STORIES FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 251, 19 October 1912, Page 17

STORIES FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

OUO MAITB DOUBLE OBXHE. Tbe body of Charles Keil, aged 74, said to have been a wealthy Minneapolis merchant at one time, and that of his wife, were found in a lonely' mountain cabin near Murray, Idaho, on September 11th. Keil evidently shot hie wife and then himself. After shooting his'- wife, Keil had washed her wonnds, banked her body with flowers, knelt by her side and blown cat his brains. AMATEUR TRAIN BOBBER. A masked robber boarded a westbound Missouri Pacific passenger train early on September sth, held up tbe conductor, the auditor, and six men in the smoker, and after obtaining only twenty' dollars for his pains, jumped from the train when it stopped at a water tank and escaped. The conductor reported that the robber was a rank amateur. A HUMAN TOOL CHEST. When physicians operated on John Mariner at the County Hospital, Chicago, on September 7, to ascertain the cause of terrible pains in his stomach, they found nineteen pocketknives, seventeen nails, five knife blades, a dosen screws, and a sliver dollar. For eighteen years. Mariner, who has been known to Chicagoans as "The Human Too) Chest," has been swallowing the articles on wagers. "Eating knives and all that stult never hurt mc," said Mariner, before the operation, "but sometimes I'd get terrible pains In my stomach." Physicians -pronounced the operation successful. YOUTH SHOT BY BANDITS. With a girl perched on the rear of his motor cycle, Roy Wlnkleman, 1" years old, Parted on a spin through the West Siiit parks in Chicago on September sth. Tbe pair had been riding only a short time when three men stepped from behind a thicket and' commanded Winkleman to stop. He attempted to speed away, but one of the trio shot him in the back, and he fell to the pavement, probably fatally wounded. His companion, Miss Nellie ne'tt, escaped injury by jumping. The bandits were captured by a park policeman after a chase. VILLAGE INVADED BY BANDITS. Four men invaded the village of St. Jean de l'lchigan. thirty miles from Montreal, early on the morning of September 4th, firing revolvers in every direction and terrorising the inhabitants. -They, forced the nay into the branch of the ilocbelaga Bank, leaving men on guard. outside. Five explosions finally blew open the bank vault, but the men could not open the safe, as the time lock was eet for nine o'clock. The whole village was aroused, but when, anyone attempted to leave his home the shots frightened him back. - One man was shot in the head. 3,500 ANIMALS KILLED BY STORM. from all parts of Eastern New York and Western Connecticut there came, on September 12th, reports of the heavy damage caused by lightning and hail during a brief but violent storm. The loss to the tobacco crop in Connecticut from the hail is estimated nt 100,000 dollars. In New York City the storm wns in , its most destructive pliase at the Bronx Zoological Park, where lightning wrecked the raising ranch, a section of tbe park devoted to the cultivation of domestic animals to be used as food for the denizens of the enges. In the raising ranch, just before trie coming of the storm, were more than 3500 chickens, rats, pigeons, and guinea pigs, all of which were killed, at a cost to the park.of 10,000 dollars.

HUSBAND JEALOUS OF A . MONKEY. At Philadelphia, on September 11th, James Norrls, trainer of an amusement enterprise, killed, one of the performing chimpanzees with a crowbar, and was arrested on a charge of cruelty to. aulmnls. Leo Noges, employer ,of Norris, who ap-. peared when the warrant was sworn out. said Norrls was angered at the big chimpanzee, which was the most intelligent of the collection, because It appeared to be very tractable when Mrs Norrls was around. She always fed the chimpanzee. Noges declared that the chimpanzee was the cause of numerous arguments between Mr and Mrs Xorris, the husband objecting to Mrs Norrls petting the animal. A HUNT BT "WATER" POLICE. A laughable Incident nas occurred at the municipal bathing beach on Lake Michigan, according to a message from Chicago, wliic'a caused Immense amusement to thousands of: spectators. A party of Chicago •hooalums" who were disporting thpiusclve*. In the waters of the lake, had overstayed* Ihe time allowed for the use of public b.illi'ng suits, ,md refused to come out of the water at the request of the bathing master. Threat and persuasion being of no avail, the bathing master called on the polfcc to assist him, but their demands were treated bj the "hoodlums" with derision and foul language. A dozen of the police thereupon donned bathing clothes, and entered the water to enforce their demands. To the vast amusement of the crowd, the policemen appeared with their police badges plnnpd to theiir bathing costumes. They Mso wore their helmets and carried their truncheons. The valiant dozen swam out to the h'i'hers, who led them a merry ch:iS9. AmM the cheers of the crowd on the shore, who shouted with glee at the unwonted sight of men swimming In police helmets, tie officers finally overtook the "hoodlums," and after a struggle captured them, brought them ashore, and marched them off to the police station on the lakeside. EXCITING CHASE TS NEW YORK. There was a highly sensational chase in New York on September 22 after a prisoner who contrived to get away from the poll c headquarters in Mulberry Street. Tlie escapee was a notorious convict, well known -as a most desperate character. He had been lodged in a room on one of the upper floors of the building, from a window of which he took a leap of 33 feet to the street below,■■ He was missed almost immediately,* and several police officers were .after him like a shot. The chase proved a long one, and with the pursuers sending a- hall of bullets after their quarry street pedestrians were scampering in all directions to get out of the line of Ore. The runaway got quite half-a-dozen blocks away before he was brought down by one well-directed shot. He was rather severely, though not dangerously, wounded, and was at once placed In a conveyance and taken back to the police headquarters. • With so much promiscuous shootIng it was not surprising tnat there should be a few casualties, and after the capture it was escertalned that several spectators tad been injured by stray bullets.