The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-01

Mrs Flora Brock. the Daughter.
AS was their custom almost every
evening, Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson went
on tuesday night into the sitting room
AFTER supper. Flora accompanied
Laem and George started for town.
some little time before o'clock Flora
went upstairs to her room. Mrs. Ten
n9son was sitting up close to the win
uoW IN the southwest corner of the
room The window sills in the room
ere low She was knitting Mr.. Ten
n9soH was sitting nearer the center Of
we room with his back to his wife
L1S was reading Two large lamps
49, burning in the room About
-fs minutes after o'clock Mr.. Tenny-
son got up, went into the kitchen and
CUT on the porch on the southeast
SIDE of the kitchen. He got a couple
q apples and returned to the sitting
room de had been seated but a few
minutes when Mrs. Tennyson stoned
ner knitting and sat up straight in her
--lali- aad she not made this move
she might have been shot
AT that instant there was a thunder
Gus explosion, accOmpan fed by a crash
Of glass The conclusion exting1Iished
the lighted lamps and stunned Mrs
Iennyson for few moments. How
long she was stunned she does not
know, but it was not any great while
When she recovered she thought that
one Of the lamps had exploded.
What s the matter, pa ?" she called
to her husband
Receiving no reply she made her
way through the darkness to his chair
she Lelt OF him and as her hand passed
over his head it became saturated with
something. She thought it was coal
OF from an exploded lamp. It was
blood Mrs TennysOn hurried to the
door and upstairs to her daughter's
room Flora was there only partially
unoressed. She was calm and -un-
hr =
ana said on one occasion afterwards
tnat she thought it was a nefghbor
saOollng OF gun - to scare dogs and
wolves from his sheep. This is a com
mon occurrence with him. On getting
INTO the lighted room Mrs. Tennyson
discovered that her hand was covered
with blood. She screamed and ran
down the stairs, her daughter following
with the lamp.
Entering the sitting room Flora and
her mother found Mr. TennvsOn linn
IN his chair. His head was sunk on his
caest and down either side of his neck
. LrlcAlsd streams OF blood A gaping
wound about the size of a silver dol
lar, almost in the center Of the back
or the skull told the terrible story.
frantic with grief and fear the
women rushed from the house and ran
screaming out On the road. Mrs Ten
uyson returned to the house in a colIDle
OF minutes and bathed the wound In her
husbands head, thinking that he
4--46-lA yE awe mere was teIo-
phone IN the ennvsOn house and Flora
ran a half mile towards town before
she went into n house. This was the
place of r. J. TwidweI. She gave Mrs.
8lowell an idea Of what had hap
p6ueG- She called UP DR.. NJ. E Bra w
lev who, when he arrived on the
scene saw at once that Mr. TennvsOn
had met instant death. The direction
OF the wound was upward slightly and
almost the entire charge of bIIcI<shOf
was imbedded in the center of the
brain. few scattering shot were i'm
Dedded In the top of the back of the
ehalr in which Mr.. Tennyson had been
sitting
Members of the Tennyson family
living in the vicinity We're notified by
Mrs TwtdWell as were many of the
men IN town. 1t was not long before
quite crowd had gathered al the
scene of the murder. hurried search
was made OF the immediate neighbor-
mood but no one could be found Not
much OF an investigation could be car
RED on in the darkness but a sort Of
picket line was formed to keen Dersons
away from the vicinity of the house in
order that possible clues in the wav of
footprints and the like might not be
disturbed or CELEBRATED
a dispatch was sent to Marvs1,iIle
noufying Sheriff Fred Barrett of TIE
crime. He reached Frankfort at
CLOCK wednesday morning and lost
no time in getting to work.
Picking Up Clues.
The sheriff first ordered everyone
but members Of the family from, the
house and grounds. Within an hour
ne had found the gun which promises
10 play such an important part In tl7e
case standing in a corner of the store
mouse. This gun is of the old Zulu
musket type. It's barrel had baen
Dored out and it had been CHANGED
into a breach-loading shotgun. The
gun mad been kept in the storehousa
Ior a long time and had not been
used for its legitimate purposes in
some Time Flora told Sheriff BARRETT
that the gun was usually kent on q
bracket on the wall Of the storehouso
ana that she had seen it In its Droner
poslFlon on Friday last when she was
~ the storehouse. That was the last
time she had been there. she said
SberlH Barrett opened the braecb
OF the gun and extracted the sheu
which was Ia it. This shell had been
discharged. and the sheriff is salts
ned that il was shot or oufte racertI,-
1t smelled strongly of fresbI,- ~
plooed powder He found n number
Of loaded shells similar to the do
charged one in the gun. in a 49,
chest in the stOrehOuse
Along about this time it was s,7s-
gested That some bioodhounds he T,ro-
cured Barrett telegraphed at once To
FRANK Pitchard OF Beatrice. .Neb who
mas a kennel Of these brutes Pitchard
arrived at Frankfort with a collDle If
fernoon.
AS soon as daylight arrived a search
for other clues was started Every inch
OF ground around the house was scrl1t
Enized for footmarks. One, which was