Show t s p SUICIDE 4 How George Wilson Drake was II foully Murdered Some Further Particulars About the Death of the Stranger Interesting to the Wise Heads Who Saw Murder the Most Foul OQ the morning ofg the 31st of March p man namedGeorge Wihon Drake was found near tbe Tithing Office in a dying condition with a bullet bole ia his bead above the right ear Tbe particulars of the event are ttill fresh in the minds of our readera together with the action before the coroners jury the verdict that he came to his death by unknown bands the press comments on it and general public talk nud impression that it waa a coldblooded murder committed for the money he bad On this subject the HERALD from the first tcoi the ground that it was a suicide the News did not know while the Tribune pronouuced it au unqualified murder The reasons for the opinion expressed by the HERALD were given at length and seemed plain enough to us and need no recspituatiou The town was all excitement about the cfiiir and a majority of citizens took a very different view and wore free in expreesing their belief that this paper ttaa badly off on the question ques-tion The morning following the day on which our account was published pub-lished the following appeared in the Tribune The all absorbing topic of conversation conver-sation yesterday was tho killing of I Drake The HERALD chose to take a different view of the shooting than that of this paper and called it a suicide It placed the public in a I beautiful state of perplexity therefore there-fore when in one journal they saw a midnight murder had been committed com-mitted and by another paper that a deliberate euicide had taken place But discussion which the variance gave rise to demonstrated l one fact j very conclusively that nine out often of-ten citzens of this city view the act as murder by some one other than Drake that i = it was not self murder mur-der derAfter a lengthy and detailed account ac-count of tho testimony taken before the coroners jury in which a doctor was atked by the coroner which of the statements published he believed correct cor-rect and received the answer that it was difficult to see how it could be a suicide the Tribune concludes by giving a series of twelve reasons why Drake mtut Invo been murdered tho great one being that everyoody thought so and the Fnb folks thought to and it must therefore ba so and anyone entertaining a different differ-ent opinion must as certainly hare been an ass as Drake was murdered The HERALD was fakn to task by the coroner for some statements which were construed to reflect on the jury and particular stress was laid upon the tests made regarding tbe burning of hair from a pistol shot the inference infer-ence being that because Drakes hair did not appear to be singed or burned he did not commit suicide That his purse in which everybody had seen money but no one had seen money a remarkable paradoxcould not be found was cited as a significant and important fact going to prove murder and to offset everything else and put beyond the shadow of a doubt the certainty of its being a murder the following was published in tho Tribune S20000 REWARD A Reward of Two Hundred Dollars Dol-lars will be paid for the capture and conviction of the murderer or murderers mur-derers of Ueo W Drake late member mem-ber of Vermillion Lodge No 110 I 0 O F Prankort Kansas who was so foully murdered in Salt Lake City Utah Territory on tho morning of March 31st 18EO The eame thing was brought to tho HERALD for publication but was refused re-fused except as an advertisement it i being viewed as so much nonsense and as an unwarrantable attempt on the part of the Odd Felows to create an impression which the facts would not justify So it was murder and everbody had settled down to the fact but no clue to the murderer or murderers hud been discovered On Saturday however how-ever an event transpired which puts the murder in a new light Sexton Sex-ton J E Taylor and Dr J D Thompson both received letters let-ters from Margaret Drake widow of the unfortunate man which bad been written in response to letters received by her from the gentleman named Following Follow-ing are full copies that to Dr Thompson being given first BEAnIE MARSHALL Co KANSAS April 12th 1880 Dr John D Thompson Salt Lake City Dear SirYours ol the 2d just received re-ceived I have juct finished 1 letter in reply to one from Mr Joseph Taylor undertaker In it I bave male such ttatemcnts as I think will answer all your questions and set at rest any doubts you bave concerning tho author of his death The subject ia i EO distressing to me that I pray you to excuse mo from answering your letter in detail Thanking ycu for the interest you have shown tc ward what was left of one who was more than all the world beside tome to-me also for the sympathy you have expressed toward me in this my hour of need I beg to remain Yours respectfully MAKGABET DRAKE Here is the one received by Sexton Taylor BEATTIS Ks April 12 1880 3r Joseph Taylor Sal Lake City Utalt Dear SirYour favor of April od was received in due time I shall try to answer as best I can The deceased was my husband who started from home the morning of tho 18th of March as usual to go to Bealtie He was a carpenter by trade and had nearly finished n houso in Bealtie for ray father Ho had 80 in his poket with which he intended to pay a carpenter also a small lumber bill Instead of going to Bealtie he went to Marysville sixteen six-teen miles away left his team in a livery stable and disappeared Tho whcle neighhO hood searched the prairies and streams thinking his team had run away with him But at last we found the team We couH do nothing but wait to hear from him He was very despondent the morning be left and had been for aoire dajs On the 22d nIt I re ctived 1 letter dated at Denver City Cl He said that when he left he himself and the first was beeide bimBel thing he knew when he came to himself he was at Kearney Junction The whole tone of his Ltr t ad ol tie deepest despondency He taid he should never see me or the two boys again and that he should leave too city immediately Fiona that moment I Mired the worst The next thing we received was your dispatch On Saturday the 3d inst 0 = IVeceived the letter and package The latter contained his watch The letter was dated the SOtb He said he must write once mere EO that I should know where he was lat He was most out of money and did not know what he should do next Also HIf you receiva news from Salt Lake you trill hear something like this An I unknown man found etc You can put your own construction on thisbat I have nn doubt be came to his end by his own hand His letter also contained con-tained a journal of each days travel after he left Kearney Junction written on saveral of the pages pocket diary which you bave in your poeasaion He also informed me where I could find a pistol that he bought last spring to destroy himself but came to himself him-self in time to prevent it He said he was followed by a demon and there seems to be no doubt in the minds of any but what be was de ranged He was honest sober never drank any industrious and in good circumstances having just bought and paid for 240 acres of land and built I house He was in every way what a husband and father sboaldhe and devotedly attached to his family He was the father of four children the eldest and youngest daughters were buried last fall He grieved over the loss of the children perhaps per-haps this was what distressed him so His parents wera John M and Harriet Har-riet Drake George W wai born in Cincinnati May 25 1815 went to Springfield in 1853 and removed to I Marshall County Kansas in 1877 Will you please see that all his effects except the pistol Bro sent me I 1 will now close by thanking you for your kindness in forwarding particulars Yours respectfully MARGARET DBAKE So it was a suicide Little comment com-ment need be made upon this affair excepting that people especially a certain class in this neighborhood manage to magnify everything and will unhesitatingly pronounce murder I in cases where calm and dispassionate dispassion-ate reason would have declared it i sudden death or suicide It was so in the this VaentHe Faubei case i is so in |