Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-08-25
Baltimore SIM

Inc SuOOllnS VI MISS AAduQ E1OlLuGSs NtAO
lives near Mcpherson, Kan. after a long
correspondence with a stranger, and the
arrest of Arthur Ryno generally known
as DOC" a man of 80 years, who has
wife and four grown children, charged
with the shooting, and also with criminal
libel. has stirred up the entire. section of
country in which the two live. The story
has many remarkable features.
Maud Holmes is a country girl. For
more than a year she has been writing
letters to George Clark. She did not know
who Clark was. nor how he came TO know
her. The affair appealed to her sense of
the romantic-for time she thought she
was a real heroine.
Some months ago Clark appeared at the
Holmes farm. When Maud Holmes saw
him, old. lame and work-disfgured, she
told him she was only joking in the letters
and that she never would see him again.
After that a strange man. supposedly
Clark prowled about the Holmes farm
after dark. often he came to the house
and listened to Miss Holmes as she enter
tanned her real lovers.
Then, on Saturday night, July 5. Miss
Holmes was shot as she stood beside
window Of her room. She was about TO
go to bed and stood looking into the mir
ror beside the window. Her figure was
sharply silhouetted against the dark out
side. With her arms up before her face
she lazily began to unpin her hair. At that
moment the man who wanted TO kill her
took aim ,on an old-fashioned gun which
was loaded with small shot. When she
screamed and staggered back from the
window the flesh of her face and arms and
breast was literally torn to shreds.
The following Thursday Sheriff Seitz ar
rested DOC" Ryno, a man of so years,
who has lived on his farm two miles cast
Of the Holmes place, for more than 80
years. Ryno is a member of the district
school committee Although he is so err
ratio that no one likes him. still he has not
hundred letters have been brought in evil
dence against him and handwriting ex-
perts according to The Chicago Chronicle
have identified the .letter-writer as he, who
writes the checks for the school district.
From now until the time when Maud
Holmes can appear in court against him
If that time ever come-RynO will live in
Jail Confinement affects his heart and his
infirmities are thus more noticeable. but
people are not inclined to sympathize with
him. His wife and children are almost his
only friends and his sons are preparing to
sacrifice their big farm to clear their IA
theirs reputation. One brother-in-law, FL
Wood. to whom Ryno had not spoken for
Is years. comes to the defense as well.
When the two men shook hands after
Ryno's arrest an enmity Of years was
forgotten.
Inc adventure began January ~, 1sJl,
when Maud Holmes, who was then sew
ing at Canton, a town five miles from her
fathers farm, received her first letter.
The letter was well written in a neat
round hand of somewhat old-fashion. The
phraseOlogy, quantity formal and digni-
fed, was held throughout the correspond
ence. Even the proposals of marriage, of
which there were afterwards many, re-
tanned the careful wording.
The first letter. the opening chapter to
Miss Holmes, reads:
Madam: Allow me the privilege Of adj
dressing you, although we are entire
strangers to each other, A gentleman
giving the name of Henry Smith gave me
your name and address. saying you are
a maiden lady living near Galva ana en-
ployed at Canton. BY way of introduce
ton I will say my name is George II.
Clark, of East Toledo. Ohio. 1 am very
favorably impressed with Kansas and
will probably, invest in either Kansas or
Oklahoma.
Whenever 1 invest there will be one es-
senC4al part lacking. Therefore. 1 pen
you these lines. If this reaches you and
you are heart-whole and wish to CORES
pond with me it would give me the great
est pleasure. ] wish / could present my
self to you in person and If all is agree
able with your permission I may. / am
thinking of coming up to Galva soon and
If you will honor me with a reply you will
please address me there. I humbly beg
your pardon if intrude
Most respectfully, -.
Maud Holmes had never gotten such
letter. She said she thought the stories
of matrimonial agencies were a joke.
But when this letter came to her, promis-
ing more letters, as it did, she Thought
II would be great fun to answer She
waited until she saw her sister, Nellie
Holmes who is a teacher in the district
south of Galva; then they composed an
answer which would be discreet and at
the same time give opportunity for fur
ther correspondence.
Maud's first note, written with much
giggling secrecy, reads:
Dear Sir: Your letter of the 10Th at
hand. 1 was very much surprised to re-
ceive such a letter from an entire
stranger. I am not in the habit of cor
responding with strangers. But If 1t viii
give you any pleasure you may write
again.
MAUD HOLMES.
Mr. Clark wrote again and at once.
with a long discussion of the weather and
his travels about the state in search Of
good farming land. The second letter was
mailed from a railway station near Nc
Pherson
In all the correspondence which follow
ed there was a new mailing point for ev-
cry Clark letter. Sometimes he would