Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-01-09

money she could earn by washing.
Once when they were hard pressed,
she mounted ladder and painted q
barn for a neighbor, adding the money
thus obtained to the scanty family
treasury The husband was hard
working conscientious man, but the
money he secured was not enough to
support the large family of seven
growing boys and girls.
Family Was Happy.
Nevertheless, people who know her,
say Mrs. Lewis was never down-heart-
ed and that the members of the fam
lily always seemed happy in their mu-
tuals affection. One Ottumwan who
lived near the Lewis home has said
that the love each member of the fam
lily bore to all the others was unusually
noticeable.
A Runaway Son.
The first trouble that entered the
home, which is said to have been at
the root of the finally more serious
difficulty, was the disappearance of
the oldest son, Frank. Some boyish
prank displeased his father and he
was whipped. The boy never forgave
his parent and one morning he left
home. From that day he has never
been seen by any of the family and no
word has come from him. The father,
repentant for his hasty action, brooded
over the fact, so Mrs. Lewis and her
daughter say, and as time went on and
no word came from the boy, the faith
er's sorrow became more marked.
Trim n +I,e Chrome
The family heard that Frank had
joined a circus and Mrs. Lewis says
that when circus was advertised to
appear in his city she and her hus-
band made plans to come and make a
search for their runaway son. Some
thing occurred which kept the father
at home, she says, but he insisted upon
her coming and himself induced Ira
Glassford to drive her to this city.
Arriving here, Mrs. Lewis says, she
walked the streets and haunted the
circus grounds until time to start home
hoping against hope that among the
thousands of faces she could see that
of her boy. At last, late in the after
noon, she gave up the search and re-
turned home with Glassford, arriving
there about dark. This is the occasion
referred to in the evidence before the
grand jury.
Subject to Ear Ache.
According to different members of
the family and to people who knew
them when they lived here, Mr.. Lewis
was subject to ear ache for some time
and that the affection was serious is
evidenced by the fact that some of the
children suffer from the same ailment
even now The best remedy they
could find, it is said, was laudanum,
and a bottle of the drug was kept in
the home at all times. There was a
bottle of the poison in the kitchen ad
joining Mr.. Lewis bedroom, on the
day of his death, but afterwards 1t
could not be found and has never been
found to this day.
The Murder Theory.
The theory of the prosecution Is
that Mrs. Lewis gave her husband
medicine for stomach ailment, from
which he had been suffering for some
time, and poured into it enough laud
anum to cause his death. The defense
claims that it will show that the man
brooding over the loss of his son, his
own illness and poverty and the death
of horse for which he had given a
promissory note for SIPS just before
| his own death, became too much fol
| him to bear 1t is claimed that al
though he was ill he frequently spent
much time out of bed and that during
a temporary absence of the members
! of the family from the house he hat
ample time to secure the bottle o.
| laudanum and drink enough to cause
his death.
Woman Talks of Fatal Day.
Mrs, Lewis says that on the da,
1 which preceded his death, which oc
Cured at about 9 o'clock in the even
| ing he had told her on several occa
! sions when she visited his room to ir
4 quire after his health, that he woul
"be all right in the morning" and t
leave him alone. On one occasion
i She says he grasped her hand an
held it for some time, APPARENT
about to say something, then suddenl
told her to leave him alone till mor1
ing. That night he died and whe
his stomach was sent to Des Nome
and it's contents analysed, traces {
laudanum poisoning are said to hav
been found Then Mrs Lewis was il
!. dicted and placed under arrest.
AS evidence that Mr.. Lewis ha
thought of taking his own life, his viii
tells of one occasion after he had bee
: brooding over the disappearance {
: their boy, when he took his razor an
) left the house. She called him bacl
she says, and while she held his hanG
: and soothed him, her little daughtt
Z took the razor from his pocket ST.
: does not mention quarrel at tn
: time, but on the contrary says hi
: husband agreed with her when 81
l said he should not weakly yield to b
! dependency and leave her alone
| support their seven children.
And yet Belle Lewis is accused
= killing this man and at the next ter
J. of the district court in Sigourney, 81
: will be brought into the presence
! twelve good men and true to prove h,
!, innocence, If she be innocent, and
4 hear her sentence if she be guilt
e Meanwhile the children without cit
e er father or mother, are living in c
g tumwa, hoping for their mothers /
l. lease and maintaining stoutly to {
who breach the subject, that she is