Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-11-26
HANGS HIMSELF IN CELL
Indian Accused of Numbering Ills
Wife Commits Suicide in Polk
County Jail.

muEQer OF MS Vile, AQalln0, Llo QlVOr
Gee Of Frank Bond. He was placed il
the county Jail to await trial, bu
avoided that ordeal by committing
suicide, hanging himself from the
bars in the ceiling Of the corridor il
front Of the cell where he was confined
When he was found and cut down early
Saturday morning by Sheriff Grant
his body was still warm, indicating
that only a short time had elapsed
since the commission of the deed.
Spores had improvised rope from
his handkerchief and a pair OF tough
leather shoe strings, had climbed up.
on chair to adjust it about his neck,
and then kicked the chair from under
himself. He was trifle over 27 years
of age when he died, man of remark
ably fine physique, and Of fair mental
attachments, having been educated at
the Chemawa Indian School.
His own story Of the crime was ex-
tremely incoherent, and there were nc
others known to have been eye wit
nesses, but the circumstances pointed
strongly to his guilt.
Spores and his wife had been drink
ing heavily for several days, having
secured their first supply Of liquor at
the notorious gallon house near the
county line. Wednesday evening they
purchased two quarts of Beecham s
Bitters and started out for Sheridan.
When last seen together, they were
both lying drunk in a fence corner
about two miles north of Buell..
Early Thursday morning, Spores
called at the house of Cyrus Blair,
asking for help and saying that his
wife was ill. The squaw was found
lying dead on an improvised pallet of
straw in a nearby field, her face
battered by fist blows, and her skull
crushed by stroke from the edge Of
fence rail.
Spores had been employed by Mr..
Blair, and had a little shack on his
farm. He was carrying his wife
thither, and had already proceeded
about half-mile from the scene of
the crime when she died.
In the cell Of the suicide, two letters
were found, one on the blank side of a
magazine page, and one on large
torn scrap Of manila paper. They
contain his will, and an incomplete
narrative of the particulars Of the
murder he is alleged to have com
mitted. Crude as the spelling is, and
laughably grotesque as some of the
expressions are, there is In these two
missives something Of pathos that
leads one, after all, sympathize with
the poor wretch who scrawled those
lines of explanation in the dark hours
Of the night, before doing the deed
which, to his semi-savage mind,
seemed in a measure to atone for the
murder committed under the frenzy
of intoXication.
The body of the suicide was taken to
Grand Ronde, Sunday, by Polk Scott
and John Wacheno, two Indians of
the reservation, to be buried beside the
body Of the murdered woman, as he
had requested in his letter.
The shorter letter, addressed to
Jake Fearn, Aunlauf, Or, runs as
follows:
Dallas, Oregon, Nov. %, 1907.
I am going to hang myself here in
this Jail Because I ant going to worry
as my best friend she has left me, her
death came first and my death shall
ending last God be with you till we
meet again we have made our promise
never to part and we will never. I
have loved her in my true heart 1
have no father nor mother nor brother
or sister so 1 am better of than see a
nother day will think of her no more.
Remembrance of my last describing
this will bear in to think how I meet
ing my temptation. Good by
To Jake Fearn anlauf Ore Please
send it to him
The second letter contained a
rambling and disconnected story Of
his wife's death in which he says he
does not remember fighting with her,
although she abused him all night.
He also makes a will of his property
in this letter, which is as follows:
'I will write and to give the content
Of my beloved wife which she met her
death on Thursday morning about OF
o'clock which her last breath have puff
on this beautifully world. We have
been drinking two days and it ending
with our farewell. 1 have loved her
and the world Of her dear heart to me.
We have made our promise to not
part, if one of US should die we will
both have to die and now she has left
ing me to meet my death at last. 1
will do as our promise il we should
meet in the other world we will be as
happy as ever. First Of our meeting
together it was one year ago this last
fourth at Salem where We fall in love
one another. We were been good since
the fourth we we're In trouble by drink
ing and we were the same in love after
and came to Mill Greek where we
made our home and were there for
four month and got along as nicely
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