The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1918-01-04
MAIDEN OFFICER
SLAYER ONCE In
INSANE ASYLUM
Lewis H. Weissmann, Who
Shot Marshal St. Clair
Believed Insane.
WILL RECOVER FROM
WOUND, DOCTOR SAYS
Slayer Shot by Mob.-Announce-
ment lie Was Dying Made
to Pacify Crowd.


= KENNETH, MO. Dec. 22-Loui:
: H. Weis.nan, who is held here in the
county jail after having shot and xii.
: ed Shep St. C1air. city marshal of Nal
den Friday morning, and who was HIM
self dangerously wounded by one Of
the mob that stormed the city pail in
Maiden late Friday evening, has d
chance for recovery according to the
diagnoses Of Dr. J. S. Shivers IN .
I statement to Prosecuting Attorney
George Smith this evening. Weiss
J mann was shot under tie right arm
the bullet piercing his lungs and en-
erging be-ow the rios on the LEFT side.
! Doubt; as to his mental condition
have now arisen since it became known
that he rad been in an insane asyluta
/ several years ago. He made this
statement 10 the prosecuting attorney
! this afternoon during a cross examit-
alton into his past life. He emphati-
Cally denied that he was disloyal or
THAT he WAS ii any way connected VITA
tho German Government. He said he
! did not know what could have prompt
cd him 10 make the disloyal utterances
accredited to him by those who had
asked the city marshal of Maiden 70
arrest him on these charges. He ex-
pi;;ned ne might have made the re-
mark in an attack Of mental weakness
! resulting from an injury to his head,
which caused his being confined in
the asylum several years ago.
Having partly recovered from the
fever resulting from the cerious wound
Wcissmann was able to make mora
coherent statement to the prosecuting
attorney this eeHing. He said he for
melly lived in Havannah, Ill. bat had
left that city about two years ago to
travel with q wild west show. He went
through Texas and seeral other states +!
in the south before coming to Dunk !
lin County.
According to his statement he VOL
ked for a number of farmers near
Campbell, but during the latter part
of the harvest seasOnleft that town and
found employment on farms around
Maiden. The maps Of the northern
section o: Dunklin County, which were
found in his possession, he said. had
been drawn by himself for the purjose |
of getting the location of the farms III
Dun1lin County, where he believed he |
could get work during the winter. The !
maps showed diagram Of the noItl-
ern section Of Dunklin County giving |
the location of the country roads ami /
farms located on these highways.
Prosecuting Attorney Smith has
started ali investigation to ascertain /
whether the statement of WeisSmann
can be verified. He said he would
lay the matter before the United q
States government in the event any
thing would be found to bring any
disloyalty charges against the man
in addition to the one based the re-
marks he made to the Red Cross wor-
kers in Maiden, who had asked for
his arrest before he shot the Maiden
marshal.
Weissmann was wounded while in
the city Jail at Maiden awaiting his
transfer to the county Jail on a charge
of murder in the first. degree. The
mob which gathered quickly aftec
Weissmann had been brought back tJ
Maiden by the posse was seeming V
pacified by the prosecuting authorities
of Dunklin County, but when the
sheriff and his deputies left the Jail
the mob broke down the Jail door bent
on lynching the slayer of the Maiden
marshal.
OhiS SIic ~ |
the prosecuting attorney that Weiss
mann would die of the wound saved
him from the hands of the mob, when
WeiSsmsnn was taken from the city
jail to the railroad station to be trans
ferred to the county Jail. This was
admitted by Prosecuting Attorney
Smith this evening to have been the
ruse TO outwit the mob, although the