Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-06-17
THE SMELL MURDER.

LII the voluntary declaration of q
dying man is to be believed, finis has
been written to the historic Smell
tragedy of fifteen years ago, and
Tsscott, the long sought murderer,
self-identified, has paid the penalty
of his crime with penitence, and now
fills all unmarked grave in the heart
of the Alaskan wilderness, whittier
he had fled for the effacement of
his individuality.
Philip Robertson, prospector and
miner, received the dying mans con-
fession, and tells the story simply
and dramatically. Robertson left the
Klondyke capital, he says, late last
fall in d small boat bound for the
new plaza grounds at Fair Banks
lie reached a point near Dahl river
In particularly desolate and for
bidding region when the forlorn
wailing of dog surprised his ears.
He found the dog, half starved
shepherd, seemingly in much distress.
Following this animal, Robertson
was brought to seemingly desolated
cabin some four hundred yards above
the river, concealed in a clump of
spruce.
"I ventured to the door of the
shack and Knocked" says Robertson,
"and there was feeble come in.'
Cali was darkness inside and there
was no sign of fire. l caught sight
of bit of candle, which | lighted,
and then advanced to where a man
lay. With feeble effort he turned
and stared at me for a full minute.
The mans hair was white as snow,
his face had color in it that looked
like death and he had the most terri
fed and hopeless expression / have
ever seen on human being.
"'Partner,' he said, finally, rolling
over on his side and little more than
whispering: 'Pm leaving a world
that | did not appreciate. Pm going
to-where i belong
"He lapsed into silence again, and
what l thought was a sleep came
over him. Two hours passed, and
he suddenly wakened with shrek,
and then sank back in bed.
''In few minutes he gave another
wild scream, and Strengthened up in
bed. Then. in voice you would
think came from a good, strong man,
he said:
"'See here, boys, my name is
Tascott. I'm Tascott. Do you un-
derstand? Pm Tascott, that they
have been hunting like a wolf for
years. cannot run any more. Pm
getting paid for what / did. know
Pm dying, and know where I'll go.
Tell the boys when they come back
that l am Tascott, and you. can tell
the world, too, for the world has
hunted me long time
"About 3 in the morning, / heard
a noise like a man expelling the air
from his lungs. | rushed over
TO the bed and felt the mans
pulse and heart. He was dead"
The man was buried by his COM
rades.
Amos j. Smell, wealthy holder
OF much property on the west side
of Chicago, was murdered at his
home in Washington Boulevard on
the night of February 8, 1888, and
robbery was declared to be the motive
although by many it then was and
still is believed that the burglary
was concocted. However, after many
arrests, the police hit upon the Willie
Tascott clue. Tascott had been an
elevator boy at the Palmer House.
1t was represented that he had been
employed by day and committed
robberies at night.
Heavy rewards. one for $4,000.
subsequently, raised to $4,000, were
offered for Tascott, and for two
or three years Tascott was turning
up, dead or alive, in all parts of
North and South America.
Eventually Mrs. Smell withdrew
the reward for Tascott.