SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN AN HOTEL.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1060, 30 May 1878, Page 4

SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN AN HOTEL.

The Lindell Hotel, one of the leading hotels \>f St Louis, was on February 19, the scene fcf a terrible tragedy, combining in a remark &\>le degree the elements of mystery and romanca At about five o'clock on the pre vious afternoon there went to the hotel a young German couple who desired to put up there and pass the night. One of them was a handsome young fellow, of apparently the middle walks of life, the other a remarkably bright and beautiful girl, about 18 years of age. The young fellow registered his own name as John Cumbinger, and underneath wrote the name of Maggie Cumbinger. The young couple went up to their room, No. 27G by the elevator, and that was about the last seen of them until 4 o'clock next afternoon. It was not the last of tLeui ; however, as at about ten minutes past six o'clock in the morning a Mr Louis Bassard, a commercial traveller for Cincinnati house, while lying awake in room No. 277, heard a couple of sounds which seemed to him like the reports of a pistol or the sharp slamming of a door. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, however, one of the chambermaids of the hotel sought to gain admission to the room in which the young couple had passed the nightj but though it was so late in the day, she found the door locked. She summoned assistance, and, in a few minutes, one of the porters arrived and climbed up the door and peeped into the room through the transom A terrible sight met his eye. The room is a double-bedded one, and on one of the beds lay the dead and bloody bodies of the man and girl. There Was nothing disorderly in the chamber, nothing to indicate that there had been any struggle on the part of either of the dead people before the act of killing occurred. They were both found lying in the same bed, the girl on the icside, and both fully dressed, except that the young fellow had not got his coat on. In the right haud of the latter was a five-barrelled Smith and Wessen revolver, of 38 calibre, two of the chambers of which had been emptied. An examination of the bodies, the hemoirage from which had been excessive, deluging the pillows and bedclothes with gore, showed that che girl had been shot a little back of the left ear, and the man in the same place on the right side of the head. The girl lay on her buck, her hands crossed upon her chest, with her fingers intertwining. In fact, her attitude was so peaceful that the deduction was irresistible that her companion had shot her first, and had taken time to arrange her figure and place her hands in position before he sent the second fatal bullet home. A search among Cumbinger's pockets however, revealed, among other things, the business card Michael Leiter, a wealthy German, who keeps a beer saloon for the Uhrig Brewery, on the corner of Eighteenth and Market streets. It appeared that Gumbinger, who was a very handsome and clever young fellow, though quite poor, had been paying attention to Maggie Leiter, who received his advances with kiudness. For some reason, probably because he was afraid of a rebuff from the old man on account of his property, the courtship was conducted on the sly, the father of the girl not learning it till the 7th ult. When he did so, he became very much enraged, and discharged Gunibiuger from his employ, telling him that he did so, not because he had courted his daughter, but because he had done so on the sly. The young man and Maggie both tried to soften himbut he wasinexorable,andGutnbingerwas sent on his way. The first suspicion which was aroused in the Leiter family, that Maggie intended to override their authority was caused by her absence since the previous day. And, when she did not return over nigh', old Leiter remarked that it was alright—sLe had no doubt gone and got married to Gumbinger, and that while he regretted she had not married somebody more to his liking, he would not make any fuss about it when they came home. The scene, w r hen the father beheld for the first time the mangled and bloody remains of his fair child, was a terrible one, the old man being with difficulty re strained from lifting it from the bed and clasping it in his arms. He had nothing to say agaiust the young man who had evidently been her destroyer, and whose life-blood mingled with her's in the bed-clothes in his sight Theie can hardly be any doubt that the whole affair was planned by Gumbinger deliberately, and carried out to execution without the connivance of the young girl.—' St. Louis Democrat'