davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

and to have had It ready for use, with.
out Mr.. Collins having discovered that
it was missing from the shelf.
My inquiries into the financial con.
dition of the dead mans estate. con
Quoted with view to discovering who
was likely to profit by his death. dis.
closed the fact that he had been con.
sidered very much better off than was
actually the case. He had met with
financial reverses, and was in reality
possessed of little more than his home
at the time of his murder. He was
carrying life insurance policies aggre-
eating thirty thousand dollars. of
which sum ten thousand went to his
wife and ten thousand to each of his
children.
l Immediately wired to one of nv
operatives, Joseph S. Manning. to pro
coed to Lawrence, Kan, where, as I
have said, young John Collins had
been a divinity student, with instruc-
tons to ascertain quietly all that he
could as to the habits of the young
fellow and his associates. John Col
Inns had left his lodgings at Lawrence
on the evening preceding the murder
going to Topeka and directly to his
home, where, he claimed, he retired
for the night at an early hour Ac-
cording to his own story. he had been
in bed at the time when he was
aroused by the shot that killed his ia
Their. had been making my own in
vestigations concerning him before
sending Manning to Lawrence, and /
had learned that he had formed the
acquaintance of a very estimable and
wealthy young lady of that city. with
whom he had become infatuated. He
had paid good deal of attention to
her for several months previously.
She had informed him that her mother
intended to purchase or lease cot
tage at Long Branch, N. j., in which
to spend the summer months.
John Collins, who was thoroughly
infatuated with her, heard this news
with dismay. He surmised that she
would be sure to encounter some of
the many fortune-hunters who frequent
that resort in summer time, and that
she might readily fall prey to one
Of them, thus endangering his own
chances of winning her. Accordingly
he had made up his mind to spend the
season at Long Branch also, so that
he might guard the affections of his
beautiful young friend
The investigations of Manning con-
firmed the theory | had formed about
Collins. In order to advance his suit,
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09
WHAT cLINcHED THE AGAINST THE ACCUSED THE E
DENcE OF THE TWO coLoRED DRIVERS.

had received from his father when
he came of age. it was evident that a
conviction was a foregone conclusion.
1t was this production of the watch,
together with the full testimony Of
the drivers, in which they detailed the
contract which they had made with
the prisoner, that convicted him; and
their evidence was corroborated by
circumstances that were not, and could
not be, contradicted
The trial lasted more than a week.
Collins attorneys, two of the most
prominent men at the Kansas bar, Ia
bored earnestly and to the best of
their ability to clear him. He was,
however, found guilty of murder, and
sent to the state prison to await the
governors action in fixing the date
of his execution. However, inasmuch
as it has always been the custom III
Kansas for the governor never to fix
the date for the execution of a person
found guilty of murder, the prisoners
are usually kept in the prison for an
indefinite period, and thus sentence
of death in Kansas usually amounts to
a life term in the state penitentiary.
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09
BECAME ANGRY AND ExPosTuLATED WITH THE MEN.

he had been posing as a wealthy man
in his own right, and had been at
tempting to keep up with the pace at
which the young lady's family and
other friends lived He had been in
the habit of spending considerable
sums in buying her flowers. in car
riage hire and entertainments of all
sorts, and had become deeply involved
in debt. AS his father had only al
lowed him the sum of twenty-five dol
lars a month for social purposes, and
this amount was not 1.-THE of what
he required, he had been driven to
desperation and at his wits end to Sc
cure the necessary funds.
There were couple of colored hack
drivers in Lawrence who, Mr.. Man
ming learned, had been often patron
lied by young Collins. AS soon as /
received this information from Man.
ming / sent an urgent telegram to D.
F. Harbaugh, a man in my employ
menS, directing him to proceed to Law
renee at once and find out all that the
hack drivers knew about John Col
Inns. Mr.. Harbaugh had lived in Law
renee for number of years before he
entered my service. He had been a
hack driver in that city, and had after
ward entered into the livery business
in Lawrence. Many of the hack driv-
ers were, therefore. known to him, and
some of them had been in his own
service. On this account he did not
find it at all difficult to discover every
thing that was known about the young
man.
The men told Harbaugh that Collins
had approached them and entered into
verbal contract with both of them
to have his father killed in return for
certain sum of money. Part of this
amount he had paid at the time the
agreement was made. and he had
promised to pay the remainder after
the murder was committed
They told Harbaugh that they had
never had any intention of attempting
to murder Mr.. Collins, but had prom
ised John that they would do so in or
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

had employed me, and they then de-
cided to hand my report over to the
prosecuting attorney at Lawrence. At
the request of the prosecuting attor-
ney, the county commissioners at To-
peka employed me to complete the
evidence, so that Collins might be ar
rested and prosecuted for the murder
of his father.
John Collins was promptly arrested
and placed in Jail without bond, and in
due time the case came up for trial.
AS mentioned, it had caused a great
deal of interest in the community, by
reason of the standing of the dead
man and the mystery surrounding the
affair. But when it became known
that the son was charged with the
murder the interest was duplicated.
The entire country was aroused over
the trial All the leading western
newspapers had special reporters pres
ent, and these telegraphed back
lengthy reports of the proceedings.
The courtroom was crowded. and
many noted lawyers came to watch
t1O SlCaI lGSdI UdlllSy WHICH at IlIu6S
waxed very warm, as all the counsel
on both sides were able men and stood
at the top of their profession. Prose
cutting Attorney Jetmore was at his
best, making one of the greatest fights
that ever saw to get his evidence be-
fore the jury. Among the spectators
during almost the entire trial was the
late Justice Brewer of the United
States Supreme court at Washington,
who was visiting his daughter. the
wife of the prosecuting attorney, Mr..
Jetmore. At the close of the case Mr..
Justice Brewer came to me and COM
plimented me very highly for my work
In solving the mystery.
What clinched the case against the
accused man was the evidence of the
two colored hack drivers to whom l
have referred. They came to Topeka
from Lawrence and took the witness
stand on behalf of the prosecution.
When they showed the watch that he
had given them, and which he in turn
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

der to work him for what money they
could get out of him.
You see, boss" they explained, sit
| looked like easy money for US, and we
| knew he wouldn't dare expose us when
we failed to do what he told us. There
he was. flinging his money around, and
| we didn't see why some of it shouldn't
come to US as well as to anyone else"
They added that a certain date had
been named, on or before which the
| murder was to be committed. When
| that day had passed and Mr. Collins
was still very much alive, John be-
came angry and eApostulated with the
men.
You haven't given us enough
money, boss" the hack drivers told
him. Murders pretty big business,
you see, and with all them police and
detectives about it's risky one. How
much more will you pay if we bring
off the job?"
John Collins haggled in business
| like manner for some time and finally
promised to give them hundred dol
lars more, which he did. They also
succeeded in extracting from him a
gold watch which his father had pre-
scented to him on his twenty-first birth
day. This money John Collins Sc
cured by borrowing from his friends,
and also by drafts drawn on his IA
ther, as / afterward discovered.
The second date made for the muir
der arrived and passed, and the father
was still alive. John Collins grew
furious and upbraided the hack driv-
ers bitterly for not having carried out
their agreement.
Well, boss, it's this way" they told
him. We've been thinking over this
here proposition and we've come to
the conclusion that if your fathers
got to be killed you had better kill
him yourself. We won't kill him, and
that's all there is to it."
But I've paid you to do it, twice
over" stormed the young man.
Sorry, boss, but we can't do it." the
hack drivers answered. And, what's
more, we never meant to kill the old
man. We were just working you"
John Collins, growing desperate, left
Lawrence and went to Topeka, to his
fathers house, where he undoubtedly
killed him with his own gun while be
was asleep. having previously secured
it from the shelf He entered the room
softly and shot him dead, escaping be-
fore his mother could awaken.
With thic avidonon in hand 7 ranOrf.
ed to the committee of citizens who
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09
DEADLY DRINKS OF MExICANS
Too Free Indulgence in PuIque and
Mescal Given as Cause for Many
of Border Outrages.

Although Francisco Villa himself
is said to be a total abstainer from in
toxicating liquors. many of the Next
can border outrages perpetrated by his
men followed a too free indulgence in
the Mexican national drinks, pulque
and mescal.
The National Geographic society of
Washington, in a primer issued on
these two beverages peculiar to the
southern republic, says:
"The colonists who settled on the
east coast of the United States have
been charged with introducing the
American Indian to 'fire-water' in ex-
change for the tobacco habit, but no
similar accusation can rest against the
Europeans who conquered the pulque-
drinking Aztecs of Mexico. The intox-
icating properties of this unique bev-
erage were known long before Cortez
marched his army across The cause
ways which joined the ancient Venice
like capital of the Montezuma to the
lake shores.
Both pulque and mescal are prod
ucts of the agave or century plant,
which was of the same unitarian i'm
portance to the aborigines as the date
palm to the Arab, the bamboo to the
Burmese, and the banana to the Cen
trail American. In addition to the two
important beverages, this plant sup
plies from its roots starchy food /;
from its fbrous leaves cloth is woven
and rope is made; from its pulp the
Aztecs obtained a sort Of papyrus pa
per on which have been preserved
some of their most valued writings;
it's huge leaves when dried furnished
a roofing for adobe huts; it's stems
still supply fuel, and rows of the sharp
spined plants afforded an impenetrable
defense against the attacks of wild
animals as well as an effective barri-
cade against hostile tribes.
"Mescal and pulque are not, as many
believe, different names for the same
drink Mescal is distilled from the
leaves and roasted roots of the plant,
and is a sort of brandy, containing
from a third to half as much alcohol
as the average American whisky.
Pulque. on the other hand, is the fer
mented sap of the plant and is OBJ
tanned from the heart of the maguey.
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

or agave, when it has attained
growth of six or eight years The
pulque harvester taps this heart, which
might be compared with the center Of
the date palm, and with the aid Of
long reed or gourd he sucks the sap
from it, using his tongue as stopper
for the reed. When the reed is full.
he blows it into pigskin container
strapped to his back. In the course OF
four or five months the maguey will
yield ten gallons. of sap. 1t then
withers and dies. When fresh. pulque
is a sweet. innocuous liquid,
Neither mescal nor pulque is ex'
pensive. One can get drink OF the
latter for cent, while 14-gallon casH
of the famous tequila brand of mescal
may be had for 10 pesos $3.50.
1.-THE Mexicans surround the discov'
cry of these maguey beverages Win
a legend of royal romance. Long De-
fore the Montezumas held sway over
Tenochtitlan, so the story goes, one
of the early emperors took as his DIlu9
the beautiful daughter of vanqulSheu
foe. The princess brought with her 10
Tenochtitlan the secret of a renlarA,
able drink of which her lord anu
master grew Unfortunately fond. Al'e4
imbibing freely of it he would becolno
gratifyingly docile and torpid, leaving
the princess free to her own devices
Other Aztec wives induced the pTlN
cess to share with them the secret u
this strange soporific and thus tHo
whole race came under the power u
pulque.
1.-THE Aztec cannot be charged WIN
the invention of the nauseous nlHH
pulque, a compound of pulque anu
milk with a dash of rennet. the To-"
net, part of a cows compound slom
ach, is partially putrefied and the QUIZ
thus impaired is intensified and CON-
plicated by that of the pigsk'n ~
which the liquor is contained.
alibi which defenders of the Aztec eau
offer against the charge of being par!
to this olfactory crime is that Ot-O-o
the Spaniards reached Mexico lne.
were no cattle, horses or DONKEY -
the country, hence no rennet.
"Pulque cannot be shipped ou1 -
the country because no method OF p,
serving it has been discovered SO -
vast output of the extensive PIN
tions-it is the most important lnu-,
try of the states of Hidalgo, Men, :.
Puebla and Tlaxcala-is consume ons
home. Mexico consumes $4'V''''
worth Of pulque annually.
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

An effort has been made by friends
of the young man and by his famlyO
obtain a pardon for him, but up to the
present time | understand that it has
been unavailing.
During the course of the trial
great many people got the idea that |
had been employed by the insurance
companies, on account of the thirty
thousand dollars worth of insurance
that Mr.. Collins had carried. 1t was
believed that the companies had hired
me to fix the crime upon the son in
order to avoid having to make the
payment. l need hardly say that there
was no truth in this suggestion. The
people who employed me in this case
were citizens of Topeka and lodge
friends of the murdered man. and
were in no way connected with the
insurance companies interested in the
case, but were merely acting as good
and law-abiding citizens. Just as
soon as succeeded in satisfying them,
by showing them my evidence, that
John Collins was the murderer of his
father, they turned the evidence over
to the proper authorities, and his ar
rest followed.
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

The conclusion at which the police
arrived was that the murderer must
have obtained key to the house, by
means of which he gained admission
to the premises, and that, after hav-
ing shot Mr.. Collins, he escaped, going
up the main stairs from the lower hall
to the second floor, then proceeding
along the hall on this story to the win
dow at the end, cutting the wire
screen and springing out of the win
dow upon the roof of the one-story adj
dition, and thence to the ground, a dis
lance of ten or twelve feet, thus eff
fecting his escape.
On my arrival proceeded to make a
thorough examination of the premises.
/ interviewed the widow and the son
and daughter Mrs. Collins, who was
the second wife of the murdered man,
was between thirty-six and forty years
of age, Of the brunette type, rather
above the medium height, and inclin-
ed to be slender. She was very at
tractive and was considered a good
looking woman, intelligent and re-
fined. In fact, the atmosphere of the
entire household was that met with
among the best class of prosperous cit
liens.
After having spent four days in my
Investigations, l came to the conclu-
sion that the murder had been COM
mitted by some member of the house
hold and that the murderer had not
entered from without. Various rea-
sons combined to bring me to this de-
cision. The chief among them was
the fact hat Mr.. Collins had been kill
ed with his own shotgun, and that the
murderer had shown familiarity with
the manner in which this weapon was
kept, and with its place of disposition.
This shotgun was high-priced fire
arm, and always kept carefully by
Mr. Collins in a fine leather case,
which was usually placed on the upper
shelf of clothes closet in his bed.
room. This closet, which was unus.
ually large, extended from the floor to
the ceiling, and formed almost an en-
tire side to the room. The ceiling OF
this room was exceptionally high, sc
that person of ordinary size coulC
| not have reached the shelf on which
the gun was kept without the use Of
step-ladder, which had certainly not
been used by the murderer 1t might
possibly have been reached, however
by tall man while standing on a
high table in the bedroom.
Mr.. Collins had not used this gun
for several months before his murder
1t had always been his custom, after
making use of the weapon, to clean ii
thoroughly, take it apart, and pack il
in the leather case. The murderer
therefore, had not only to take down
the gun from the shelf, but also to put
it together and load it with a she'll
which was also to be found among a
quantity of ammunition on the high
shelf. All of these operations could
not have been accomplished by any
person entering from the outside OF
the house, even had he been acquaint
ed with the place where the gun was
kept. On the other hand, it would
have been easy for any of the inmates
Of the house to have taken the gun
from the shelf on the day preceding
the murder, or several days before
Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-06-09

In the spring of the year 1898, be.
ing then in st. Louis, where had
opened a private detective agency,
received a telegraphic dispatch from
q number of influential citizens of To-
peka, Kan, asking me TO proceed to
that city Immediately for the purpose
of investigating sensational murder
which had been committed there, dis
covering the murderer and bringing
him to justice. l complied with this
request at once, and arrived at Topeka
on the third morning after the crime
had been committed. l found the en-
tire community discussing the affair,
which had greatly shocked the city.
The slain man had been one of the
most influential citizens of Topeka. He
had been killed while sleeping beside
his wife, the weapon used being shot
gun, and one or two of the pellets had
struck his wife's shoulder, making
slight, though painful, wounds.
Mr.. Collins had been a prominent
insurance and real estate man of the
Kansas capital, where he had lived
for many years. He was we'll known
throughout the state. His death oc-
Cured in his fifty-sixth year, and he
left two children, daughter, and a
son named John. He occupied COM
Portable house.
John Collins, the only son, was a
student at the state university in Law
renee, where he was being prepared
for the ministry He had been there
for 4wo or three years at the time of
his fathers murder, and his period OF
study had therefore almost expired.
He boarded at the school, and oeca-
sionally paid a visit to his father S
home in Topeka, usually on Sundays
and holidays. He had just passed his
twenty-first birthday, and was about
five feet nine inches tall, with a fair
complexion and light brown hair, well
built, pleasing in manner, and alto
gether a very prepossessing young fell
low.
The daughter was also above the
medium height, nice looking, intelli
gent and well educated
The Collins home, which stood on 6
fine residential thoroughfare, was dis
turbed early one morning by the dis
charge of a gun in the sleeping-roou
occupied by Mr.. Collins and his wife
which was situated on the GROUND
floor The son, who was in the house
and the daughter, as well as the hired
girl, rushed into the room in agita
ton, to find that the father had beer
killed instantaneously. while his wife
as stated, had been slightly wounded
by some of the shot. John Collin;
dressed himself as quickly as possible
and aroused the nearest neighbors
1t was then little after daybreak.
Both John and his sister occupied
rooms on the second floor of the house
All the windows were screened with
wire, and the doors of the house were
all intact and carefully locked When
the police arrived, however, their ex.
animation Of the premises disclosed
the fact that window screen in the
rear of the house and on the second
floor had been cut, leaving a hole
large enough for the passage of a hui
man body. This window was situated
Immediately above a one-story addi-
tion to the main building in the rear.
Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-08
Toilet Goods Department

GARWOODS DEW KIST TALCUI, three odors, value 25c-
 CLEARANCE PRICE 200 15c BABCOCKs CORYLOP- SIS TALCUM-
 CLEARANCE PRICE lie A LARGE GAN OF TALCUL POWDER, three odors-
 CLEARANCE PRICE 90 DICKENSON'S Y B L L O w LABEL WITCH HAZEL, value 25c a pint
 CLEARANCE PRICE 1sc 10c OLIVILO SOAP
 CLEARANCE PRICE 7c DERMA VIVA LIQUID BEAU TIFTER, pink, flesh or white,
 CLEARANCE PRICE eso PURE BLEACH ABSORB ENT COTTON, value 25c a roll
 CLEARANCE PRICE 1sc TOOTH BRUSHES AT SALE 121ac Brushes. flor Sc 17c Brushes. es............., for 121Ac 19c Brushes. s..-.............fo for 15e 35c Brushes. s................fo flor 25e soc Brushes hes.-.".............f ..for 39c
Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-08
ERNIANS.

, Further arrangements were conplet- ed for the state parade of the A o. IT. which will be held in AIiddletown Aug. ! 22 at a joint committee meeting of the two local divisions and the New Lon don divisions held Friday evening in the committee room in F'oresters' hall The joint committee consists of the following: State President William T. : May, New London; George M. Kenne- dy, New London; Alderman Thomas President Cornelius DonOhue, Mystic; John P. Murphy, M. J. Dwyer, Patrick Barry, J. w. Burke, J. F. NcVeigh, F. J. Murtha, all of this city.
 The local divisions have hired Tubbs' band. On next Friday evening the county board of New London county and Ladies auxiliary board will meet to complete all arrangements for the parade.
 The state parade, which was voted for by 9 large majority of divisions will be the big day for the society, and as the order only holds. these parades every four years 1t becomes the duty of the members to take a personal interest in their success. The parade will start promptly at Il o'clock a. m. and every division should be on time.
 The state board of off cers have met with the committee of Middletown sev- eral times and the reports made to the board have convinced them that Mid dletown will have the biggest turnout the A. O. 1T. and Ladies auxiliary ever held in the state.
Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-08
Dress Goods Department

~>S SSS >ASOSAS @~ k~S~A SN~@NA~S GREY SUITINGS, very neat, yard-wide suitings-
 CLEARANCE PRICE 39o ALL-WOOL sERGEs, all good colors and a yard wide
 CLEARANCE PRICE 49c BLACK-AND- WHITE SHEEP HERD CHECKS 59c quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE 4so 75c quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE 59o $1.O0 quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE 7so S1.50 quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE $1.29 PLAID DRESS GOODS FOR 55o-A yard wide and there are three sizes of plaids-
 CLEARANCE PRICE 55c STORM SERGE, 48 inches wide, in navy, brown, green and
 CLEARANCE PRICE s8o BLACK FANCY WEAVEs- 75c quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE 49o $1O0 quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE e9o s1.25 quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE a9o $1.5O quality
 CLEARANCE PRICE $1.19