rt b i. --sk
I.J W f 19 B
WlkiyTf:.i6r m Sw i t. V. f Sil r 1 1 l.iPt t'Si irihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiminNiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiit
VOL. XV.
INEW BLOOMFIELD, Il., TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1881.
NO. 271
I 1
f"' till
THE TIMES.
An Independent Family Newspaper,
IS PUBI.ISniD ITEKT TUESDAY BT
F. MORTIMER & (JO.
TEKMH t
INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
9i.so PRii vi'.ah, imst.;i: t ni l.,
so cts. ton 6 mosirns.
To subscribers residing In mis coitntt, where
we have no postage to pav. n dNcouHt or 25 cents
from tho above terms will be made if payment Is
made In advance.
- Advertising rates furnished upon appllca
Hon.
The Manhattan Well Mystery.
IN the year 1799 New York was not tbe
sprawling: monster of brick and mor
tar that It is to day. There is many a
country town in the land to day which
can make a better showing for itself in
homes and people to live in them than
the great metropolis of the Western
Continent could at the end of the lust
century.
The thiekly-clustered houses luy all
below Canal street, through which ran
the stream by which the water of the
-Collect, a large pond over whose filled
up bed the Tombs now rises its grim
walls, reached the North Iiiver. Beyond
that were meadows and fields, gentle
men's country seats, dairy and kitchen
farms, and Broadway and the Bowery
were country roads.
At that time the Manhattan Company,
now a bank, had the task of supplying
New York City with pure and whole
some water, and some may be astonish
ed to learn that it still has a large tank
full of water in Centre street to supply
any citizen who may prefer it to Croton,
-and will pay his yearly water rent.
Among the wells sunk by this com
pany was one on Laurens street, or
South Fifth avenue as it is to-day, near
Spring, now enclosed within the walls
of a house.
At tbe time we speak of, this Manhat
tan well stood in an open field, and
parties out driving frequently stopped
there to water their horses or take a
cooling draught themselves from the
bucket.
Among the well-known residents of
that day was Mr. Ellas Ring; He was
a, Quaker, a well-to-do business man,
who lived with his family in a comfort
able mansion which was not torn down
until a few years ago, at the corner of
Franklin and Greenwich streets.
Tbe family of Elias Bing consisted of
his wife, daughter and orphaned niece.
The name of this latter was Gulielma
Elmore Sands. She was a beautiful and
Intelligent young girl, vivacious in tem
perament and of an amiable and lovable
nature. Lovely as she was and con
scious of her loveliness, she was very
little of the coquette and in person and
manner a model of propriety.
Still she had a sweetheart.
This person was a yoflng man named
Levi Weekes who boarded at her uncle's
house. He was a handsome young fel
low, who seemed to reciprocate Guliel
ma's affection for him They were
much together and were popularly look
ed upon as acknowledged lovers.
Consequently, when Gulielma, on
Buuday, December 30, she informed her
aunt and cousin that she was to be
privately married that evening to Levi
Weekes, they were not particularly
astonished. They approved of the
match, the more especially as Levi was
a youug man of some means and more
expectulious, and his Jicince a poor girl,
dependant ou them for her support.
So she set out, if her words are to be
believed, to be married.
Or rather she set out first to a neigh
bor to borrow a muff. She was to be
lriven to the minister's, she said, in a
lelgh Levi had borrowed from bis
brother. While she was gone for the
muff her lover remained In the entry of
her u tide's house. She returned and
the last seen of them together, Elma, as
she was called for brief, and her sweet
heart were atandiug in the hallway,
criticising the muff she hud succeeded
in borrowing.
Kith nor kin of hers ever set eyes on
lier again, alive.
There are people who swore, long
afterwards, that they saw Levi Weekes
hand her into the sltlgh and others
who said they saw him driving her off.
But whether he did really hand her
Into the sleigh or whether the witnesses
had even seen her In It no man knows.
What is known is that Mrs. King was
just putting her workhasket back to
retire to bed that night when the
knocker at the door announced a visitor.
To the good woman's no little amaze
ment it was Levi Weekes. He had a
sleigh, with the horse tied to the hitch
ing post in front of the houxe, and asked
for Elma.
" Elma V" repeated Mrs. King, "did
thee say Elma, Levi ?"
" Yes, I did," he replied, as the wom
an afterward thought with some nerv
ousuees; "What of itV
" Why, she hath gone out."
" Gone out at this time of night '"'
"Yes."
" But what should she go out for?
who was she with I1"
This remark puzzled Mrs. King more
,than ever and, she could barely stam
mer: " Indeed, Levi, to tell the truth, I
believe she went with thee."
He answered promptly ; "If she had
gone out with me she would have come
with me. I never saw her after she left
the room."
To make a long story short, he swore
he had left the girl standing in the hall
way and had gone to .obtain the sleigh
at his brother's ; that he had been de
tained there until now and that was all.
And so it turned out to be, so far as
any admissions ou his part were con
cerned. The girl not returning by
morning, a hue-and-cry was raised and
she was sought, but vainly. No sign or
token of her could be found. Indeed
the very hour of her leaving the house
and whether she left it alone or in the
company of Weekes or anybody else was
never discovered.
Two days after the muff Gulielnia
Sands had borrowed was found in Man
hattan well, but even this and the dis
appearance of the girl led to no further
examination till the 2d of January, 1800,
when the uncle, Ellas King, and another
person dragged the well and brought up
the poor girl's body, with the dress torn
open above the waist, but without
shawl, neck-handkerchief or shoes.
There were marks of strangulation on
the neck.
It was no case of suicide, as she would
not have thrown aside these articles and
retained the muff. But who was the
murderer?
Suspicion at once rested ou Levi
Weekes. He was arrested, iudicted and
ou the last day of March put upon his
triul.
The presiding judge was Chief Justice
Lansing, who disappeared years after as
mysteriously as did Gulielma Sands,
leaving his hotel for the Albany boat,
never to be seen or heard of. Cadwallo
der I. Colden was the prosecutor and ou
the side of Weekes were arrayed Alex
ander Hamilton and his future slayer
Aaron Burr, and also Brockholst Liv
ingston. On the jury of solid New Yorkers sat,
among others, Robert L. Sylburu, whose
name has recently been brought up as
the original purchaser from the city of
the site of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
A great number of witnesses were
produced, and the prosecution, adopting
the theory that Weekes took Elma out
in his brother's sleigh, choked her to
death and threw her in the well. Several
persons living near that spot heard cries
of "Murder!" on the night of Decern
ber 30th, but no special search was
made. The track of a sleigh was noticed
near the well, but quite a number passed
there dally and there seemed to be no
proof of any marks of a struggle.
There was no testimony that Weekes
and the poor girl were seen to enter the
sleigh, although in after years some
professed to have seen It.
Several witnesses declared on oath
that Weekes spent the evening, from 8
to 10, at hU brother'a house. Tbe evi
dence of his having used his brother'a
sleigh wag extremely weak and when
on the third day of the trial the counsel
suddenly closed the case without any
address to the jury from either side,
Judge Lansing, somewhat annoyed at
not having time to review the testU
mony, Instructed the jury that there
was not suftlcleut evidence to justify
them in bringing In a verdict of guilty.
Under this Instruction the Jury ac
quitted Weekes.
Public opinion, however, was strong
against htm, and he left New York.
Stories of all kinds prevailed us to
E Inm and her condition at the time,
some saying that she was always cheer
ful others that she was a prey to
melancholy. A thrilling Incident on
the trial was often repeated, although
there seems little foundation for It.
Burr is said to have moved two can
delabra suddenly, so as to throw the
light on the face of a witness, also a
boarder at the house, so as to give him
from where the Jury sat u ghustly and
livid look.
Ills testimony is said to have weighed
agalust Weekes, hut from Hamilton's
full notes of the trial, still preserved, it
was evidently Immaterial. But the
story Is that as he made the movement,
Burr exclaimed, "Gentlemen, there is
the murderer 1" and that his guilty start
saved the prisoner's life.
How Gulielma Sands came to her
death was then a mystery, aud though
the saying goes that murder will out,
we are Hearing the end of the century
with no light thrown on the case.
Had her shawl aud shoes been found,
the belief might be held that Elma ex
pected Weekes to marry her that night,
that he refused, and In her desperation
she strolled off and put an end to her
existence. .
But they were not, aud the supposi
tion of a death by criminal violence
remains good.
Levi Weekes was a lucky man.
Whether he killed his sweetheart or not
no man can say. But men have gone
to the gallows planks ou less damnatory
circumntances than those whose evi
dence he managed to escape. Police
Gazette.
A Japanese Bill of Fare.
IN the last number of the Iievue Eri.
tannlque is published an intercstng ac
count of a modern Japanese dinnerpar
ty, from which we extract the following
extraordinary menu, recommending it to
the attention of those who may desire to
introduce some startling novelties iuto
the art of dining, as practiced in those
islands : Boiled ducks, chopped pigeons,
bird's nest soup, roast mutton and bam
boo buds, mussels and crabs, tea and
cakes, turtle soup, minced dog, braised
rats, macaroni soup, black rats roasted
with sweet sauce, salt fish, roast pork
with rice patties, preserved melon seeds,
stuffed sea frogs, waluuts stewed with
betel leaves, ices and fruits. Various
wines were served during this amazing
entertainment. The centre of the table
was occupied by a huge covered bowl,
containing a good store of sea-fleas, set
swimming In Burgundy just before the
guests sat down to dinner. By the time
the meal was over these vivacious in
sects had become sufficiently inebriated
to exhibit an abnormal and eccentric
activity, so that, when the cover re
straining their saltatory exercises- was
removed at dessert, they afforded ex
cellent sport to the Japanese gentlemen
present, who displayed remarkable
smartness in catching them with ivory
chop-sticks, and in subsequently eating
them alive. To British apprehensions
this may appear a somewhat revolting
repast; but remembering that many
dishes which they and the Chinese
enjoy have ugly names, that misrepre
sent their real character, we should
suspend our judgment until we hear
what the delicacies mentioned actually
are. Bird's nest soup, for instance, is a
very different thing from what people
who have never been lu China suppose
it to be, aud it is quite possible that even
the black rat may be a species of ground
game unknown iu this country, but not
the less edible for all that. We confess,
however, that the sea-frogs and sea-fleas
require a good deal of explanation.
How Russian Exiles Live.
ON his arrival the prisoner is driven
straight to the police ward, where
he is inspected by a police officer who is
absolute lord and master of the district.
This representative of the Government
requires of him to answer the following
questions : HU name r How old V Mar
ried or single V Where from r Address
of parents, or relations, or friends?
Auswers to all, which are entered in the
books. A solemn written promise Is
then exacted of him that he will not
give lessons of any kind, or try to teach
any one ; that every letter he writes wilt
g) through the Ispravnlk's hands, and
that he will follow no occupation except
shoemaklng, carpentering or field-labor.
He Is then told that he Is free, but at
the same time he Is solemnly warned
that, should he attempt to pass the
limits of the town, he will be shot down
like a dog rather than be allowed to
escape ; and, should he be taken alive,
shall be sent olf to Eastern Siberia with
out further formality than that of the
Ispravnik's personal order.
The poor fellow takes up his little
bundle, and, fully realizing that lie Iihb
now bidden farewell to the culture and
material comfort of his past life, he
walks out luto tbe cheerless street. A
group of exiles, all pale and emaciated,
are there to greet him, take him to some
of their miserable lodgings, and fever
ishly demand news from home. The
new-comer gazes on them as one in a
dream ; some are melancholy mad,
others nervously Irritable, and the re
mainder have evidently tried to find
solace in drink. They live in commu
nities of twoB and threes,' have food, a
scanty provision of clothes, money and
books iu common, and consider it their
sacred duty to help each other in every
emergency, without distinction of 'sex,
rank or age. The noble by birth get 10
shillings a month from the Government
for their maintenance, aud commoners
only 10. Winter lasts eight mouths, a
period during which the surrounding
country presents the appearance of a
noiseless, lifeless, .frozen marsh no
roads, no communication with the outer
world, no means of escape. In course
of time almost every individual exile is
attacked by nervous convulsions, follow
ed by prolonged apathy and prostration.
They begin to quarrel, and even to hate
each other. Some of tnem contrive to
forge false passports, and, by a miracle,
as it were, make their escape; but the
great majority of these victims of the
Third Section either go mad, commit
suicide or die of delirium tremens.
Lost In the Sky.
WHEN Mr. John Wise was lost in
his balloon, called " The Pathfind
er," several months ago, the newspapers
printed many accounts of trips made In
to the air, some by brave men and some
by foolish ones
A lady who lives in the town of Cen
tralia, in tbe State of Illinois, said noth
ing until all the rest were through talk
ing. Then she told the editor of the
St. Louis Republican to look into the
number of his paper that was printed
on the twenty-rlrst day of September,
1S08. The editor looked, and found an
account of how two little children took
a trip in a balloon all by themselves. On
that day an aeronaut, or sailor of tbe
air, named Brooks, filled his'air-ship
with gas on the farm of a Mr. Harvey,
who lived near Ceutralia. He expected
to sail in the afternoon. About noon
time Mr. Harvey put his two children
Into the balloon, just to please them,
and not thinking for a moment of any
danger. The balloon was tied to a tree
by ropes. All at once a gust of wind
broke the ropes, and the balloon shot up
Into the sky with nobody but the two
children in the basket. Mr. Harvey
was wild with grief, and shouted aloud :
" They're lost 1 they're lost!" All the
neighbors ran to tbe spot, only to see
the balloon drifting off to tbe north, and
more than a mile high.
One of the children was a girl, Nettle,
eight years old, and the other was her
little brother, Willie, four years old.
Both cried when they found themselves
leaving the ground and going on a very,
very strange journey indeed. Nettle
looked over the edge of the - basket and
saw iter father wringing his hands away
below. Soon the people looked to her
smaller than babies, and the houses like
toy houses. She and Willie were going
up, up, up, all the time. "I expect wo
are going to heaven, Willie," said Net
tle. Willie thought it would be very
cold in heaveu, theu, for the higher
they went the colder it grew. Nettle
wrapped Wille in her apron, and held
his head In her lap until he cried himself
fast asleep. Thou Nettle folded her
hands and waited. She said ; " I think
we must be near the gate now," She
meant the gate of heaven, that she had
heard about in Sunday school. But
Nettle fell aleep too.
When she awoke, she found that some
strange man was lifting her from the
basket. The strange man was a farmer
in northern Illinois, who had seen the
balloon drifting low across his field.
Tbe rope was dragging, and so he caught
It, and landed the children safely. The
balloon had floated all night. Nettle
and Willie's father Boon learned fliat
tbey had been found, and took them
home two days afterward. Nettle is
now a woman, the very same who told
the Republican to look back in its files
for the story.
Marrying an Editor.
YES, I'm Mrs. Snow, an editor's
wife. I well remember the day
when Mr. Snow asked me to become
his wife. I confess I liked Mr. Snow,
and, thinking it would be a fine thing
to be the wife of an editor, I said "yes"
as pretty as I knew how, and I became
Mrs. Snow. I have seen ten years of
married life, and find my husband to be
an amiable, good-natured man. He al
ways spends hla evenings at home, and
is in that respect a model man ; but he
alw'ays brings a pile of exchanges which
is only limited by tbe length of hla arms
and reads while I patch the knees and
elbows of his pantaloons and coat.
After we had a Quaker meeting of an
hour's length, I broke the stillness by
asking:
" Mr. Snow, did you order that coal I
spoke to you about V"
" What did you say my dear?" he
asked after a minute's silence."
" Did you order that coal I spoke to
you about V"
" Indeed, my dear, I am sorry, but I
forgot all about it. It shall come to
morrow." Another hour's silence, which is re
lieved by the baby's crying, and rather
liking a noise of that sort, I made no
effort to quiet him.
" My dear," says Mr. Snow, after he
has cried a minute or so, "you had bet
ter give the baby some catnip tea to
quiet him ; be troubles me."
The baby is still. Another hour pass
es without a breath of noise. Becoming
tired, I take a lamp and retire for the
night, leaving Mr. Snow, so engaged
with his papers that be does not see me
leave the room. Toward midnight he
comes to bed, and just as he has fallen
asleep the baby takes a notion to cry
agaiu. I rise as quietly as possible and
try to still him. Then another baby be
gins to scream at tbe top of his lungs.
There is no other course but to awake
Mr. Snow, so I say :
" Mr. Snow I Mr. Snow !"
The third time he starts up and cries.
" What, Tom, more copy V"
gyThe captain of a Greenland whaler
put a piece of meat in a rope noose,
spread upon the snow, and waited for a
bear. Bruin saw the bait, approached
and seized it in his mouth, but at the
same time got his foot entangled in the
rope. He quietly pushed it off with his
paw and retired, and sat down at a
distance to dine. After finishing his
meal he returned where another bait
and the noose had been replaced. He
pushed the rope aside, seized the beef,
and again retired. A third noose was
laid, but excited to more caution by the
evident observation of the bear, the
sailors buried the rope beneath the snow
and laid the meat in a deep hole in tho
centre. Once more the bear approached
and tbe sailors were hopeful of their
success; but bruin, more sagacious than
they expected, after snutliug about the
place for a few moments, scraped the
snow away with his paw, threw the
rope aside and again escaped with his
prize.
A tramp called upon us yesterday
to state that he was prepared to sacrifice
himself lathe interest of science. He
had heard that there was a great deal of
difference of opinion in regard to the
question: "Does cider intoxicate V"
For the purpose of restoring harmony
to the scientific world he was willing
that the thing should be tested upon
him. Here's self sacrifice for you !
tjTWe follow the world in approving
others but we go before It in approving
ourselves.
K.,