davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Went the Limit.

His wife had been doing a shopping
stunt.
"How much did you spend today
asked her husband.
"Fifty-four dollars and nineteer
cents" she replied.
''Oh, was that allT' he queried some
what ironically.
YES" answered the other half o
the matrimonial combine with an in
jured air; that was all had."-Chi
cagO News.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Perfumes In Aneisn, Days.

Old as the history OF the world itself
Is that of the queen OF flowers The
ancient Greeks and Romans reveled In
roses. They were used iavishly at their
feasts. In the time OF the republic the
people had their cups Of Ealernian
wine swimming with blooms. and the
Spartan soldiers after the battle OF
Cirrhs refused TO drink any wine that
was not perfumed with roses. while at
the regatta OF Bains the whole surface
OF the Lucrine lake was strswn with
aoYAna
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
"Break, Break, Break"

They were sitting on the beach, and
he had been strangely silent
81 wonder what makes the sea
waves sad?" said Cholly languidly.
Probably the narrowing thought of
going broke on the beach," giggled
Dolly insinuatingly.-Illu Sun.
day Magazine.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Misniacad Raticence.

at was great mistake" sighed the
man who was sued for breach of
promise.
what do you meanT
81 used a nom de plume In my lit
erary work instead of Disgusting my
identity in my love letters."-Washing
ton Star
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Profit from a Hive.

One year with an other. a man ox
woman, (there are a great many lady
beskeeperu now in this country ought
TO realize from " to $l6 each from
a hive OF bees and perhaps double
the number Of hives. This Is a con-
sarvatiys estimate.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
CALIFORNIA; ossriches.

The ostrich farming industry OF
Southern California represents an
Investment OF three-quarters OF q
million dollars. and tAs annual out
put of feathers u worth about $780,
900.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Daily Gih Friend joke.

Maudie-That horrid old cat told
Claude that was forty years old!
Mamie-The IN thing. But she
might have done worse.
Maudie-How?
Mamie-Well, she might have told
some lie about you.-Cleveland Leader
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19

Many photographs Ehovod thai 90
crop OF goosebsrrt~A. ouySautR -.
pies, and pears b ur0uh moro depsnd
emit ON the bees thsn On ths veakh8.
except so far as The vszxher prsveutz
the bees from working.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
RiddIs.

Dick-What Is 1t that can't be seen,
can't be felt and yet thrills you when
you receive itl
Dolly-Give It up.
Dick-A kiss by wtreless.-Chicago
News.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19

Bees can be expressed in the iatsst
up-todate standard LAngstroth hiveA-
Never buy patent hives with irresa-
lar fixtures
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19

n ,ot. Of people were posooso
o,,e tha kind Of eAks snsy oss~"s
use vould give thsm sponge eA
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Auria,uIar Exidsnos.

my daughter, Gladys Mae. has be
come quite an elocutionist"
''Yes." peevishly replied the next
door neighbor. $50 l hearw-Puck.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Defined.

"Pop what do men mean by ctrcum-
stances over which they have no con.
trol?"
wives. my SON" - Philsdslphia
Ledger.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19

A contantsd heart IL . cash rSS1s'
ter full OF gold coin.
The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-19
Our Lanauaao.

~Hurrahl I am going 10 have my
inning nowY'
"HowT
-rm going on an outing. New York
Journal.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Geo. w. Gardner, vincennes, la.
D. A. Young Sen, Aucfioneers
Comm g ncinQ at 10 a. m.

residence at 10S Exchange street. Bent
by the infirmities of old age, which
nearly eighty years of life had brought
to her, she was more visible affected
than any of the eye witnesses to the
surroundings shortly after the catas-
trophe occurred. Until late in the
evening she sat in her back room,
lighted on'y by one dimmed oil lamp
with Mrs Smallwood and neighbor
or two for companions, and dwelt in
silence upon the cremation that had
wrecked an entire family. When a
Gate City reporter visited the home
later in the evening she was a picture
for study. Reclining in a rocking
chair, with her chin resting heavily
on one hand, she could only sit and
reflect, and think, for her mouth could
give utterance to none of the ques-
tions put by the inquisitive interview
err. Only once did she emerge from
this reticence and that was to say
these few words: 81 am so overcome
with what has occurred that l can
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24

scarcely utter a word, and can hard,
ly remember where | was when the
fire occurred. or what | did. This has
been a severe shock to me. and one
from which 1t will be hard to recover"
Mrs Martin has been living in Keo-
kuk for forty years and nearly every
one on the south side in that portion
of the city is acquainted with her.
Her only companion is Mrs. Anna
Smallwood, also an elderly woman.
who made her home there for num-
Der OF years.
coroners Inquest Tomorrow.
Inquest will be held over the dead
bodies of Mrs. Steutermann and her
son tomorrow afternoon at half past
two. Coroner Fred Korschgen has
appointed his jurors as follows: Will
liam Kilroy, John Ferris and William
Holt. Both bodies have been remov-
ed to the morgue at the Hawkes. un.
dertaking parlors.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Marriei Fifteen Years.

1--WE were married fifteen years ago,
the fifteenth of next February, in
Quincy. We have always had trouble,
even before marrying we couldn't get
along together. l don't know why she
left me over year ago. / never took
the trouble to find out how she made
a living while she was gone, but | I'M
derstand she worked in a restaurant
and worked out for people, doing
homework
when we first came to Keokuk we
lived at Twelfth and High, then at
Andy Simpsons on Tenth street, and
then we got couple of rooms some
where else From there she left me.
MY wife accused me of paying at.
tentions to another woman who work.
ed at Deadman's restaurant on 18th
and High. This girls name is Lenore,
(Riplinger). and she is now re.
siding in Kansas City. new
err did go with her until my wife left
me, and then went to the show sew
eral times. | don't know what her
last name is. My wife accused me
lately of still paying attention to her
and that is what was at the bottom
of this trouble today, I believe. We
had no particular trouble until today
since she came back.
There are three or four hundred
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
ouse, gave out the following inter


view:
I'VE received the call at the fire sta
ton at 1850 o'clock. When | arrived
there | was told there was a woman
afire. ran up the stairs and found
woman lying between the banister
and the partition in the hallway up
stairs, hollering and moaning and in
great physical pain. | saw that the
clothes whic' she had on were still
afire and that quilt had been thrown
over her. I started to pull the
clothes off of her. and asked two men
standing near to help put the fire on
her out. They lent no assistance, but
] kept hollering for them to help me.
! l then got the quilt off but the clothes
on the woman continued to burn, so
began pulling the clothes off too all
4 the time asking these two men to
help me, but they were so dumfounded
/ by the awful scene that they stood
+ speechless and motionless nearby A
woman, Mrs. Anna Smallwood, who
lives with Mrs. Martin, came running
from her room in the rear, and told
me that she would help do anything
The Two of us picked up the badly
burned woman and carried her into
Mrs. Smallwood's room. | then asked
Charles Abel to send for the ambu
the fire was and helped get t out.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Bedding Became Ianlted.

The feather mattress became fired
when the occupants of the room ran
dazedly about. The entire carpet was
made useless by the flames, which
burned it, and it was necessary for
the chemical to be used in extinguish-
ing the confagration which sprang
up.
The woodwork was blistered in
places and a bad fire might have been
the result, and not only lives but prop
erty also have been wrecked by the
insane action of the woman in start
ing the affair which ended in catas.
trophe.
All the way to the hospital Mrs
Steutermann kept crying and moan,
ing, and it was with difficulty that
the attendants, in her misery, could
keep her quoted, so great was her
suffering.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
letters in trunk down at the house.
if they haven't been burned up, that
you can look at.
Mans Burns Also Severe.

you can look at.
Mans Burns Also Severe.
1t Is question as to whether Steut-
ermann will recover from the burns
he has received, or not The mans
back and sides are fearfully burned,
and he was deathly sick last night
from the affair and his injuries, vom-
iting freely. His burns are not OF
the serious nature that his wife's and
child's are, however. The woman is
burned the worst of the three, and
her form is terrible sight.
All of the clothing was burned or
torn from her body, as those who
rushed to her aid helped her fight the
flames as she fell, screaming and
swooning in the upstairs hall between
the railing and the partition.
Taken Immediately to Hospital.
Mrs. Steutermann was placed in the
police patrol On a stretcher and ac-
companied by four police officers and
a doctor was dispatched with all pos
sible haste to the Graham hospital.
Bystanders who had automobiles vol.
unteered to take the man and little
boy out to the hospital and they were
removed there Immediately where
every medical attention possible was
given them.
The sight of the woman's horribly
burned body and cooked flesh about
the face and almost every portion of
the abdomen and limbs, was sickening
and dreadful sight. All OF the
hair with the exception of a scant tuft
or two, was burned from her head,
and from the time that she touched
the match to her family and own per.
son, che suffered untold agony. The
head is frightfully swollen and the
eyes closed, the entire countenance
being blackened, and the burns the
worst ever witnessed by many who
saw the tragic sight Sunday after
noon.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24

Had Been Having Trouble.
From Steutermanl's statement last
night and testimony of several others
who know the f y lilly, the man and
wife had been having trouble. The
wife being of jealous and fitful
turn of mind, in a heat of passion
first hit her husband soundly over the
head with her shoe and when he pro-
tested, the woman jumped away from
him, seized the gasoline can which
was sitting in the room at the time
and with it, accomplished the dire
purpose in her breast.
Await Arrival of Relatives.
The relatives of Mrs. Steutermann
were 'phoned to last night at Quincy
and the Hamilton relatives were also
notified today of the death OF mother
and son.
The woman whose maiden name
was Lue Rena Bridal, was born in Sc
dalia, Mo-, March 26th, 1874. Ben
Steutermann was born in Quincy,
July 8, 1877. being several years his
wifes junior. The child was born in
Quincy and was between nine and
ten years old.
The child's Story of the Affair.
When visited at the hospital near
eight O'Clock last night, Frank, the
little Steutermann fellow, writhing in
! agony and with death seemingly but
few hours away, said to County
Attorney Craig and accompanies
"Papa and mamma was fussing
Mamma was reading a piece of paper
! and papa didn't like it. She took OF
her shoe and hit papa over the head
with it and then poured coal OIL on
us and set US afire
| The child in terrible pain was able
! to gasp out story, in accordance
with the questions asked him, some
| times incoherently and other moments
| his shrill, childish voice piping out
! the pitiful story of his mothers aw
full deed in applying the gasoline tc
the clothing of herself, husband and
young SON. The boy stated that his
! mother used coal oil but the empty
gasoline can and the fathers state
ment, belied the part of the child's
| statements of facts.
| Little Boys Burns Horrible.
The burns of the little Steutermanr
lad are terrible, the back buttox
arms and sides being horribly eater
by the flames, whic.. licked and curlet
| about him when the igniting fluid hat
/ been touched off by the match in the
mothers hand.
/ 1t was impossible last night to tel
how long the child would linger. ant
hopes for his recovery were faint TIA
so cruel method of disposition of her
self and husband and little son could
| be chosen by woman, Shows distinct
4 ly q trace of degeneracy and ANNA
| tendencies.
| The burned boy having only beer
| here a short time, had not yet taker
up his studies in school. He was {
bright comely little chap, however
and the distress and suffering whicl
he has undergone since the occur
renee yesterday afternoon, are awful.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Little Boys Plight is PitifuI.

Most pitiful of all is the despairing
sight of the nine year old Steutermann
boy, whose little body is mass of
burns, and the arms, hands and legs
are all swathed in bandages as result
of the numerous and terrible burns
he received. The skin in patches
dropped from his face and he suffered
in an untold and frightful manner
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
A Burst Of Temper.

Mrs Martin, who owns Tire house in
which the Steutermann's live, says
that she has known since the man,
wife and son moved into her place
that the husband and wife had not
been getting along as amicably as
they should, but no scenes had been
created. Shortly before the fire and
excitement about her house, Mrs.
Martin says that she had been up
stairs and all was so quiet that she
supposed the Steutermann's were
asleep.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Ben steutcrmann's statement.

Visited in his ward shortly after
eight O'Clock last night, after speak
ing with the Young son of the Steuter-
mann's the unfortunate husband made
the following statement to queries
from the county attorney, and in pres
ence of the physician, two police Of
ficers and newspaper reporter:
MY wife and | had been en- the
outs for over a year. 1t was a year
ago last July 25th that l came home
one day and found a note saying that
she had gone to Quincy.
"A little over a week ago she wrote
to me and said that she wanted to
come back, so went to Quincy and
brought her and the little boy here.
All seemed to be going well, but
could notice that she was dissatisfied
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Doctors Hurry to Scene.

"By this time the police patrol had
arrived. A few moments later DR..
Dorsey and DR.. Ochiltree arrived. I
learned that the man and boy had
been burned badly also but they were
walking around. Mr.. Stuetrmann was
able to walk out of the house, He
was placed in DR.. Fuller's automobile
and taken to the Graham hospital.
After this had been done / went to
the back room where the mother was
and found the boy there also He
was suffering intensely, and had been
placed on the floor, covered by blank
cts. We carried him out of the house,
placing him in DR.. Dorsey's automo-
bile and he was whirled to the hos
pital We then turned our attention
to the woman. When returned to
the room the policemen and firemen
were laying her out on stretcher.
She was carried to the police patrol
awaiting outside, and also removed to
the hospital l was myself then taken
to the hospital in Strickler's automo-
bile. The other fireman in the party
that went were Peter Mas, Harry
Watson and Henry Miller and several
other volunteers. When we were TAX
ing the woman into the hospital she
implored us to remove her stockings
and also asked for her baby boy.
The room in which the family lived
suffered badly from the fire. Two
mattresses on the bed in the room
were burned the blaze being extin-
guished by the chemical engine The
mattresses were thrown out through
the window. A number of things
hanging on the walls were scorched
and an old carpet on the floor was
burned almost to ashes. The two gal
Ion can, containing about half gal
Ion of the infiamable LIQUID, was found
setting on the floor. This ! threw out
of the window The bed, couple
of chairs and stove were also scorch
| ed, also the windows, but the window
panes were not broken.
Before we departed for the hospit
al nearly three hundred people hat
/ been attracted to the scene and as we
left steady stream of them We're
still coming, and they continued tt
visit the house until dusk settled
The sight was one of the worst
have ever witnessed in the history o
my long service with tire fire depart
mept. Untold agony was written OF
the faces of the three members of the
Steutermann family,and as they with
ed in pain while being taken from the
house people turned their heads ava!
to escape the horrible sight. The
other fireman, as well as myself, were
visibly affected by the scene"
Mrs. Martin Deeply Affected.
The tragedy carried with it a grea
shock for Mrs. Martin, owner of tn,
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Man a Steady Workman.

J. ]. Nodler partner in the Nodler
grocery establishment stated last
night that Steutermann had been in
his employ since last spring, and that
he was always good workman. Steut-
ermann had been employed by the
Nodler firm as driver and had always
given satisfaction, and was steady
worker
Little is known of the Steutermann's
except that they came from Quincy
originally. Living in almost obscurity
from others and while living together
staying in their own home, Trey are
not as we'll known as others in their
walk of life, situated similarly.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
All Started over Stick Pin.

This morning | went to look for a
stick pin, called spike and made of
shells that | had fixed lately and could
not find it. l jokingly accused her
of taking it, and said Il suppose I'll
see some other fellow wearing it
around in his tie.' At this she got
plum crazy, but she quoted down.
That was in the morning.
1.-TWO other boarders in the house,
John Sandberg and Blanche Marvin
were in playing cards with us, and
while there my wife said something
about drowning being an awful death,
and several other queer things. We
were all drinking Altogether, we
drank more than four gallons of beer
and Clipped in on another can.
After Sandberg and the woman left
we were lying on the bed cutting up.
This was after dinner past four
o'clock. My wife hadn't gotten over
the stickpin racket we had in the
morning, and we got to fussing again.
She reached down at the side of the
bed and picked up her slipper and hit
me couple of times over the back
of the head with it. (Strutermann
here displayed two healthy bumps on
the back of his head from the blow
of the slipper.) We had both been
( drinking lot
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Girl Left in June.

William Deadman. who formely con
Quoted restaurant at Twelfth and
High streets, said last night that the
Lenore Riplinger, mentioned by Steut
ermann in telling his story to the of
ficers, left Keokuk last June. She
has worked there for some time. be
ing waitress. She went to Kansas
City, and has not returned since.
This Lenore Riplinger is the woman
over whom Mrs. Steutermann became
jealous, so the story would appear
though according to Steutermann him
self, lis wife had no provication fol
entertaining such jealous thoughts
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Woman Has Relatives in HamlIto

Mrs. Steutermann has relatives in
Hamilton by the name of Groves.
Mrs. Ada Bridal. sister and Frank
Bridal, brother working for the
Wabash railroad, both reside in Quin-
cy. The unfortunate woman here is
about tairty-fve years old, and the
husband is near the same age. They
have only the one child.
The brother and sister in Quincy
have been notified by dispatch of the
happenings Yesterday afternoon, and
are expected to arrive today.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Angry Wife's MIsdeed.

Several citizens were Mortified. Sun
day afternoon when they ran to the
house at 10S Exchange street where
the Steutermanns are rooming and
saw the husband dash wildly from
the front door and across the st1set,
Writhing in agony from the burning
clothes on his body. He rolled in the
weeds and the flames were extin-
gulshed by bystander.
The fire department was called and
on entering the house Mrs. Steuter-
mann and her small son were afire
and screaming pitifully for help The
woman was found in heap at the
top of the stairs near the door of the
room in which she applied the light.
ed match to the other two members
of the family and herself after satur-
ating their clothing with gasoline.
Told Story at Hospital Last Night.
AT the Graham hospital last night,
whittier the unfortunate womE Al and
her husband and little boy had been
rushed, the child and man told their
pitlful stories to County Attorney
Craig and witnesses, Chief of Police
schevers, Officer Fuqua, DR.. F. b.
Dorsey and Gate City reporter
1t is not probable that an inquest
VIII be held for day or two as the
county attorney was called out of the
city this morning on business.
Letters Have no Bearing.
packet of fifty or more letters
We're found in the trunk, mentioned
by Steutermann in recounting his
story to the officers last night of tne
miserable affair, but they have no par
ucular bearing as to the cause of the
temporarily deranged woman's action
~ annihilating herself and family.
Inc letters are in the hands of the
ponce at present.
Hundreds See Awful Sight.
When the fire apparatus answered
the call from First and Exchange
street yesterday afternoon, several
hundred excited onlookers ran to the
place but forty or fifty strong men
IN the crowd were unable to do any
thing but gap at the terrible sight
mat met their eyes. The ignited gaso.
me had done it's worst in a few sec
ohds course however, and the wife's
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24

Vu~~ - - 49, = ~ - > :
MRS BEN sTEUTERMANN So =
FRANK STEUTERMANN, &
Seriously
sTEUTERMANN 49, &
of history
= of
clothing
applied
= suffengs relieved at eight this death.
temporarily deranged o
her
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24

One Of the most horrible deeds ev-
er recorded in this section of the
country Of which q woman was the
perpetrator, occurred Sunday after
noon at 4:45 when Mrs. Ben Steu-
termann in a sudden burst of passion,
applied gasoline to the clothing of
herself, son and husband, then struck
a match, igniting all three.
AS the result of her rash act, Mrs.
Steutermann and her 9-year-old son
are dead today the mother dying at a
quarter of eleven last night and the
little boy being mercifully called
from his terrible sufferings about
eight o'clock this morning.
Ben Steurtermann, the father may
recover from the awful nature of the
burns he received and is at present
lying in Graham hospital in serious
condition.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-24
Wife Grabs Gasoline Can.

9TH settle all of this. Well all
go together, said my wife, as she
grabbed my arms when she was hit
ting me. She got up and took the gas
oline can and poured gasoline on me
and then herself and the little boy.
grabbed hold of her and told her she
was not going to do anything of the
kind and that she should put the can
down, but SHE threw the gasoline on
my clothes. Then l grabbed the can
and threw it out the side window.
(Chief Anderson later found the can
in bedroom) The woman she strikes
a match that | didn't know she had
and set us all afire.
II ran to the head of the stairs
and either walked or fell down, | don't
know which. My foot hurts, and ] be
lieve I fell and ran across the street
and rolled in the weeds where man
put out my burning clothes.