Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-30
AFFAIRS At SOUTH OMAHA
Body Of Omaha Nan Found Floating in the
River Opposite the City,
livery INDICATION OF CASE OF SUICIDE
HAD shot Himself Throush Head
Before Jumping OF FaIlinE Into
water-siekness supposed
Cause Of the Act.

man was found floating down the Mis-
souri, river last night -Four young men
made the discovery. They were Dave and
/ William Tangeman. Rybe Myers and Harry
Benson. They were down at the river
bank watching the steamboat coming up
from Kansas City, when the body was
whirled in close to the bank. They waded
into the shallow water and secured It. @,
/ II. Brewer was called to take charge Of the
body. The most superficial examination
! showed a case of suicide which could not
have been committed more than half an
hour earlier. or probably the time It would
take for the body to float down from
! Omaha. This would be short with the
swollen condition Of the river. An in
vestigation Of the mans effects and few
inquiries showed that his name was Gott-
| Heb Hess, living at the Union hotel, 1923
/ Mason. He wbre a gold watch Of neat
pattern. hunting case and Of German make.
] bearing the manufacturer name, Herm
Lehdrich. The watch was still running.
There was 80 cents in his pocketbook and
a number Of papers and receipts. One OF
these was an American Express company's
receipt for a package sent by himself TO
brother, John r. Hess, Mcpherson. Kan,
and bearing the date OF June %. He had a
pipe and pearl-handled knife. The theory
Of the undertakers who took charge Of the
! body is that ne walked out on the Douglas
street bridge, or perhaps the railroad
bridge. and fired the fatal bullet through
his brain and fell into the river. The ball
entered his face just back of the right
| cheek bone and ranged upward through his
brain, coming out at the left frontal bone.
Among his effects was a notebook with a
! letter written in German script which said
he was afiiicted with an incurabe disease
and begged forgiveness Of heaven for his
death. A little slip of paper was also found
having about the same expression.
Inquiry at the Union hotel showed that
there was no doubt of the identity OF the
man. He had a fixed habit Of always being
! in his room at Q o'clock every night and
the hotel people said at first that he was
there But when requested to visit his
room It was found to be empty. The de-
scription Of the dead man was so perfect
| that there is no doubt of his identity.
The clerk at the hotel also knew OF his
sending the express package to his brother
Wednesday. They stated that Hess was a
I retired farmer having considerable means
He paid his board with positive regularity
every week. He had done no work since
he came to Omaha year and a half ago
1t was thought that he had considerable
money deposited In one Of the Omaha
banks. He has a daughter OF a sister in
Illinois but the hotel people could not
give the address The brother at McPher-
son, Kan, will be notified.
A careful examination specifically gave
no sign OF any incurable disease about the.
man. An inquest will in all probability be
held. There was, however, no evidence Of
foul play. judging from the direction of the
bullet wound and the fact that none of the
man't valuabi we're in any way disturbed.
He has no relatives in Omaha so far as
known. .,.
Fight over Base Ball.
The trial of Earl Green for an alleged
assault and battery on the person of Elof
Nilsson was postponed yesterday for the
reason that the attorneys for the prosecu-
ton were both in Lincoln. This case arose
over dispute over a base BALI There is
crowd of boys and young men who have
been in the habit of playing every evening
at Twenty-eighth and streets. The ball by
accident rolled into the yard of Nilsson, who
picked It up and refused to give It back
to the boys This naturally irritated the
players and Earl Green grew so angry that
he dared Nilsson to come into the street.
Nilsson went into the street and Green con-
tends struck the first blow. After that
Green, who is a slight built boy. is said TO
/ nave given NlisODs n man lnlTly pounds
heavier, a good drubbing. Nilsson had him
arrested When requested to dismiss the
case, Nilsson said: mo. that boy was on
my property and 1 had a right to shoot
him. I will not dismiss the case" The
case was therefore set for Monday, July g.
Burglar simply a Drunk.
A lively chase after a supposed burglar
! Wednesday night resulted in the arrest OF
a confirmed dipsomaniac, John Cunning
ham, who was prowling about the residence
portion OF the city. begging for money
enough to buy liquid refreshment Hank
Eisfelder. who has not been able to do SER
vice since the tent pole OF circus tent
fell on him in Omaha, got wind of his being
in the neighborhood and hurried out in his
stocking feet to lay hands on his man and
landed him. His feet now feel like a big
package OF stone bruises and he swears
that he stubbed every other toe regularly
on every half block he ran. Cunningham
was taken to Jail and the judge yesterday
morning gave him ten days OF regrets.
Company TO Manufacture Fuel.
II is possible that within the next day or
two plans for a new industry will be an
nounced. At the present time. however,
the organization has not been sufficiently
perfected to allow of its announcement
] 1ueTe VIII pt ulNcNiuB VI the
parties within day or two, at which time
It is more than probable that good COM
pany will be formed II is proposed 10
manufacture artificial fuel On this fuel,
a well known man Of the city has been
experimenting for a long time. He has
succeeded in manufacturing a practical fuel
from the waste Of the stock yards which
can be most cheaply produced. He has
conducted fifteen or more tests with mis-
/ product and has fuel, which he asserts,
ton for ton proved better in heatvproducing
power than any coal on the market with
but one exception. The waste of the yards
Is treated 10 process of incineration and
compressed into bricks. 1t burns with a
clear flame with little ashes and no cinder.
1t is said that several prominent men are
interested in the new fuel.
Eagles Booming Barrett.
The Eagle Dress club will meet at the
hall Friday evening for the purpose OF
peTfecting plaps for sending 100 uniformed
men TO the Milwaukee national convention
10 be held In August The object OF send
ing such a large delegation is 10 aid the
candidacy Of p. ]. Barrett for president