The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-01-02
TIE Is Sensational Tale of Dead
Husbands CrueltieS.
KNOCKED HER DOWN.
And Dragged Her Down Stairs
by Her Hair.
Threatened to ''Spread Eagle
Her But Did Not Do 1t.

| Media, Pa, Jan. Mrs. NJ. Flor
ence Erb, who with her sister, Mrs.
| Catharine Beisel, is charged with the
murder of Mrs. Erb's husband, took
the witness stand today and told a
sensational story of extreme cruelty
on the part of her husband as one of
the causes leading up to the shooting
OF Captain Erb. Mrs. Erb appeared
nervous, but told her story in a
straight forward manner
Mrs. Erb said she went to RED Ga
| pies, the Erb country home, May
1905, with a housekeeper and two
maids Trouble between her and the
captain, she said, started on the first
, night they were there.
we quarrelled,' she said, land he
struck me with the back of his hand
and Knocked me over a chair. The
treat me
Another time he quarreIed about
the food. 1 became afraid and ran
into the tower of the house He found
me and grabbed me by the hair and
dragged me down the steps to his
room, where he kept me all night and
treated me cruelty
In December 1906, he put me out
OF the house and while 1 was standing
thinking what to do, he came ont and
seized me by the throat and threw
me to the floor. An ornament in my
hair was broken and my head was
hurt, I was unconscious. AS a result
of my injury L had to go to a sanitar-
ium.
"One evening the captain found
fault with some article of food on the
table. He swore at me and 1 ran to
my room. He followed and yelled at
me, You must leave this house at
once or I'll blow your brains out He
got his revolver. but put it away
again. When he left I took it and hid
it.
sexEI,o,, ~ - -. !, ,
the revolver. I told him L had hid it,
He chased me around the table in
the dining room, trying to hit me and
when he could not catch up with me
he spit in my face.
Later as 1 took the, revolver from
behind some books he caught me and
grabbed for the pistol As we strug-
gied for the weapon he deliberately bent
me over a davenport, put his knee on
my stomach and pressed till I cried for
mercy. Finally he did release me and
was helped to my room. In the morn
ing he forced the maids to pack my
clothes and with jeers and laughter
made me leave the house. weak and
faint as I was from the injury receiv-
ed"
She then went on to tell of the So
called spread eagle" incident. After
insulting her in the presence of the
told her he was going to spread eagle
her"
Getting some straps he threw me on
a sofa," she said. He swung his fist
under my chin and drove my teeth
through my tongue. He kept me on
the sofa until 8 o'clock in the morn
ing, threatening to spread eagle me but
finally he decided not to do so. The
next day 1 had to go to Hot Springs
for treatment"
Then she related a story of the cap
tains treatment of her sister who had
come to her defense in the numerous
family quarrels.
"One summer afternoon he picked my
sister up and threw her out of the
house." she said. Later he tried to
force her through a swinging door and
he began choking her.
"'Fll choke the life out of you, he
said. I thought he was surely killing
her. So 1 grabbed up a whisky bottle
and hit him on the head. He dropped
and we ran for our lives"