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IN THICK OF FIGHT
WAS MRS. SOFFEL
Fleeing riurderers Shot
Down By Officers.
FUSIUDB WAS MOT AND HEAVY
Thrilliiijf and Bloody Termination
Of Novel Tragedy at Pittsburg.
All 1 hree Fugitives Wounded.
A Pittsburg, Pa., special .says: Ed
ward Biddle, in jail dying; John Bid
die riddled with buckshot and in a
precarious condition, and Mrs. Peter
i\. SoiYcl, lying in tue hospital with
a self-inflicted bullet wound ia the
breast, is the sequel of the sensation¬
al escape of the Diddles from the Alle
ghuiy juil, aided hy Mrs. Boffel, the.
unt of tne jail warden, or. Thursday
morning.
The* story of the Close of the Biddle
tragedy, which came at 5:45 o’clock
Friday afternoon, is a thrilling one.
The scene was a snow covere d road
two miles east of Prospect, Butler
county, near Mount Chestnut, and tlie
i xact place was at McClure’s barn,
where two double team sleighs filled
with eight officers, overtook the Bid¬
dles in a one-horse, sleigh, stolen at
BerryviHe, ami aL once opened fire* on
the trio. The Biddles returned the
fire after- jumping cut of the slelgli.
Mrs. So if el's wound wa t, thro ugh the
breast. Edward Biddle was shot in
the V arm. in the breast and in
cm k.... John Biddle was riddled
with buckshot in the breast and head.
It w us only a question of time when
the officers who set out on the chase
would calc h up with the
condemned murderers and their com
panion. The Biddles and Mrs. Soffel
ate dinner at J. J. Sevens, at Maunt
Chestnut, five miles east 'of Butler.
T/k Pittsburg officers reached
Mount Chestnut not leas than half an
hour after the Biddles and Mrs.
f*T At this point fresh horses were
secured and the chaw for life began,
'j !ie two sleighs, with the eight ofll
oers aboard, static.! westward and
mot the Biddies and Mrs. Soffel at
Chiii ':- barn, two miles from Mount
Prospect. The Biddles, having learn
od that they wore almost overtaken
anti tubing what they considered the
only aflame they hud, drove eastward
and met their doom.
The Pittsburg and other officers
v«<■■■■ armed with winchester rifles and
revolvers of large calibre.. They shot
'o kill and tluir aim was perfect. The
H| toll ‘■'led to J.i 11 to tfie last of their
string, but net die of the i)ig r* ofll
ccrs hns a wound as the’result o the
battle, * >’■’
Woman Fired . at Officers.
Whc n the dcteclivhs gut within six
tv ya rds of the fugitive;., they opened
firc*. The Ridd!c s promptly answered
(
w.i.h rfulgiiho and revolvers. Mrs
Bo ft’i!, too. stood up in tho sioigh-with
n n \ ok or in* each hand and blazed
away at her pursuers, When Ed Bid
die fell and she saw she was abtnit
to be capir.rcd she fired a bullet into
her breast, it is < Exit-hod. An esamina
t:ou by phy iejaus ■shows Hurt she will
recover, as the bullet was deflect.'ll
ot mid Hi * wound is com
ivcly slight;
Th c- .aiu' of the officers is rjjtfae
■Tho fiddles h»v^ dih'.fi’i.Bra
l Severn! occasions that u:
are good marks H eh and why they
should have 'fat -- d on this", occasion
to bring down their nien is a 1UV;-,
tcry. After the Biddles fell t‘o tho
snoTf doverefl grouml the offie ' rs
picked up the apparently ' 'Ilf oT*
bodies of Mrs. Soffel ‘and the Biddles
am! -returned to Butler with the stolen
hrh. patched up harness .and worn
out horses that tire trio had tried so
strenuously to get away with toward
Canada and liberty.
Mrs. Soffel made a statement after
her capture in which she said she be
onmo involved in the affair through her
sympathy for Ed Biddle. She salt! she
now realized hi r mistake and wished
she was dead. She said she did! not
shoot herself, but Was the first one
shot by the detectives.
YOU!Its ARE DERELICT.
Many Citizens of Alabama >uEject t„
Disfranchisement.’
Under the terms of the new consti¬
tution of Alabama ail persons who fa:’,
to pay their poll taxes by February l
will be denied the privilege ef voting
in the state and national elections this
year. If the newspaper Statement
are true, not more than or.e-tehtfi or
one ighth of the voters of the several
counties have taken out their tax re
coipts.
The new constitution docs r.ot
require a citizen to pay poll tax. It
leaves payment of the tax voluntary
BIDDLES ARE DEAD.
Both Brothers Finally Succumb to
Fearful Wound*— Mrs.
Stoffel Still Lives.
A news special from Butler, Pa.,
says : At the close of a day of Intense
xc itement and many conflicting stories
concerning the chances fdr life of the
wounded Biddle brothers and Mrs.
Kate Soffel, the unexpected happon
,:d. Joha Biddle, who until late Sat¬
urday afternoon was the more likely
brother to escape present death, suc¬
cumbed at 7:35 p. m.
His brother Ed, who had been un
conscious practically all day and who
was considered a dying man Friday
night, survived until II o’clock, when
he, too, went over the great divide.
Both men died without apparent suf¬
fering at the close.
Mrs Soffel, who developed symp
toms of pneumonia, has a chance for
life,, and unless some unforeseen com¬
plication sets in, will recover.
The death of Jack Biddle was caus¬
ed by the bullet wounds in his abdo¬
men and bladder. Early in the day
the physicians thought peritonitis was
tlie principal danger in his case, -but
internal hemorrhage finally set in and
the map bled to death in a short
while.
As long as he was able, Jack was
extremely talkative and was at times
boastful. But as soon as the shadow
o’ death began to fall upon him and
he recognized it, lie became repentant.
"[ know,” he said,, “that-toy time is
short, and you can say for me that I
am a Christian and will die a sincere
believer, in God, and hope I have
strength enough to say so at tlie last.
I know I have taken part in many
wrong deeds, but l have never killed
any man and was never implicated
with any one who did.”
TWO-MILLION*DOLLAR BLAZE,
Watefbury, Connecticut, is Visited
By Fearful t'oiiflagratiou.
In the hardest gale of the winter
Waterbury, Conn., struggled Sunday
night with a fire that destroyed a
large area of the business section of
the city and threatened co wipe it out
entirely. The blaze started in the up
holstcry department on the third
floor .
of the store of Reed & Hughes,
dry goods company, Nos. 108 to 120
Bank street, and that store and many
adjoining buildings were reduced in
a few hours to smoldering embers,
An estimate of $2,000,000 as the
amount of the properly loss on build
togs and contents was considered
conservative by insurance men.
The origin of the lire is unknown
and it was not discovered until it had
gained tremendous headway.
At t»:15 p. m. three employes of the
Reed & Hughes company were in
their store and when they noticed
no order of smoke about house,
Fifteen minutes later flames were
seen to burst with great force from
tho window of the third floor, and al
simultaneously from the base
’-Rent. Before anybody could send in
an alarm the whole interior of the
building was a mass cf flames, which
f fi rcad rapidly to adjoining buildings.
Tlle fire started in a drizzling rain,
vtHl lal ° burning to snow with a rap
idly rising wind.
Losses are given ns follows: ■
W. II. Camp block, in which
!ocatc ^ Reid & Hughes’ stare, $7’3:
000; O’Connor block, $25,000: -Green¬
berg & Buckner, $30,000; old Ameri-
1; 1% " u * 1 ' :l rs r - cwn r / Sou.
■ . .N.uliL.w.s Son, clothiers. <*100,
* 1 ‘i. Can.*p biOck, in piocess o\. demo
Ekcn. $50,000; Now England Eng:
in mug Company. $75,000; Franklin
0U: , >, totalIy dettroyod, * 40 000 *‘
;• ’ '
I'likEvh bath, \\. , G. bchlegel, proprie
tor, $20,000: Jean Jacques block, $40,
Mrs. W. C. Hannon’s block, occu
ri,,, by Aksoi. B o„«, WV
000; George E. Judd block, occupied
by LaPalme-Hoffman Company, $35.
000; Ashworth block, occupied by B.
C. Church Company, $30,000; Water¬
bary American, loss building. $50,,
000; Schlitz Brewing Company, $30
000; Conloiu Brothers, $50,000; Ed¬
ward McGraw, two blocks. $35,000;
Meigs block. $40,000. Whittlesey
block. $20,000; Boston Furniture Com¬
pany, $40,000; Bronson block, $35,
000 .
diamonds in old shoe.
Wife of Now Sec rotary of Treasury
Has .stroke of Absent-Mindedness.
Mrs. Shaw, the wife of former gov
ernor Shaw, missed some of her dia- ‘
monds . ^ Des Moines, ,, . , Ia., _ Tuesday,
at
She suspected a chambermaid. The
former governor immediately had the
chambermaid searched, despite her
protests, but no diamonds were found.
In the meanwhile Mrs. Shaw recalled
that she had hidden the diamonds in
one of her old shoes.
Former Governor Shaw then apolo¬
gized to the chambermaid and gave
her $10.
Georgia.’.Cullings
Brief But Interesting Summary
of Happoaings in the State.
Governor Offers Reward.
by A Goyer a nor 0 Ca5ilcr h for th^an'Vof
Isaiah Lawson, who killed Jerry Dent
In Burke county several days ago.
„ „ ,
New Djnk Ccte Charter.
The B..k or Log&nvltle. .’ located ia
I.oganvJIl., r ... Walton county. Georg,a .
State Cock r. Tho capitalisation X ,T of Lf the
new bank h $25,000.
* *
Appropriction For Macon.
Representative Bartlett has intro¬
duced in the house a bill appropriat¬
ing $300,000 for the purchase of land
for enlargement and improvement of
the United Sta.ea court and postofllce
building at Macon.
Judge Blandford Dead.
Judge Mark fl. Blandford, a promi
nent lawyer and for years a judge on
tne supreme bench of Georgia, died at
his home in Columbus. Ga„ January
Si. The funeral occurred Saturday
alternoon, attended by the Cc ffieder
ute Veterans and members of the Co¬
lumbus bar in a body. The interment
was at Linwoofl. The Columbus bar
held a meeCvg amd tool-: appropriate
action over the death of Judge Bland¬
ford, who was one of their oldest and
most honored members.
Competing For State Fair.
Savannah and Valdosta will Strug
gle against each other to secure the
state fair this year. The question
will be decided by the executive
committee of the State Agricultural
Society w'hen it meets in Atlanta on
the 12th instant to transfer the presl
dency of the society to Mr. Dudley
M. Hughes. Savannah and Valdosta
are the only bidders for the fair, so
far as the correspondence 'shows. It
is expected that there will be others
later on. however.
4 4$
To Rebury Hero’s Remains.
If the plans of those who have the
matter in hand are successfully car¬
ried out, the reburial of the remains
of General Nathaniel Greene, which
now rest in the vault of the Southern
bank, Savannah, will be quite an im¬
portant event and national in charac
ter. Since the successful search for
the remains more than a year ago,
there has been considerable doubt as
to what disposition should be.made of
the relics of the revolutionary general
and his son, the latter being found
with those of his father.
Stolen Bond i urned Down.
Governor Candler and Treasurer
Parle decided that the Georgia bond
for $500 sent to t.he Lowry Banking
Company at Atlanta from a party, from
Indiana for collection was invalid,
and hare declined to pay it.
Thor- bond, according to Governor
Candler and Treasurer Park, was stol
en from the treasury of Georgia,. ia
1364 hy Some Indiana troops. The bond
was one of the series issued in 1354,
to retire' some seven per cent bonds
held by the Central of Georgia bank.
.a vital defect was that tho paper did
not bear the impress of the gAeat sea!
pf the state.
* *
Big Peach Crop Pror.*iced.
State Entomologist W. M. Sccit pre
diets that [here will be an unusually
making an inspection cf all the large
orchards cM 1 *'' S’doit reports that the
gab Jose scale has spread badly with
in tho past year, but since the owners
cf orchards have learned to treat the
^ rees disease is no-longer ’
h f ormer ] y w n the case
' IrL the buds
Acco dl ^ t0 Scott are
„„m«rous ra the
confident that if there is no more ex
tremely cold weather the peach output '
In Georgia will be enormous.
Brovin Not a Candidate.
Hen. J. Pope Brown has spoken re¬
garding his candidacy for governor,
and say4 he'will not make tlie race.
The announcement of Mr. Brown,
which was in a letter to C. R. Pendle¬
ton. editor of The Macon Telegraph,
and which letter appeared in an issue
of that paper, recalls his former an¬
nouncement that he would probably
be in the race. For several months
there have been reports that Mr.
Brown would not run. But when
th ese reports we^e circulated they
were stro ngly denied by the ,r:ends
of the Pulaski county farmer and rail
roa(f comm ^ slOEG r.
Privcte business affairs, says Mr.
Brown, caused him to reach the con¬
clusion that ,R was best to leave the
race alone. His letter of withdrawal
is a very strong document, though it
lacks the usual characteristic of de¬
clining in fayor of some other candi¬
date as most withdrawals do.
The fact that Mr. Brown is no long-
or a candidate for governor will be
of great interest to handles of Geor¬
gians, who wdre his friends and who
would have voted for him. and to hun¬
dred* of others who liked Mr. Drown,
but oa account oT the candidacy of
others could not have voted for him.
* * *
.
.. _
Stockholder, of the defunct South
Grn Mut, f 1 BuhdlQg * Bd Loan
cla of Atlanta are ^ receive . another
10 per cent payment from funds now
in the hands of the receivers.
, ;“ mpkln has signed a„ order
allowing this payment. It was shown
su<lcienl
Hinds In the hands of the rteiiv.rs or
the .. association . .. to make , this .., payment .
without impairing the rights of any
persons claiming priority of payment.
fihould these claims be allowed. Ac
cording to tho order the receivers,
Judge James A. Anderson, of Atlan
ta. and M. A. O'Byrne, of Savannah.
are directed . . to . pay to . each ,,,,,, stock hold
< r. reported by the auditor, 10 per
cent upon the amount outstanding to
his or her eredit by Auditor Ham
monct’s report, which tas been maae
the decree of the court.
These payments are to be made
com:DGnc fng February 25, and in all
ecta as directed in tho former de
cree made about six months ago, un
der which the stockholders were also
paid 10 per cent, This second pay
ment is to be withheld from all class
of stockholders directed not to be
paid in the first decree.
In the case, of borrowing stockhold¬
ers the payment of the 10 per cent is
to go to the credit of each upon his or
her indebtedness to the company, and
if this payment should extinguish the
indebtedness and there should be a
balance, the balance will, of course,
be paid to the stockholder,
* * *
.
1 New Attorney General In.
Hon. Boykin Wright, of Augusta,
took the oath of office as attorney gen
eral of the state of Georgia last fcTrtur
day morning, and will fill that position
until a new official is elected.,
The oath was administered by Gov¬
ernor. Candler. Mr. Wright proceeded
immediately to the office of attorney
general where he was greeted by Hon.
J. M. Terrell, who turned over the
affairs of office to him.
Mr. Wright found things in splendid
condition. There were no cases on
hand, no questions on hand, and abso¬
lutely nothing to do. He says he will
have to bustle in order to get business
for the place.
The new-attorney general was deep
ly' gratified’ at*'«the condition in which
he .found his new position, and .-cx
pressed hisfapprec&tion to Mr. Terrell
for bavin® affairs in such splendid
shape.' '
The new attorney general will not
make Atlanta his permanent home, as
he does not propose to be a candidate
for re-election. He will probably visit
Augusta every Saturday night.
There are now three* Wrights in the
capitol—Attorney General Wright,
Comptroller General Wright, and As
sist&nt Commissioner cf Agriculture
Wright. The new attorney general
thd the assistant commissioner of
nculture are brothers.
he:.YEMT CiiiiTEP.
- ••
Pis Jibs, of ins, s, Cannot Accept
Atlanta'., inviiaiion.
Phlr.ce Henry cf Prussia, who will
lOme.to the United States as the per
eoaai representative of the emperor
Germany, will not include Atlanta
* a itinerary. Mayor Mims receiv
^ have- 1 ecc-i^od the kind invitation
**£ mayor and council cf. Atlanta
Princl Henry, cf Prussia', to visit
during his stay in the United
- tate s- I hfg to acknowledge grata
r ' l ^7 kind thought, which will bo
“’seply appreciated by his royal high
^ss, and regret to say that pAc, owing to
r ^ °^ a ^ highnes© stay will a, unfortunately H.aty
l:ct Atlanta.
“HOLLEXBEN.”
MNE DIE IN FLAMES.
Fearful Holocaust Results In Horning
of Italian Lodging House.
Nine persons perished in ft fire
T hick broke out early Wednesday
morning in an Italian lodging house in
Fleet street, Boston, Mass.
Four other occupants of the house
were injured in jumping from win¬
dows.
The financial loss was only a few
hundred dollars.
YVITH TWO-FOLD OBJECT
Board eT Trade of New Yerk Pulls
Off Annual Banquet.
The annual banquet cf the New
York board of trade and transporta¬
tion was held Wednesday night. The
function this year had a double object
in view—first* to do honor to the
memory of William McKinley, and,
second, to encourage the closer union
cf capital and labor.
THE SINGERS OF TODAY.
Iiow write the singers of today?
Alas' and still alas!
Three sonnets for the house-rent
A love-song for tho gas! t
No rest, 'for all the weary—
No gentle, kind relief;
An ode to pay the coal man,
A ballad for the beef!
—Atlanta Constitution.
According to recent statistics be¬
tween 40,000 and 50,000 pass annually
through the prisons of England and
Wales. Of this number it is said that
seventy-two par cent have been prev¬
iously convicted.
“ l was > 50 gorr N to bmar you had Io6t
little Mrs. Baggerson. T aan
J0Ur one,
sympathize with you deep y.
‘ Yds it was awful hard after we d
’
. > ee * » f the tronbie of gettin her
througli tne measles and mumps and
wl , n , coughA-Chicago Record
p p , ^
An Ansrlo-Arntrlcan Alliance.
It has been suggested that the only sue
cessful plan to avoid any further wars will
bo the*formation of an alliance people between be¬
America and Englatid, find many
lieve that the day is not far distant when all
international differences will be joyfully peacefully
settled. This news will be na re¬
ceived bv 1 everybody as tho news that Hos
tetter’s Stomach Bitters constipation, positively cures in¬
digestion,“dyspepsia, nervous
ness and malaria. Don’t fail to give it atrial.
The author ox “An Elegy in a Country
Churchyard” esteemed it the acme of hap¬
piness to lie on a sofa and read novels.
Tvner’s Dy,speps\i Remedy Cures Irregu¬
lar Heart Aetfon. At Druggists, 53 cents.
The worst thing about life insurance is
that we never live to enjoy it.
/•
“Is Worth Its Weight in Gold."
“Had Eczema for three years; tried throe
doctors and every advertised remedy .without
effect jtUTJtried Tetterine. Half a box of Tet
terine removed' all signs of the disease.”—C.
H. Adams, Columbia, S. C. 50o. a box Ga., by
mail from J. T. Shuptrine, Savannah, if
your druggist don't keep it._
All rivers of Africa hare a marked pecu¬
liarity. -They seek tlie ocean farthest
•from their source.
Free Delivery of Garden. Fl-*ld and Flower
Seeds: fresh, vurir ui eed a d especially adapt
od to climate, at bottom prices. Ctt.a'o-ue Cite.
Orders $1 or over delivered free In G i., Ada. or
Fia.. Ir. pars farmer- to secure the best. A?'»<cs
wanted. Paul Toiand & Co., Ua-tle i»n., Ga
The industrious burglar only is generally
doing something, even if it’s time.
miss bonnie mm
A Chicago Society Lady, in a
Letter to Hrs. Pink ham says;
“Dfah Mbs. .Resikiam: —Of all the
grateful daughters to whom you have
given health and life, none are mors
glad than I.
“ My home and my life was happy
§|at§lMl§ ^fitr
* s 1 % m 'll
cff'V
Vi
A
■ML
Mirs ro'Tcir d^laxo
. 1?
scanty menstruation; gradually cop.icl pot my
general liealtli failed; X en
t P ^ p
°
*-j adviced with our family iftys
ician who. prescribed 'without any im
provement. Wifi Oue day Itemed**/ be said.—‘TVy
P-inldmm’S I
until in four months I was cured. This
is nearly a year ago and I have not
bad a pain or ache since.’’-B onhik
Delaxo, :;248 Indiana Avc., Chicago,
Ill. —$5000 forfeit if cboeo testimonial is not
. genuine.
Trasliworthv p-oof is abundant that
Lydia E. Pinkliam’s Vegetable
Compound saves thousands of
young 1 women from dangers resulting
from organic irregularity, suppression
““
v
150 Kinds for I 6 e. ]
It is a fact that Salzer’s vegetable and flower /te&PSS
seeds are found in more gardens QfiSfcrJj
j£sj and on more farms than any other
r \ in America. There is reason for this.
i* \ We own and operate over 5000 acres for /jp,
a the production of our choice seeds. In
< order to induce you to try them
gV'ST v.e edented make offer: the loliowing unpreo | q
'<\\ 1 Fop tG Gen is Postpaid £
*20 Utndft of rarest Isv«iotis t adlskcs*
12 16 magnificent aorta glorious earliest lomaiftf melons, s, H
23 peerless lettuce varieties,
12 splendid beet serfs,
Ht ?OTs*owsiy beattvifulflovreY’ seeds,
in all 150 kinds positively fnmisMhg and /.fl;,
IS bushels of charming flowers
J lots and lots of choice vegeta-h iW\ H;
1 together with onr great catalogue
telling all about T.eosinte and Lea
Oat and Rromns and bpeltz, onion
I seed at 00c. a pound, etc., Write all to-day. only cgv® (&M
. for 1 Gc. in stamps. >%?
It J))))] \\yv\ KlkU A. La SALZEk Crosse, SEED Wis. CO.. ^
'Jj. f.Asrq’