud
Order Against o Faith Healer.

Postofnce Department Issues a Fraud
Order Against a Faith Healer.
Washington, D. C.-Postmaster-Ge
eral Smith has issued q fraud order
against Mrs. Helen Wilmans, of Sea
Breeze, Fla, for operating through
the mails q scheme for obtaining
money by false pretense. Mrs. Will
mans claimed power to heal any dis
ease or affliction, including poverty,
by a method Of concentrating her
thought on the patient taking treat
ment. and for such service solicited
remittances Of So week or $40 a
month.
Evidence was adduced showing that
Mrs. Wilmans herself opened the mail,
took out the money and handed the
letters to clerks to be answered in GER
tain stereotyped form.
The postal authorities decided the
woman could not hnd it possible to
send individual thoughts to all her pa
tients. To this evidence she replied
that she could think of 1000 at time
as easily as of one.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
TORONTO STUDENT A SUICIDE.

College Greek Letter Society Had Sent
to Him q bI0ck Threat of Death.
Toronto, Ont.-George Gibbons, aged
twenty, a student at Toronto Univer-
sity and a son Of ]. c. Gibbons, Of
London. Ont. blew his head off with
a rifle at Bridge House.
He had recently been initiated into
O Greek secret society in connection
with the college, and letter found on
the floor bade him attend another
meeting at Z o'clock p. NJ. under pen
atty of death. When he failed to ap.
pear the jokers went to his room and
found him dead on the floor.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
MARTIAL LAW IN CAPE COLONY
It is Proclaimed In the Few District.
Hitherto Exempted.


Cape Town, South Africa.-The Ga
zette proclaims martial law In the dis
tricts of Cape Town, Wynberg, SIM
ons Town, Port Elizabeth and East
London.
The proclamation is the outcome Of
the recent visit Of the Premier Of Cape
Colony, Sir John Gordon Sprigg, and
tie Under Secretary Of Native Affairs
in South Africa, J. Rose Innes, to the
British High Commissioner, Lord Mil
ner.
1t places under military control the
few points in Cape Colony hitherto ex-
empted, and the constitution, there
fore, is now suspended over the entire
colony. The action taken probably
foreshadows the beginning of vigor-
Gus measures. which those on the spot
are understood to believe necessary to
end the war.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
labor World.

The United Kingdom has So blast
furnaces; France, so.
Female compositors in Paris are not
legally permitted to set type at night.
There are now siXty-three unions IN
the International Wool, Wire and
Metal Lathers' Union.
All employees of the Electric Ter
minal Railway, Pensacola. Fla, have
gone on strike because one OF their
number was discharged.
One result of the lack Of an efficient
apprentice system is the number Of
lacks of all trades" that are found III
the cities and towns Of the country
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
A Story of Nova Scotia.

A woman who spent the summer IN
Nova Scotia, has just come down from
Halifax with some interesting stories
of her experiences among the Blue
noses. One OF them has to do With q
hunt for a hardreSser. When she ar
rived in Halifax she inquired at her
hotel for hairdreSSing parlor.
Go right down to the corner shop
said the clerk. politely, "and you'll
find what you want
Down to the corner the woman went,
and in the shop was sign reading
Fur Store"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Bulgarian Government Blamed.

Philippopolis, Bulgaria. - Public In
terest in the fate Of the kidnapped
American missionary intensifies here.
The patriotic Bulgarians are incensed.
as they recognize that Miss Stone and
her colleagues Of the American Mis-
sions in Bulgaria and Macedonia have
been their best friends throughout the
troubles. Prince Ferdinand Is imperil-
ling his position by permitting such
license to the Macedonia committee as
to enable it to blackmail prominent
people in support Of the Macedonian
cause.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
A cbicaro official Indicted.

Robert E. Burke. city oil inspector.
at Chicago. was indicted by the Grand
Jury for embezzlement. He is charged
with having embeZzled and appro-
priated to his own Use $1,000 in fees
which he received during the year 1900
and 10000 in fees which he received
this year uD TO October /.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Bulgarian Troop, o n the Search.

London.-The Daily Mail has re-
ceived the following dispatch from its
Vienna correspondent: m. Danew, the
Bulgarian Foreign Minister, indig-
nantly denies the suggestion that the
Bulgarian Government Is not doing
It's best to rescue Miss Stone. He says
5000 troops are engaged in the search
for her."
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Congressional Visitors snubbed.

The Congressional party. Oh its ar
rival at Jolo, Island of Sulu, was re-
fused an interview with the Sultan,
who claimed sickness as his excuse,
The natives say the Sultan is well,
and that he had other reasons for re-
fusing to receive the visitors from
Washington.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Arrested For KidnapinS a Woman.

Howard X. Sloan, Henry Wallace.
J. knight Findlay and Oscar S. Dun
Lap were arrested in Philadelphia on
charges Of kidnapping Mrs. Mabel
Goodrich, keeping her prisoner for
four days. compelling her to sign
checks for large sums and robbing her
Of Jewels worth $4,000.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
New Conmandant at Tutuila.

Commander Uriel Sebree has been
ordered to command the Abarenda,
and also to assume the duties of COM
mandart of the naval station at Tu'
tuila. Samoa, relieving Captain B. F.
Tiliey.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23
Eighty Killed In . Church Fight.

In Pavlouka, q town of 1000 inhabi-
tants, 120 miles from Kharkoff, Rus
sia, a quarrel between Stundists and
orthodox church folk led to q free
fight. The Russian church was wreck
eu. Eighty persons were killed. The
police were powerless, and troops were
sent from Kharkoff to restore order.