The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-01-27
\ Queer Case
Of Suicide
By WILLIAM BRAKEMAN

am q Russian with name so I'M
pronounceable by English speaking PEG
plo that call myself Hawks. My real
reason for assuming a name was that
I was implicated In an assassination
scheme, was given away by a fellow
c0nspirator and fed the country before
the police could lay a hand ON me.
Being informed that the Russian gov
eminent had put the American police
on my track with a trumped up charge
OF embezzlement In order to secure my
extradition. / took another name. i
was very poor. and. not daring to re-
main In one place long enough to gain
q foothold by work, / adopted the pro-
fession Of tramp.
During my wanderings fell In with
q 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 t.
gain living We became very goo6
friends and tramped together-that is.
we slept In the same places at night
ghimsky-that is the name he gave
me--finally fell sick. We were camp
Ing in a wood at the time, and, since
he objected to going to a hospital, !
made him as comfortable as l couiu.
provided for his necessities and nursed
him. Had realized how Ill he was i
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 70.
throwing the police of my track oc-
CURED to me. / ran a 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 ximanowsky
alias James Hawks a Russian. who wal
implicated in the Ivanovitch assassination
In Russia He has been killed by one o
his own countrymen. a kinsman of tn.
man he assassinated
left the body unburied and set of
tramping A week later was arrest
ed while passing through a small towl
and charged with murder. had beer
seen in company with Shimsky, an{
the local police had been put on m!
track.
Here was dilemma was wantet
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 O
myself. As Ximanowsky / was dea'
and could not be killed any more; a
Ehimsky l would be tried for my owl
murder, and there was every chanc
that / would be convicted If so
would be punished for killing a dea
man.
However, thus far my ruse in throw
ing the police off the track of the ma
wanted in Russia was successful TIL
very prominence that the case wa
given In the newspapers helped thi
feature, for those hired by the Rus
sian government to arrest me seein
an account of how l had been mul
dered abandoned the pursuit, sendin
an account of my demise to Russia.
I could get off from the charges c
having murdered myself my trouble
would be ended But how could hop
to do this without telling the whol
story and being taken to Russia as m!
self?
Not being able to employ an attorne
TO defend me the court assigned n
one. l explained the situation to hin
He believed my story and at once toe
a deep interest In my case, remarkin
This Is the prettiest problem hay
met since l became a lawyer" The
he left me to think out plan to clet
me without giving away my true cha
acfer.
There was one point in my favor
those who had been pursuing me 4
the Russian government had bee
eliminated so long as was not know
to be their quarry. On this fact n
counsel banked. The day after he lie
me a man came to my cell and asks
me to write a statement as to whel
was at the time my murder Wi
committed did 80. claiming to ha'
left the murdered man two days befo
he died, but that / couldn't exactly I
member where had been for the ne
few days.
Ny trial came of soon after this
did not see my counsel in the mea
while and wondered why he had n
visited me, fearing that he had fall
20 hit upon plan for my defens
When was led into court, howeve
be smiled at me. as much as to ga
Don't worry; 1t will come out ,
right" He called the man to who
had given the statement and ask
him If he had seen me write it Thu
he called a woman who had befrien
ed me and to whom l had sent a t
ding gift with a letter. This letter
had signed James Hawks.
"Your honor" said my counsel, IT
client has been accused of killing hi
self. which Is impossible. l ask for
quashing Of the indictment and tn
he be set at liberty"
The judge took the matter under g
wauaxno0f hY,t INV COUNSEL xrho foa =