The Enid Democrat. (Enid, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 62, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 21, 1896 Page: 1 of 8
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The Enid Democrat.
VOL. TV.
ENID, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, SATURDAY, NOV. 21,1896.
NO K
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LIVES IN A FOREST.
ROMANCE OF A WOMAN HER-
MIT'S LIFE.
Her Tfuglmml Was Convicted oT it Mur-
der of Which He Wan Innocent—
The Deed Done by a Rejected Lover
—A l>ea(li Bed Confession.
(Bardstown (Ky.), Letter.)
LOG cabin sit-
uated in the depths
of an almost un-
broken forest, 12
miles east ot this
place, near the
Rolling Fork river,
in Was hington
county, is an ob-
ject ot interest, it
being the home ot'
Mrs. Polly Blake,
known throughout the section in
which she dwells as the "Woman Her-
mit." The story ot her life would fur-
nish the material for a thrilling novel.
For fifty years Mrs. Blake has lived
in this lonely cabin, her only com-
panion being a dog and a couple of
cats.
In 1835 Polly Andrews was a lovely
girl living with her parents on a
farm near Springfield, Ky. They were
well-to-do, respectable people, and Pol-
ly, being an unusually pretty girl, in-
dustrious, modest and amiable, natur-
ally had many suitors for her hand.
Among them was one Stephen Letton,
a prosperous young farmer of the
neighborhood. This man was conceded
to be Polly's accepted sweetheart.
The Andrews residence was situated
near the public highway, and travelers
were frequently entertained there.
During the summer of 1835 a stranger
giving his name as Thomas Blake,
stopped over night with the Andrews.
He stated that he was from Boyle
county, and was in quest of mules,
which he was buying; for the southern
market. He was a handsome man, and
to all appearances a gentleman of high
standing. An attachment sprang up
between him and Poily, which resulted
in marriage in the spring of 1836, not
before Mr. Andrews had, however, sat-
isfied himself that Blake was all he
had represented himself to be.
After the wedding Blake took up
his residence with his father-in-law,
and strange as it may seem, a strong
began to fail, and her husband de-
cided to take her on a southern trip.
The detectives followed them. When-
ever Blake paid a hotel bill or offered
money for any purpose the officer se-
cured the bank note which had been
in the former's possession. Finally the
shadowed man paid out a twenty-dol-
lar bill which had a red mark in one
corner. The detective immediately ar-
rested him.
At the trial the torn wrapper, wit;
its smear of blood, was identified ao
having been in the drover's posses-
sion. The bank note which had been
traced to Blake was also shown. The
stain of blood on the wrapper corre-
sponded precisely with the mark on
the bank note. A strong magnifying
glass revealed unerringly that the
murderer's thumb, in tearing open the
envelope had touched the topmost bank
note. Blake stoutly protested his inno-
cence, averring that the blood-stained
money had been paid him by Stephen
Letton; that he (Blake) had plenty of
money without resorting to robbery
and murder; that the drover and him-
self were the best of friends, and he
could have no motive to murder him.
A thorough search was made for Let-
w
k
A TOUCH OF NATURE.
WHEN ONE REFLECTS ON
HELEN KELLER'S CASE.
Deaf. Dumb an<l Blind She Has at ti"'
App of Sixteen rawed the Kill ranre
Examination to Harvard College Her
Noble Benefuetoress.
(Cambridge Letter.)
1IOUSANDS of
Americans, reading
the brilliant suc-
cess of Helen Kel-
ler in passing the
entrance examina-
tion of Harvard
University, have
made an effort to
realize for a mo-
ment all that is im-
plied by this
achievement of this most wonderful
girl of sixteen. They have recalled
that she is deaf and dumb and blind
and that she has been so since her
joke with a girlish laugh lhat is very
contagious All these things you no-
tice within five minute* after your
meeting with her. Then, as she talks
oil, you begin to study her more in de-
tail, and this Is what you see:
A well-formed, graceful girl ot six-
teen, in a perfectly plain dark blue
gown that comes to the tops of hei'
shoes in schoolgirl fashion. The shoes
are well made and well fitting, with
good, thick soles and low, sensible
heels. Above them you see an Inch of
dark blue stockings under the plain,
full skirt. The waist of her dress fits
loosely, and there are no suggestions
of corsets or of tight bands about the
young girl's waist or neck. The collar
of her gown rolls back, leaving her
throat bare, and the little puffed
sleeves she wears end well above the
wrist to permit free play of her won-
derful hands. Those hands deserve a
chapter to themselves. Their white-
ness and delicacy and beauty of shape
are delights to the eye. and the extra-
ordinary sensitiveness of their finger-
tips cannot be imagined by one who
has only the usual sense of touch,
These finger-tips, resting lightly on
babyhood; that she lived for years in . _
an abyss of darkness and silence and j the lips of her friends, carry to elen
loneliness; that she did not know Keller's mind the messages from the
HER CABIN IN THE WOODS,
ton, but he could not be found, and
Blake was given a life sentence in the
penitentiary. Mrs. Blake never doubt-
ed her husband's innocence, and after
his imprisonment made repeated ef-
forts to secure his pardon, but they
were of no avail, and ten years after
his conviction Blake died of consump-
tion.
A few j'ears after the death of her
husband Mrs. Blake received a letter
bearing the postmark of San Francisco,
Cal. It was signed by a notary public
and a minister of the gospel. The
contents of the letter were remarkable.
It stated that Stephen Letton was fa-
tally wounded in a bar-room brawl and
had made a death-bed confession, in
which he stated that he had murdered
a drover in Kentucky, and had caused
the crime to be fastened on Blake, be-
cause he had deprived him of the girl
who had promised to be his wife. His
motives were purely those of revenge
and now, being about to die, he de-
sired to make what reparation lay it.
his power.
Shortly after this Mrs. Blake's pa
rents died, and having spent her means
in her husband's behalf she retired to
the lonely log cabin to finish her days
in solitude.
where she was nor what nor why, until
out of the chaos a human hand was
stretched to her, and the apparently
hopeless work of communicating with
her was begun; that today she stands
where that hand has placed her—still
deaf, still blind, hut in all other re-
spects equal to girls of her age and
head and shoulders above the majority
of them intellectually; that her greatest
ambition is to go through college, and
that this ambition Is about to be real-
ized.
These are the facts. They are too
stupendous to come home to one with
world in which she lives, unseeing and
unhealing. They do more than this,
for they keep her in touch with the in-
tellectual life. She reads German,
French and English with her fingers
resting on the raised letters of the
books which have been published for
her. Her hands are never still for an
instant; one of them is usually clasped
in that of Miss Sullivan, the teacher,
who is no less a marvel than her won-
derful pupil. If Miss Sullivan moves
away, Helen follows her. and if the
teacher's hands are busy the pupil
rests her own palm lightly on the oth-
MRS. POLLY BLAKE.
Intimacy was formed between him and
young Letton, Polly's rejected lover. If
Letton felt any resentment at his treat-
ment by the young lady, he gave no
evidence of it, but continued on the
most friendly terms with the whole
family.
In the autumn following Polly's mar-
riage to Blake, Letton sold his prop-
erty and announced hiB intention of
emigrating to what is now West Vir-
ginia, alleging he had purchased an
interest in a coal mine there. About
this time Blake decided to return to
Boyle county to settle up some unfin-
ished business, and then to journey to
eastern Kentucky in search of mules.
As Letton's route led him in that
direction the two men decided to trav-
el together. After tarrying near Dan-
ville a few days the friends continued
their journey. On arriving in Boyle
county they repaired to the home of a
wealthy droVer, with whom Blake had
frequently transacted business, and
here the travelers separated. Before
Letton took his leave of Blake, how-
ever, he borrowed from the latter a
sum of money, which he promised to
repay on reaching his destination,
clais.(S«.4! that his money had all been
invested there.
The night following Blake's depar-
ture from the drover's house in Boyle
county, it was entered by an assassin,
who killed the inmates and secured a
package containing $1,800 in bank
notes. In order to conceal his crime
the murderer set fire to the house. The
building burned slowly, and the neigh-
bors were enabled to extinguish the
flames and discover the murderous
work which had been done. The assas-
sin, before leaving the yard, had torn
open the wrapper on the package of
money and flung it on the ground. This
was picked up by the officers of the
law, and marks of blood were found
upon it. This was the only clue in
their possession.
Shortly after Blake's return to
Springfield he received the money
which Letton owed him. Detectives
suspected Blake of murdering the
QUEEN OF BEAUTY.
A .Jerseyville, Illinois, Girl Who Won in
a Recent Contest.
(Jerseyville, 111., Letter.)
The Daily Democrat held a contest
by coupon vote for the prettiest un-
married lady over 16 in Jerseyville.
Great interest was taken in the con-
test and on Saturday night the voting
closed. On counting the votes it was
found that Miss Alice Egelhoff was the
winner. Miss Egelhoff Is the daugh-
ter of Mr. and Mrs. George Egelhoff,
THE MURDER RECORD
FIENDISH DEEDS DONE BY
SATAN'S SLAVES.
Treasurer Marsh of the rape Ann Nai-
liiB" llauk Kills Himself In Despair
Denver Mali Confesses t o Heinous
Crimes Oilier Mad Deeds.
HE attention of the
police has been
called to a couple
of young men who
have worked Tole-
do in the interest
of what appears to
be a cold blooded
crime. They were
well supplied with
money, and were
evidently desirous
<rf securing information relative to a
woman who could easily be induced to
leave the city. They gave it out at
first that they were going to start a
swell boarding house. But their real
mission developed when they had
shipped Myrtle Dean, Millie Capner,
Eva Gray and Mary Williams to Chi-
cago, buying tickets for them at Mus-
kegon, Mich. They induced Nellie
Parineter and Rose Elliott to go to
the same place III Chicago. Little sus-
picion was attached to their visit and
operations until a traveling man rec-
ognized one of them as a man who
was run out of Omaha. He is recog-
nized as one of the leaders of a gang
of insurance company defrauders who
has operated in the west for several
years. Their plan Is a terrible one. In
Chicago, their headquarters, they take
out heavy insurance policies on the
lives of the women members of the
gang. The woman's life being once
insured, she goes away from home.
She sends no word back to the man
posing as her husband, and in time de-
tectives are employed to search for
her. The result Is that a body is
found that tallies very closely with that
of the body of the missing woman
when she disappeared. It Is believed
the women sent to Chicago were to be
employed as substitute bodies after the
old scheme worked by this man In the
west, and which hae come to light on
several occasions in Chicago within the
last three years.
HELEN KELLER.
ALICE EGELHOFF.
old residents of Jerseyville. nnd a gen
nine Jerseyville girl, having been born
reared and educated there. She has
brown eyes and hair, fair complexiot
and regular features; a flgrre of me
dium height, prettily rounded and
graceful. But her personal charms nc
portriat can reveal—a sincere am
gentle manner and a disposition ol
irresistible sweetness. Miss Egelhofl
is a home girl, devoted to her agiii{
parents, whose Joy she Is.
FiiIkc Wine Label*.
Judge Caldwell of the United Statei
Circuit Court of Appeals has just de-
cided nt San Francisco that it is frail
V
drover, because he was known to have dulent to put a foreign brand or labe
been intimate with him, and had
stopped at his home shortly before the
commission of the crime. Consequent-
ly he was kept under constant surveil-
lance for four months.
In the meantime Mrs. Blake's health
on spirituous or vinous products of do
mestie growth and manufacture, an<
that such goods are liable to seizure
This decision will make a lot of trou
ble and no little loss to California wine
growers.
convincing force until one has seen
and talked to Helen Keller herself, and
to the marvelous teacher who went in-
to the outer darkness after her and
brought her back into a human world.
Meeting these two for the first time,
and looking at them as they stand to-
gether, the full consciousness of what
has been done surges on one—a great
wave of comprehension that seems to
sweep one, for a horrible moment, into
the blackness from which they em-
erged. During this flash of acute com-
prehension there are half a dozen dis-
tinct impressions. One not only realizes
all that was meant by that early condi-
tion of isolation, but one follows men-
tally the slow and painful processes of
breaking it—the strain, the patience,
the self-sacrifice—and one turns away,
almost sick at heart, from the thought
of it all. These are not pleasant sen-
sations, but no thinking person can
fail to experience them the first time
Helen Keller's sightless eyes are
turned upon him.
Fortunately they do not last. They
cannot, with the girl's eager face be-
fore one, radiant with interest in all
that is going on. The first trait one
notices in her is this desire to be a
part of everything about her. She is
absolutely devoid of self-consciousness,
and being so, she bursts into speech
the moment she is introduced to a
stranger. Her evident wish is to get
from the new ;>ersonality all that is in-
teresting in it. Her methods in this
respect recall Li Hung Chang's charac-
teristic interviews with American citi-
zens. It should be added at once, how-
ever, that her questions are never un-
pleasantly personal; she is thoroughly
well-bred. She talks very quickly,
bending towards you, with her sight-
less eyes fixed eagerly on your face,
and with every feature alive with in-
terest in what you and she are saying.
She is pathetically anxious to show you
that she is in touch with the world
and the people in it. She brings up
subject after subject, and dismisses
them with a few terse sentences which
somehow seem to contain the gist of
them all. She uses no unnecessary
words. She has learned to express her
Ideas with wonderful clearness and
conciseness. She has a very keen sense
sf humor, and responds to the mildest
er's shoulder or even gathers a fold of
her gown between her Angers and
holds that. If one could not see her
eyes or hear her voice, this dependence
on Miss Sullivan would be the only
outward trait to distinguish Helen Kel-
ler from other girls of her age. But
to return to her appearance.
They came to me together Thursday
noon in the little reception room of
Mr. Arthur Oilman's school for young
ladles. Miss Keller is studying there,
and not in Radcliffe, as reported. She
did, it is true, successfully pass an en-
trance examination in the four branch-
es she undertook—English, French,
German and history. But this was sug-
gested by Mr. Gilman only as a test of
her present scholarship.
Until a few years ago Helen knew
nothing about death, and she probably
has a very vague Idea now of what it
means. It has just come home to her
heavily, for her father died a few
weeks ago. He was in Alabama, with
her mother, and her grief over the
news was very deep. She begged to go
to her mother, but was dissuaded by
those who have her in charge and who
dreaded the effect of continued depres-
sion on her Impressionable nature. She
is wonderfully affected by the mental
condition of those about her, and can
tell immediately on meeting a person
whether that person is happy or the
reverse. She may feel any depressing
Influences the more keenly because she
is used to the buoyant atmosphere of
Miss Sullivan that lovely and lovable
woman who for nine years has devoted
herself day and night to the helpless
child. To Miss Sullivan alone belongs
the credit of Helen Keller's record to-
day. What Helen has done is not so
wonderful when one recalls the concen-
tration that was necessnrlly put into
her work, and the absolute lack of all
distracting Influences. She developed
mentally because, imprisoned as she
was, every Impulse of her nature helped
to push her toward the light. When
she enters Radcliffe she will probably
carry off all the prizes for the same
reason. ' Her mind to her a kingdom
Is. There Is no other for her, and can
be none. With Miss Sullivan It Is dif-
ferent. Life has much to offer her, bu'
she has voluntarily put It all aside for
this one duty. " "
Two Dead and One Morn Will I>le.
George Gore and Frank Martin, min-
;rs, and Deputy Sheriff Tatum, asslst-
;d by J. Sullivan, a jewelry drummer
from Bessemer, engaged In deadly con-
flict at Belle Ellen, near Hlocton, Ala-
bama, the other day. The officer made
an attempt to arrest Gore, for whom he
had a warrant. Gore resisted and fired
two loads of heavy bird shot at the
officer. Tatum's pistol twice snapped,
but he finally got it into play, and just
as Gore fired the second shot his pistol
killed Frank Martin, who had come to
Gore's assistance. By this time Sulli-
van had come to the aid of the offioer
and shot Gore dead with a pistol. Sev-
eral others were sllghtlywounded. A
mob gathered and made demonstra-
tions against Sullivan and Tatum, bul
the latter finally won the field. Gore
ran a "blind tiger" and had boasted
that he would kill the officer who at-
tempted his arrest.
Hank ('ashler Suicides.
Treasurer George F. Marsh, life and
soul of the Cape Ann Savings bank,
Gloucester, Mass., whose deposits are
more than $3,025,000, and trustee of
funds amounting to $500,000 more, In-
cluding those of the Gilbert hospital
and Gilbert Old People's home, com-
mitted suicide by blowing out his
half a dozen men arrived from Bos-
ton and were conveyed at once to
the bank. These men have been with
the bank trustees, who declare that the
bank Is all right, and that they will
issue a statement.
One-firth of the valuation of Glou-
cester was on deposit with the bank.
Mr. Marsh was director of the estate of
George H. Rogers, in whose counting
room he was brought up. He was of
literary and aesthetic tastes, an anti-
quarian and founder of the Gloucester
Historical society. His residences at
Gloucester and at Annisquam were
luxuriously fitted up.
It is learned that the Savings Bank
examiners a week ago advised the trus-
tees to ask for Marsh's resignation as
treasurer, and that the meeting Thurs-
day was for the purpose of accepting
it. Marsh is said to have been heav-
ily interested In the stock market, and
to have lost most of his fortune. Tho
Savings Bank commissioners Thursday
night announced that not a dollar ot
the bank funds had been touched.
Wednesday night trustees of various
trust funds met, and Marsh, their
treasurer, was unable to produce those
funds. The shortage in these funds is
now estimated at $150,000, which, be-
sides his private fortune of $100,000,
lias been sunk in stock speculations.
He was lilt especially hard by August
money stringency.
Quarrel Followed by Murder.
Mrs. Seemin L. Axe of Omaha wa .
found dead at an early hour the other
morning in the street of Council Bluffs,
Iowa. She had been shot in the head
four or five tlmeB. Any one of the
wounds would have probably proved fa-
tal instantly. A careful search was
made where the body waB found, but
no clue could be discovered. There
were no traces of a struggle. Mrs. Axe
was a dressmaker, about 50 years ot
age. It Is believed she was murdered
to prevent her from telling something
damaging to the murderer. One man
says he heard the man and woman
quarreling about 9 o'clock the night
previous, and heard the man call the
woman a liar. The motorman says he
saw a man and a womnn struggling in
the vicinity about 11 o'clock, and heard
at least two pistol shots on his return
trip soon after midnight.
ConfeHsen UcIhouh Crimen.
Albert Hence Dfrtvnen,* 45 years of
age, was arreBtcd for highway robbery
GEORGE F. MARSH.
brains with a carbine Thursday after
noon. The bank examination was in
progress, and he had an appointment
to meet the trustees. When they met
they found a note saying that Mr.
Marsh's body would bo found at his
summer house at Ann': qiiarii. They Im-
mediately ordered the bank closed for
the day, and sent r. messenger to An-
nisquam, who four.d Marsh nervously-
pacing back ar.d forth in hiB home.
The messenger returned to the bank,
and shortly afterward Marsh sent hiB
servants on errands. When one re-
turned he found Marsh's dead body In
the cellar with a hole In the head as
large as a baseball. Near him was the
message: "If you think a man Is a
coward to do tlilB you had better try
it"
Beginning early Thursday afternoon,
A. Ii. DOWNEN.
In Denver the other day. After a
search of his room had revealed a large
amount of booty, lie confessed to fully
fifty hold-up- in the suburbs of the
city, as well as the murder of one
man, Joel Ashworth, and of a man and
woman In California. He says he
served seventeen years In the Califor-
nia penitentiary for stage robbery and
grand larceny, but was never arrestee
for the murders. The Ashworth muf-
der was committed In June last, and
has ever since baffied the police de-
partment. Downen says he was try-
ing to hold the man up. He says he
will plead guilty of murder, and wants
to be hanged rather than serve more
time In the penitentiary.
Captured in Oregon*
Word has been received at Ilamiltot.,
Ohio, that Lewis Vanhlse, wanted at
Westchester, Ohio, for murder, ia
under arrest at Salem, Ore. Lewis Van-
hise was indicted by the Butler coun-
ty, Ohio, grand Jury in October, 1891,
for the killing of old man Cutler, aged
76 years, at Hart's saloon, in West-
chester, September, 1891. The kill-
ing was a cold blooded and brutal af-
fair. Vanhise was raising a disturb-
ance In the saloon, and old man Cutler
stepped up to him and asked him to be
more quiet. Vanhise pulled his re-
volver and struck Cutler a fearful blow
on the temple, fracturing his skull.
The affair happened at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon and Cutler died the next
morning. Vanhiso fled the country and
up to about two months ago could not
be located. Sherltf Bruck and Prose-
cuting Attorney Smith took up the
case, and to them belongs the credit
of the capture, Vanhise is also want-
ed for skipping a $500 bond on a case
of horse stealing in June, 1887.
Sometime** the Ciinc.
Dukane—I don't know how you cato*
to lose money In the scheme. You told
me it was a rare Investment. Gaswell
—Tho Investment may have been a
rare one, but I was well done before
I got through with It.—Pittsburg
Chronicle-Telegraph.
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Mair, L. G. & Jones, A. J. The Enid Democrat. (Enid, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 62, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 21, 1896, newspaper, November 21, 1896; Enid, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc157069/m1/1/?q=j+w+gardner: accessed June 21, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.