The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-23
MRS. NICKUM LIVED IN DEADLY FEAR.

ceived money from boarders. One time
I said to her that 1 should think she
would not want to keep much money
about the house. and she said that she
never did keep much money on hand;
that she put it in the bank whenever
she got any large amount on hand
Attempt to Break In.
One of the incidents related by Mrs.
Skidmore has a very important bearing
on the situation. She says:
About three or four days before the
time Mrs Nickum said she was afraid
to go up into the attic at night, she
said to me one morning:
Della, somebody tried to break in
to the house last night
How did it happend?' I asked
"'Well, she said. L was in the
kitchen getting my lunch about 1
O'Clock, and 1 heard somebody trying
to open the side door. Then 1 heard
them again trying to push up the
dining room windows. I came pretty
near calling for you girls, but
thought to myself that everything
was locked all right, and that nobody
could get in. So I did not make any
noise. and before long, whoever it was
went away I knew that even if any
body did come in could call some of
the boarders if 1 needed any help ]
tn ought perhaps it was Mr.. Gruber-'
" No, it wasn't Mr.. Gruber,' 1 said,
for Mr.. Gruber was in early last
night His bed had been slept in
MI 6IuOST WAS one OI our DOdIo-
ers who had a habit of getting in pret-
ty late sometimes. 1 suggested to her
that possibly it was somebody from
the late trains who wanted a room.
wanted a room, why didn't they come
to the front door?' said Mrs. Nickum.
Mrs. Nickum herself always at
tended to locking the back door and
windows Her help were not expect
ed to do that
TrOubIe With Her Helm
According to Mrs. Skidmore. Mrs.
Nickum had a good deal of trouble
getting satisfactory help. Mrs. Skid
more says:
ways, and some of her girls could not
get along with her. She never spoke
a cross word to me as long as 1 was
there, though. She discharged two
Sadie Fields. Then she discharged
Anna Lawrence, who was there just
before Mrs. Stella Brown. Anna Law
renee was not satisfactory to her be-
cause she thought she was trouble
maker. Mrs. Nickum came to me
once and said: You must not believe
anything says. She tells fibs and un-
less she straightens up, she will have
to CO. heard her tell Anna the same
thing. In this way, Mrs. Nickum had
made a good many people mad.
Boarders All Liked Her.
Mrs. Nickum's regular boarders all
liked her; she was like a mother to
them. None of them could possibly be
suspected. l don't know about the
transients, of course. She had a good
many transients.
Il know that she frequently turned
out her boarders when they did not
seem to be all right If any of them
made any disturbance in their rooms
at night, she would go up and make
them stop and tell them to leave. if
necessary. While 1 was there, how
ever, she did not turn out any of herr
regular boarders-
Mrs. Nickum always seemed to
like me very much, and she confided
in me considerably. When I began to
feel sick, I told her 1 would have to
stop working for her. She said, You
can have a room here and stay here
until you are we'll enough to work
again No 1 said, I wouldn't do
that under any circumstances. You
don't want any girls around here who
can't work. will go and stay with
Mrs. Bunce a while, and when 1 get to
telling better. will come back to you.
1 went to Mrs. Bunce's house, and
have been staying with her ever
since
Sheriff Lucas Finds Ellis.
Sheriff Lucas and Deputy c. D. Miller
returned from Lyon county last night
without prisoner. Their trip to EN-
poria and vicinity was the result of a
theory that H. G.. Ellis, an insane man |
living 20 miles southeast of Emporia, |
answered the description of the man |
with black whiskers,' who was seen
about the Santa Fe depot at Gn early |
hour Sunday morning, only a few hours |
after the murder.
AS result of their investigation, they |
say that Ellis is not the man, although |
ne answers the description very we'll
They found that he had not been away /
from the little house where he lives
alone, for several days. The circum-
stance which connected Ellis with the /
rase. happened over year ago. On
the night of August 4, 1903, Ellis came !
to Topeka and engaged room for the |
night at Mrs. Nickum'S lodging house. |
During the night Ellis became vio-
ently insane. He imagined that some |
One was trying to get into his room for /
the purpose of numbering him. He drag
ged the head of his bed against the |
door OF his room, and shouted defiance
at the supposed enemies without Mrs.
Nickum became alarmed at the dis |
turbance he was making, and telephon- |
I'd the police.
H. D. Smith, who was sergeant at |
that time, went to the Nickum hotel |
and attempted to reason with the man.
He defied the officer, and said he would /
not come and be killed Smith was ac-
by Patrolman James, but he |
lid not wish to hurt the man, and de-
eided to send for Jailer Miller, who had |
spent several years as an attendant at |
he state asylum, and understood the |
management of lunatics. Miller left the |
ponce station with a reporter VINO
,hanced to be present, and went down
% the Nickum house where he easily /
the crazy man. Within an |
lour of his capture Ellis cooled down,
and seemed perfectly rational Although |
le had made promiscuous therats
against Mrs. Nickum while barricaded |
n his room, he seemed to bear no em-
lity the next morning.
Nothing came of the arrest. The coun-
y authorities of Lyon county were no
ified, and said that they did not want
ellis as he had been discharged from
asylum January 4, 1908,
md was not an escaped lunatic, as the
Topeka officers had supposed.
Ellis wore a black beard at that time,
md since the murder of Mrs. Nickum,