The Colorado statesman., 1907-08-17
CONFESSED MURDERER BLOWS
ROOF FROM HOUSE WHERE
HIS OWN MOTHER LIVES.
THE BOULDER MYSTERY
WHISKY Is GIVEN AS THE MAIN
CAUSE OF THE DEED THAT
MAY HANG THREE MEN.

SooI iouI lives ana destroyed properly
valued at s250.000 sits brooding, prey
to remorse, in cell, his mother, Mrs.
Nellie Kiser, who was badly injured
in the explosion following the fire, lies
moaning in delirium at st. Gertrude's
academy.
In addition, the little home which
gave shelter to both Kiser and Reeves,
the man who is said to have piled the
torch, is in ruins, wrecked by the same
explosion.
Aroused by the cry of fire and the
glare of the flames in her room, Mrs.
kiser arose and was watching the fire
from her pantry window, not 200 feet
from the depot, when the explosion oc-
Cured
The shock tore the roof from her
home, covered her with glass and plas-
ter and flying transom struck her in
the back, hurting her, bruised and
bleeding, to the floor
Despite her own injuries, her first
thought was for her son, whom she
knew was at the fire, and she rushed
out to ascertain his fate only to hear
that he had probably been blown to at
oms. Scarcely had she been assured
of his safety when his arrest, on a
charge of being an accomplice, fol-
lowed and she became seriously il
Hears Report in Silence.
When the report that her son had
confessed reached her she received
the information in stony silence. Then
going to telephone she requested s.
Il. Beck, carpenter, to come to her
house and board up the doors and
windows. The carpenter set to work
without inquiring whether Mrs. Kiser
was in the building or not, and was
just mailing up the front door ws>en
neighbors, knowing that she was in
the house, began an investigation,
fearing that she had committed sui
eide. Mr.. and Mrs. Mock entered,
and falling to find her after a thor
ough search, were about to leave,
when Mrs. Kiser suddenly appeared
on the threshold of one of the rooms
In her hand she carried picture of
her son, taken when he was a small
boy. This is my little Frank" she
said, proudly extending the picture
toward the visitors, my own little
boy" and then the vision of the past
faded in the mothers mind, and "Oh
my Frank" she walled. 'He couldn't
have done it, l know he didn't do it.
My boy! My boy1s"
While Mr.. and Mrs. Mock were try
ing to soothe the distracted woman
sisters from st. Gertrude's academy
appeared and took her with them 70
their building on University hill.
where she is at present. No one is
allowed to see her and no statement
will be given out through the sisters.
Bartel Makes Statement.
Sheriff Charles f. Bartel returned
from Denver and made the following
statement as to the wanderings of the
men after setting the fire:
"As soon as the fire had started
Reeves and Kiser ran back to Twelfth
street and cutting across the railroad
bridge hurried up Arapahoe to the
Crystal Springs brewery, according to
their confession. Here, few minutes
after the fire broke out, they had a
long conversation with James R. Sim
mons, the night engineer He fur
nished them with hot water to wash
the discriminating grease off their
hands and then they stayed and talked
with him until after the explosion.
Simmons still maintains that this
part of the confession is not true and
says: Not single person came up
here the night of the fire End nobody
talked with me. Many were standing
in the yard watching the fire."
Assistant District Attorney T. A. Nc
Harg and Sheriff Bartel both believe
that the men saw Simmonds and
talked with him, especially as this clew
was furnished before the mems confess
sfon was obtained and was used in pre-
senting the evidence to the suspects.
Continuing, Sheriff Bartel said:
Hid on the Trucks.
"After the explosion the men left
the brewery and went up the street TO
i,,fh thnx III a
bridge to the railroad track Kiser
had bottle of whisky with him but
was NOT so drunk but that he had sense
enough to hide on one of the trucks of
a box car.
although Reeves lived with Kiser,
he left before long to go home, while
Kiser went inside box car and went
to sleep He was afraid to go home
and face his mother, as he knew that
he was guilty. When Reeves arrived
he found Mrs. Kiser violently hysteri-
cal, grieving and crying, because it had
been reported that her son was blown
up. Her home was in ruins and she her
self had been injured by the explosion.
Reeves tried to console her, stating
that Kiser was all right and that he
knew where he was and for her not to
worry.
He refused, however, to tell where
Kiser was at that time. Kiser was ar
rested at Ward and brought to Boulder.
But he was soon released in order to
keep him guessing what the sheriff's
office was doing, while in the mean
| time we gathered the facts.
Liquor has been the cause of the
arrest of all but one of the men ac.
cused Of felony during my three
years as sheriff. and that exception
was the only man to be acquitted. Fur
thermore, a peculiar thing l have no.
ticed is, that while not all cigarette
smokers are criminals, have yet to
| see the criminal who is not a cigarette