Pocahontas County Bicentennial ~ 1821-2021

Thursday, May 28, 1897

A WIFE-BEATER at Centreville, Maryland, was sentenced to receive fifteen lashes on the bare back at the whipping post. This is the first sentencing to whipping in Maryland since the war.

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AT RADFORD, VA., a man named Gregory was arrested for stealing horses, and in twenty-four hours, he had been indicted, tried and sentenced to eight years in the penitentiary.

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A man, after breaking his wife’s neck the other day in New York City, by throwing her against the stove, shot himself thro the head, killing himself instantly, thereby saving the city the expense of a trial on the charge of wife murder.

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The body of a man was found floating in Newark, (N. J.) Bay beside his boat Sunday morning. He was held fast by the anchor rope around his ankle. It is to be supposed that in casting his anchor, the rope got around his ankle, thereby pulling him over and drowning him. This is a case seldom heard of. What a terrible way to die. Full of pleasure – probably looking forward to this outing only to meet his death. MORAL: Don’t fish on Sunday.

HOUDYSCHELL IN A CELL

ERVINE HOUDYSCHELL, of Frost, is in jail at Marlinton, the confessed burglar who entered Samuel Curry’s shoe shop at Frost last week, and took three pairs of new shoes, against the peace and dignity of the State. There has been a lot of petty thieving in the neighborhood of Frost, and suspicion has attached to the Houdyschells and others. Holmes Sharp and another watched the house and presently saw Ervine come out and go to a tree top near the house and take some shoes from a bag which had been concealed there. They rushed to the house but admittance was refused them. In a few minutes, the smell of burning leather could be perceived in the whole neighborhood.

When they were at length allowed to enter, one of the searchers attempted to open the stove door to see what was burning, when Susan Houdyschell, step-mother of the prisoner, told him that she would break his head with an ax handle if he opened the door. She then took a seat upon an ash box in which the remnants of the shoes were hid. In attempting to burn them, the shoes had been cut to pieces and parts of them thrown in the ash box. In searching, it was thought that the pieces of shoes were probably in this box, but Mrs. Houdyschell refused to move off, and evidently the search party would as soon touch a wildcat as to have touched her. Finally, a man was sent to Huntersville, about twelve miles, for a search warrant and a warrant for young Houdyschell. By the time he had returned, the Houdyschell woman had remained seated on the box, in one position, for more than six mortal hours.

Houdyschell confessed to having entered the shoe shop Thursday night. He could not give bail and is likely to remain in jail until his indictment and trial. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Susan Houdyschell, who used very vile language, and explained how the shoes came to be in her possession in a way that cannot be repeated here.

She is charged as being an accessory.

DUNMORE

It rains, the sun shines, the grass grows, the hail falls, every thing looks lovely and the goose bone hangs high.
B. T. McElwee has gone to the Hot Springs to see his brother.

John B. White is going to make his home at Hillsboro, where he will engage in the mercantile business. We are sorry to lose Mr. White, as he is a good merchant and a fine businessman.

Stonewall and John Wes Carpenter have gone to Horton to help the railroad along.

Mr. John Walker has gone into the sewing machine business. He is now looking for a woman to run the machine.

Several persons came out last Friday and work has commenced on the Dunmore graveyard. On Thursday, June 3rd, 1897, all persons interested in finishing up the work will come out, bring their dinner with them and stay all day and finish up the job. We would like to see every graveyard in the county fixed up and fenced.