The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1916-04-06
A Queer Case
Of Suicide
By WILLIAM BRAKEMAN

pronounceable by English speaking PEG.
pie that call myself Hawks. My real
reason for assuming name was that
was implicated in al assassination
scheme, was given away by fellow
conspirator and fed the country before
the police could lay hand on me.
Being Informed that the Russian gov
eminent had put the American police
on my track with trumped up charge
Of embeZzlement in order to secure my
extradition, l took another name. l
was very poor, and, not daring to re-
main in one place long enough to gain
a fOothold by work, l adopted the pro-
fession Of tramp. ..
During my wanderings fell in with
man who much resembled me. He
was an Austrian Pole who had come
to this country to better his condition,
but had not succeeded. He had be-
come a tramp, like myself, in order to
gain u living. We became very, good
friends and trampcd together-that is,
we slept in the same places at night.
Shimsky--that is the name he gave
me-finally fell sick. We were camp
Ing in wood at the time, and, since
he objected to going to a hospital, l
made him as comfortable as l could,
provided for his necessities and nursed
him. Had realized how i'll he was l
would not have consented to this.
One night Shimsky grew suddenly
worse and died in the early morning.
While looking on the body, considering
what action should take, noticing his
resemblance to myself, a plan for
throwing the police off my track oc-
Cured to me. / ran knife into his
heart, spattered blood from my own
arm on his shirt and pinned to his
clothing a paper on which had writ
ten the following:
This is the body of Paul UNANIMOUSLY,
alias James Hawks, Russian, who was
Implicated in the Ivanovftch assassination
In Russia. He has been killed by one OF
his own countrymen, kinsman OF the
man he asSaSSinated.
left the body unburied and set off
tramping. A week later l was arrest
ed while passing through small town
and charged with murder. l had been
seen in company with Shimsky, and
the local police had been put on my
track.
Here was q dilemma. l was wanted
by one set of police to be sent to Rus
STA to be tried for the murder Of Ivano-
witch and.by another for the murder Of
myself. AS Ximanowsky l was dead
and could not. be killed any more; as
Shimsky I would lie tried for my own
murder, and there was every chance
that I would be convicted. If so
would be punished for killing dead
man.
However, thus far my ruse in throw
ing the police off the track of the man
wanted in Russia was successful. The
very prominence that the case was
given in the newspapers helped this
feature. for those hired by the Rus
sian government to arrest me seeing
an account of how 1 had been muir
dered abandoned the pursuit, sending
an account Of my demise to Russia. If
1 could get off from the charges Of
having murdered myself my troubles
would be ended. But how could hope
to do this without telling the whole
story and being taken to Russia as my
self?
Not being able to employ an attorney
to defend me the court assigned me
one. explained the situation to him.
He believed my story and at once took
a deep interest in my case, remarking,
'.This is the prettiest problem l have
met since became a lawyer Then
he left me to think out a plan to clear
me without giving away my true char
acter.
There was one point in my favor
those who had been pursuing me for
the Russian government had been
eliminated so long as was not known
to be their quarry. On this fact my
counsel banked. The day after he left
me man came to my cell and asked
me to write statement as to where
l was at the time my murder was
I did So claiming to have
left the murdered man two days before
he died, but that couldn't exactly re-
member where had been for the next
few days.
Ny trial came off soon after this. l
did not see my counsel in the mean
while and wondered why he had not
visited me, fearing that he had failed
to hit upon plan for my defense.
When 1 was led into court, however,
he smiled at me, as much as to say,
"Don't worry; it will come out all
right He called the man to whom
l had given the statement and asked
him if he had seen me write it. Then
he called woman who had befriend-
ed me and to whom had sent tri-
fling gift with letter. This letter i
had signed James Hawks.
"Your honor" said my counsel, my
client has been accused of killing him
self, which is impossible. I ask for a
quashing Of the indictment and that
he be set at liberty
rho i,,1ro tOOk tho matter under ad.