The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-02-26
MISS PILCHER's STORY

NtIS0 iIOIIIIt
She Details the Incidents Leading
up to Her Attempt to Com
nit Suicide.
Since Miss Hattie Pitcher, of Mil |
Ter, has been released from all con
n~ection in the burglary case at Miller
she has had but little to say con-
corning the shooting scrape IN which
she was interested. To Supt. o. w.
Coursey, Of this city. Miss Pitcher,
who was a student under Prof.
Coursey when he was associated with
the Dakota Central Normal School,
has made a full statement of the
case. She is stopping at present at
st. Lawrence, a short distance from
Miller. and under Of Feb. IL she
writes as follows concerning the I'M
pleasant situation in which she was
placed by her own act:
Prof. o. w. Coursey:
Dear Friend:-Your letter received
a few days ago, but L could not
answer sooner for my arm was very
lame. 1t did me so much good to
hear from you, but you had the
poorest way of judging Of my inno-
cence by reading the papers. am
innocent. will explain it to you
as near as l can, and commence at
the beginning of my trouble. Mamma
died Sept. III. 1901, and nv brother
in March, 1902, the latterin Detroit,
Mich. Papa brought the two little
children back home, n five years
and the other four. On Jan. 81,
1903, papa died. He had not been
sick and it was heart disease. You
can imagine just how | felt and how
down hearted | a All OF them
died within eighteen months. / was
almost desperate. But ] had the
two children and they helped me
some. | also had a gentleman friend
and he was very good to me. In
March | took the children to an
uncle in Detroit. When l came back
my friend cane to meet me. Well,
kota to take charge of a station as a
telegraph operator.
While he was gone l went with
his chum and did not think he would
care, and l don't think he would if
other people had not told him every
thing and more too. He does not
dance and | do. He made me a little
mad and | went to the New Years
ball, and | would not go home when
he wanted me to. Well, that caused
trouble, and he would not listen to
me when l told him | was sorry. L
did not want to go to the next dance
Friday night, and | thought he
would ask me to stay at home with
him, but he would not. He told one
of the boys that he wanted me to
stay but did not think that | would
il he asked me, and asked this friend
to try and get me to come home, but
! would not and there was trouble
again. On Sunday night he went to
church and left me alone and the
man he was jealous Of came into the
parlor of the hotel and spent the
evening with me. After he lett my
friend cane IN and told me that l
was L, and we parted that night for
good, as | supposed. l was foolish
enough to spend the night very mis-
erably, and concluded that l did not
have very much to live for. So | got
a revolver and intended to end
everything then and there. But as l
came out OF the hotel he came out
also and did not leave me until late
that evening, even taking me to the
door Of my room. But he was just
as mad as ever. The next evening
l was going down town and had just
about given up my evil intentions
when / saw the revolver lying en- the
table. started to pick it up when [
happened to think of papa and man
ma and what would they think if
they knew what | contemplated do
ing. | got as far as my door when
the thought of what all 1 had lost
and also lost whom | considered as
the best friend | had left, | went
back and picked it up. | started to
90 to the cemetery to papa and NAM
ma. | got just about half way there
when | began to realize | was a fool.
| had the revolver in my muff, and
you know ] am left handed. l had
the mutf up resting on my chest and
l was thinking. Suddenly the revol-
yer went off and the bullet plowed
its way into my right shoulder. |
dropped the gun and started home.
| did not See any one as | went to
my room. | went in and shut the
door and stayed all night there. l
thought my friend, Mr.. Romig. was
going away in the morning and l did
not want him to know what bad
happened. Such a night as | went
through. My ann hurt me so. The
next morning as Mr.. DeHeart passed
my room | called him and told him
that | vas hurt. He went to Mr..
Romig's room and told him. would
not tell them how it happened. The
same night two men where supposed
TO have entered the drug store and