Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-09-24
DROWNING !

slightly changed the essential. and
conflicting. points:
One group OF fishermen, accord
ing to Commonwealth Attorney
Roland d. Cooke, watched two per-
sons struggling in the water, land
when one Of them was down you
couldn't hear anything and when
both OF them were above the water
you could hear screams"
Other fishermen who watched
from about a quarter Of a mile and
partly support Prof. Kane, say the
man pulled the woman to the beach,
laid her down twice and shouted
and waved as though trying to at
tract attention.
Kane's own story Is that he was
Swimming about 200 yards away
WIEN his wife dived In shallow
water and called for help. He says
he found her in eight feet Of wat
cr and tried to revive he. The
prosecutor says the water along the
edge OF the rocks was only about
three feet deep, scarcely a depth
for diving.
All say that he placed his wife
In an auto and rushed her to a
hospital.
The case revolved on such testi-
nony as to the physical facts until
Coroner George X. Vanderslice, In
opposing bail for Prot. Kane, play
ed his trump card. He produced
an endearing letter which he said
had been written 70 Prof. Kane on
Sept. I by a New York woman
signing herself as "E. II. D." and
declared that there was another
letter from the same woman which
said "a little nerve and a very lit
tie time" were all he needed 10
sget rid" of his wife.
A few hours later the coroner re-
turned a verdict OF "premeditated
murder" citing the love letters as
the motive.
The youthful ,llege professor.
who has for two years headed the
romance languages department al
the University OF TenneSs, :, Knox
vile, arrived here the day before
the tragedy. His wife had been
here with her parents, Mr.. and
Mrs. w. G. Graham of Hilton VII
la9c,A since June /. He had taught
invSummer school at Knoxville I'M
til late in August and then gone to
Fort Bragg. N. c., to attend camp
rs q major in the reserve corps.
Prof. Kane's own case is hardly
less interesting than the story OF
his family. for his Pennsylvania
forebears for several generations
have figured in colorful dramas.
They were pioneers in the vicinity
OF what is now the enterprising
little mountain town Of Kane. Pa.
His great-uncle. for whom he was
named, was Elisha Kent Kane, the
arctic explorer whose adventures in
the Far North-the discovery of
Grinnell Land of the Humboldt
Glacier, the relief expedition in
search OF Sir John Franklin's i'll
fated English expedition. the plant
ing of the Amo lean flag in the
then most northern lands OF the
0uy--dIt ulStOIe-
His grandfather. a brother of
this sturdy explorer, was General
Thomas Lciper Kane of Civil War
fame who laid out the town OF Kane
IN the wilds Of northwestern Penn
xvlvania. In April, 1861. he raised
a regiment of hunters and loggers
known as the Pennsylvania Buck
tails" who fought In some Of the
hardest battles Of the war.
A"Bucktail" Kane was a fire-eating
fighter whose Pennsylvania back
woodsmen were as daring as he.
Absent on sick leave at the begin
ming OF the Battle Of Gettysburg.
he hastened to Washington for or
ders. took to General Meade in
formation that the federal tele-
graphic code was known to the
Confederates. joined his brigade
and entered the fray.
An example of the pluck OF the
Kanes is found in his early life. AS
4 young American military attache
in Paris. he fought a duel with a
Frenchman. He W knew the
meaning of the word fear.
The old generals son-Prof.
Kane's father Is ~7l-year-old DR..
Evan O'Neill Kane. the first sur
reon IN history to remove his own
appendix. He did this at his own
hospital ct Kane summit Pa 10