The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-12-02
CRAVE IS OPENED.
Effort Made to Ascertain Cause
of Smale Child's Death.
Investigation Made at Midnight
Without Result.
DEEP MYSTERY STILL.
Dismissal of Chelfs Was a Fore
gone Conclusion.
authorities Have Homes of Tn.
DEEP MYSTERY STILL.
Authorities Have Hopes of I'M
tangling the Web.

!
chapter of the William Smale murder
case at Harveyville was closed yester-
day, and the mystery surrounding the
cowardly assassination is as deep as
ever. Charles and Ed Chelf. father and
son, who were held from the inquest
on suspicion of having committed the
crime, are no longer under any legal
restriction. The charge against them
was dismissed by County Attorney
Seaman. who has worked faithfully on
the case but failed to find sufficient
evidence to hold the suspects
When court was called at 1:30 Tues
day in the little second-story room of
an unsafe store building in Harvey
Vile, the room was filled with spec
tators. There were probably one hun
dred farmers and several women pres
ent, a large gathering for Harveyville.
1t had been rumored during the day
that the case would be dismissed. and
it was thought by some that a demon
stration would follow. Such was not
the case, however. After the Keep
quiet, please from Justice Easter.
court was considered open.
County Attorney F. A. Seaman came
forward. and after a brief statement.
addressed principally to the assembly
rather than the court. in which he eX-
planned the action he was about to
leAhC, AIldhS q 11iOllOIl lQdl the case De
dismissed
In his talk to the people Mr.. Seaman
said that he would probably be CEN
sured by many for the move, but he
did not intend to go into a preliminary
| bindly: that he had done all in his
power to prepare himself for the occa-
sion and had failed. but that he would
not give up the search for the person
who had fired the shot. He cited the
| Coffelt case in southern Kansas which
resulted, after three years of work by
able attorneys, backed by a strong cor
poration. in the dismissal of the de-
PENDANT. He said that he believed the
Coffelt case was lost because of a pre-
mature preliminary. and he did not
propose to bankrupt Wabaunsee coun-
ty with similar results
JUDGE THOMSON WANTS TRIAL
AS soon as Mr.. Seaman ceased speak
ing, Justice Easter sustained the mo-
ton and declared court adjourned. un-
der protest of Judge Thomson, for the
defense. who wished to say something
/ in behalf of his clients. Not to be
! stopped by the court Judge Thomson
addressed the people. saying that the
dismissal of the case was not to the
liking of his clients. the Chelfs. and
that they courted a chance to prove
their innocence
! The crowd filed out without making
any noise, and no bitter talk was heard
among the groups of men who stood
around afterward. The expressions.
were mostly of conjecture about the
4
several reighbors, and shortly after
ward drove home. Before they left the
| elder Chelf demanded the return of his
gun, which had been seized by a dep
uty at the order of Sheriff Freye and
was being held as evidence. The dep
uty present, a Mr.. Shumate, referred
him to the sheriff.
Very little was developed in the case
since the officers first began work on it.
County Attorney Seaman has been as
sisted recently by Attorneys J. r
Barnes Of Alma, and James Pringle of
Burllngame, but neither of them was
present at the Justice court The Off
GERS seemed to have made mistake in
hiring a detective, Wright by name,
from Manhattan, the man who came
down with bloOdhounds the morning
after the murder. 1t seems that Wright
has been in the neighborhood for about
two weeks in the employ of the county
attorney, but made no progress except
to dlSapprove one or two of the several
theories. Every one in the neighbor-
mood knew his mission. He visited the
| Smales and Chelfs on many occasions,
and Ed Chelf says that on one occa-
| sion he rode in a wagon with him and
attempted to get him to drink some
| whisky, presumably to loosen his
tongue. Wright was discharged by the
county attorney several days ago.
| GRAVE OPENED AT MIDNIGHT.
| Few people in and about Harveyville
know of an incident which occurred
last Wednesday night At midnight
the cemetery north of Harveyville was
visited by a party of men, among them
a stranger who had been seen around
Harveyvilie all day. The night was
cold, and there were no witnesses to
| the affair outside of the party. The
grave in which reposed the body of
a little daughter of William SmaIe,
who died suddenly last spring, was op-
ened, and the body taken up for in
vestigation. The stranger was physi-
clan and chemist. He found the re-
mains in such a disintegrated condi-
/ tion that a satisfactory investigation
was impossible, the body being in wa
ter which filed the bottom of the
grave.
This story has been kept very quiet
and it is not known whether the in
vestigation was instigated by the coun-
ty authorities or relatives of the dead
child.
The death of this little daughter was
commented upon at the time Snale was
murdered. The people recollected that
/ she died suddenly, being taken i'll after
dark one night and dying at IL o'clock
the next day. and that the attending
physician pronounced her malady hy
drophobia. Knowing that certain min
eral poiSonS cause the same symptoms,
such as convulsions and frothing at the
mouth, many people We're of the belief
that the murder of William Smale was
not the first tragedy of the line, and
was but another move in the extermi-
bable that this mysterious midnight
Laffair was the outcome of what for a
while was a popular belief.
Although the Chelfs. who were origi-
naIly accused of the crime, are out of
it for the time being. and there is no
talk on the part of the county attorney
of their re-arrest. they are not ex-
empt not having been placed in Jeop-
ardy Both seem confident, and declare
that they can furnish the best of ali
bis. No one suspects County Attorney