The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1909-01-13
CARM|CHAELASU|C|DE
Left Letter Confessing Murder
of Gideon Browning.

Appeared at Carthage, H., Friday
Evening and Took Room at Board
ing House - Monday Morning He
Cut His Throat In an Clubhouse ana
one His Body Were Found Letters
to the Sheriff of Adair, Mich, and to
His Wife.
Carthage, Ill.,, Jan. 12.-Rev. John H.
Carmichael pastor of three Metho-
dist churches in and near Adair, Mich,
confessed slayer of Gideon Browning,
neigh-or whom he slew with a
hatchet and cremated last Tuesday
night In Battle Run church, committed
suicide in the toilet room of Miss Mir
anda Hughes boarding house here by
cutting his throat with a pocketknife.
The preacher left a letter to the
sheriff of Adair, Mich, giving details
of the murder. dismembering and in
Iineration of Browning, and attributed
the act to self-defense and moral cow
ardice because of the hypnotic infu-
ence that Browning, an illiterate car.
penter, held over him.
Reason For Tragedy UnsoIVed.
While the confession of the clergy
man is rather long and on some points
minute, 1t leaves many questions re-
garding the tragedy unsolved, admit.
ting that the statements of the min
lister are true. Some parts of the let
ter tend to cause the impression that
the confession is really the produc-
| tion of an unsound mind.
The preacher does not explain salts
/ factorily how he and Browning came
to go to Rattle Run church, or why
both seemed bent on keeping their
presence there secret, except to say
that Browning wanted the minister
to officiate at Browning's wedding
that night This account does not ex-
plain the fact that the preacher evil
IDENTIFY knew that Browning already
had one wife, if not two.
Nothing more than Rev. Mr.. Car
michael's letter to the Michigan sher-
If has thus far been discovered in
| Carthage tending to explain the mys-
terious tragedy. Carmichael died
without regaining consciousness. He
had prepared to leave Carthage and
went to the toilet room in the yard
before starting for the railway station.
There several hours later Miss Hughes
discovered him bleeding and frozen
He had cut his throat, but the wound
was not fatal except that long bleed
ing and the low temperature had
sapped his life.
Unknown In Carthage.
The suicide left a letter addressed
to his wife in Adair, Mich, but it has
not been opened. He was unknown to
anyone in Carthage and gave the
name here of John Elder.
On Friday, when the Burlington
train pulled into Carthage a man
over six feet tall and with reddish
brown hair and shaved face, alight
ed and sought room at Miss Hughes
boarding house He said that he was
cabinet maker and thought of open
ing a shop in Carthage. He talked
and ate little and he led Miss Hughes
to think that he was Catholic and
was fasting He acted rather strange
ly but she thought little about 1t at
the time.
Monday morning he packed all his
belongings in his valise, and leaving
his room in order went out to the
toilet room and nothing more was
seen or heard of him until o'clock.
Then Miss Hughes went out to feed
her chickens. She heard a moaning
in the toilet room. Looking In the
door, she saw the man on the foor
with his throat cut. There the doctors
found that he had cut small slit in
his throat, but the knife had moi
touched the jugular vein. Had 1t moi
been that he had lain so long II
the cold and lost so much blood the
doctors could have restored him tc
consciousness; but, as the thermome
er stood almost at zero, he had be
come so thoroughly chilled that he
never aroused from his stupor ant
died at 12:40 o'clock