Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1922-09-08
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tory Of Mrs. Henrietta Robinson tn
palpably assumed name Of the woma
& whose body rests beneath the nun
) bered headstone at Mattewan, is tina
; she was OF either English or Canadian
I origin and that she came to Troy, n
Y. in 1851, being always well sup
piled with funds from source whicl
remained concealed even during thu
: rigid investigation which followed he
arrest on the charge or murder
Some months after Mrs. Robinson
settled In Troy q strange and appar
entity inexplicable tragedy occurred
A merchant and young woman who
was living with his family dropped
dead at the table. A post-mortem ex'
animation showed that they had been
poisoned and despite the absence OF
motive, Mrs. Robinson" who had
been present, was arrested, but re-
fused to say word even to her law
yer.
To add to the air OF mystery which
surrounded the entire case, the de-
PENDANT insisted upon appearing In
court shrouded In heavy black veil
which efrectually concealed her fea-
lures. All during the trial she sat,
impassive and unmoved, apparently
taking not the slightest interest In the
conduct Of the proceedings. When the
state had concluded its case, conf
paratlvely fllmsy structure of circum-
stantial evidence, the counsel for the
defense arose and, admitting that he
had not a shred of direct evidence to
offer, introduced the plea Of insanity.
At the conclusion of the trial and
before delivering his charge to the
jury, the presiding Judge called atten-
tion to the fact that no one In the
court had seen the defendants face
and requested Mrs. Robinson" to lift
her veil.
Slowly and with great dignity she
arose. but made no effort to comply
with the courts request.
81 am here" she stated, in a voice
which penetrated to every corner Of
the crowded courtroom, ito undergo
a most painful ordesl, not to be
gazed at"
The request was nov repeated and, |
after a elaboration Of several hours,
the jury returned verdict Of |
"Guilty" and the prisoner was SEN |
fenced to death-a decree which was
ater committed to life Imprisonment |
by order Of the governor, though not
before Mrs Robinson had made her
,ne formal statement Is the shadow
If the gallows:
When 1 am dead" she declared,
all will die with me. J. have prom
sed to be silent, to die without be-
raging anything"
The first Is years Of ker life sen
ence were passed in Sing Sing peni-
entIary. She was then moved to the
Auburn State Prison for the Insane,
where she remained for II years, and
nally to the Asylum of the CriminaIly
insane at Mattewan, where the woman
f mystery finally died on May 4, 1905,
fter So years in prison. During all
mis- time, however, she never wrote a
stter nor spoke word, save to her
lwyer who visited her at regular in
ervices had been paid for by certain
lfuential persopages" whom he was
OF at liberty to name.
All that was known of Henrietta
Johnson" was that she played the
ryan ut Sing Sing with the touch of
master musician and that she died
S she had lived-in silence, utter and
Dsolute, leaving as q heritage some
the most puzzling questions in the
STORY Of criminal proceedings:
What was the woman's real name
nd where had she come from?
Had she poisoned the merchant and
IS young guest and, if so, with what
olive?
Why had she insisted upon conceal
G her face during the trial?
If she were innocent, why did she
fuse for more than half century
make any plea for leniency?
What did she. mean by her state
ent that she had promised to be
lent, to die without betrnying any !,
ing?"
Who supplied the funds with which
e lawyer was paid?
The answers to these and as many q
ore uNsHved riddles connected with )
is woman of mystery lie concealed q
meath that simple headpiece in the n
,tter's field nj Mattcwan. head.
one bearing only the number "SS." 4