The True Democrat.
M. XVIII St. Francisville, West Felilcana Parish La., Saturday, October 23, 1909. No. 38
AN ATROCIOUS CRIME UNEARTHED
ISING6 RICE IN
THE FELICIANAS.
I.E.E McGehee's Experience With Up.
bad Rice-Can Be Grown
Profitably Here.
Inour last issue, considerable
was devoted to the account
thbe successful raising of rice
Thompson's Creek, on the
fest Feliciana side, making a
which must have been both
resting and encouraging to
y readers.
From quite a different quarter
the parish, viz, near the Mis
' ippi line, Pinckneyville post
on his plantation, Shirley,
. Edward E. McGehee has
a crop, of which the cor
ndence which follows is il
-lative.
The first letter is one to Mr.
bee from the president of
National Rice Milling Co
reads thus:
NEW ORLEANS, LA.,
Sept. 27, 1909.
E. E. MCGEHEE,
Pinckneyville, Miss.
Der Sir-We are in receipt of
letter of Sept. 24, and we
also in receipt of your sam
*and I must say that it is the
sample of upland rice I have
seen, they raise upland rice
the Carolinas, but it is not
so good as this sample you
sent us.
lie like sample that you sent
is worth on to-day's market
per barrel (162 pounds of
rice to a barrel), or $1.11 a
1(45 pounds to the bushel)
red in this city. It is ex
ly fine seed rice, but the
e price is for Iilling pur
Respectfully,
HENRY KAHN,
President.
Mr. J. R. Matthews, cashier of
Bank of West Feliciana, also
samples of this rice to
's Son Co. and Mr. S.
e Breaux, rice factor, both
w Orleans, and from them
.Matthews has received en
ngletters herewith repro
Bloom's Son Co. says:
NEW ORLEANS, LA.,
Oct. 14, 1909.
J, R. MATTHEWS,
hier Bk. West Feliciana,
St. Francisville, La.
r Sir-Your letter of the
ilso sample, which repre
a Very fair saml)le of rice,
Which can be sold on the
et at $3.25 to $3.40. Of
this sample sent us is
small, and possibly does
o the rice justice We
advise you, if you have
ntantity of this rico, to send
samples, and would advise
of your friends desire to
"8 their few bags of rice,
We would be verS pleased to
tareof them, and give them
market price.
1 like to see some of this
ihippedto this market for
8s We can determine the
, etc., of the rice grown
r Pariah. We think with
obt that you1 country is
- rice just as much as
country, whose peo
With great success this
on Ist page.)
__q;L
E. K. Judson, Inmate of Asylum at Jackson, Horribly
Murdered--Dr. E. C. McKowen Arrested and
Charged With the Crime.
Humdrum existence in the
Felicianas was broken into by a
startling occurrence that came
to public knowledge, last Mon
day morning, and which has
been the chief topic of conversa
tion ever since. At an early hour
on that day, 'a negro laborer at
Wakefield, going to his work dis
covered the figure of a man lying
against the embankment in front
of Wakefield post-office and about
50 yards away from that build
ing. He called to Mr. Louis G.
Stirling, son of Hon. W. L. Stir
ling, who was preparing to leave
for his duties in town, and who
went up to the figure and soon
discovered it to be the body of a
dead man, clad in dark blue
checked trousers, with his hat
pulled down over his face no
shirt, coat or shoes, only his
socks on, which were perfectly
clean. The body was in a half
stooping, half-reclining position,
the tongue was protruding from
the mouth, and the eyes had the
distended appearance caused by
strangulation or suffocation. In
addition, the upper part of the
body had been burned by some
highly inflammable substance
like alcohol or gasoline, part of
the undershirt being destroyed.
The man was five feet, 1 inch
in height and of delicate build,
weighing only 96 lbs. He had re
markably small hands and feet.
It was evident that the crime
had not been committed in that
locality, as there were .no signs
whatsoever of any struggle.
Near the body were tracks of a
jumper, which were of peculiar
appearance owing to some break
in one of the wheels.
Dr. W. H. Taylor, parish coro
ner, was immediately notified,
and went to Wakefield to hold an
inquest. He impaneled a jury,
composed of the following gen
tlemen: W. L. Stirling, R. H.
Stirling, W. R. B. Turner, Depu
ty Sheriff Fred Wilcox and Town
Marshal G. S. Davidson of St.
Francisville. After a session,
the inquisition was adjourned
without announcing a verdict.
Meanwhile Dr. Taylor instructed
Messrs. R. H. Stirling and F. C.
Wilcox to follow the tracks and
bring in the man who had last
driven the vehicle. 'The tracks
came from and returned to the
Upper Jackson road, which
leaves the Woodville road at this
point, going east.
Following the tracks was an
easy matte r, owing to a spoke
being loose in the wheel and its
hitting the griound at each revolu
tion. Farther on spokes were
dropped by the wayside, and the
local detectives went on easily
with such guidance towards
Jackson. Near Thom pson' s
Creek, the wheel gave out entire
ly and the vehicle dr-agged into
that town on one wheel.
The track of the vehicle led di
rectly to the blacksmith shop of
Ike Lewis, colored, in Jackson.
T'he blacksmith claimed to have
found the rig at his door when
he opened his shop that morning,
but identified it as being the
property of Dr. E. C. McKowen.
The deputies went at once to Dr.
McKowen's residence and placed
him under arrest. Dr. McKow
en showed a willingness to talk
but was advised not to do so by
the officers, who showed him
every consideration )possible in
the circumstances. They ac
corded him an interview with
his family and friends and then
brought him to St. Francisville,
arriving about 7 o'clock. He
was first taken to the Royal Hotel
where he partook of supper and
was then lodged in jail. A new
iron bed was procured for him
and other articles for his com
fort. A delegation of Masons
from Feliciana Lodge made him
a brief visit, as he is a member
of that fraternity.
The corpse was brought to
town and placed in the court
house where it remained until.
after the coroner's inquest and
until late Tuesday evening when
it was taken to the public grave
yard, three miles out of town,
and buried. Two officers, ac
companied by several gentlemen
and the necessary laborers at
tended the funeral and Rev. R.
R. Claiborne of Grace Episcopal
Church read the burial services
of the church over the poor
mutilated body. By this time
it was known that the dead man
was E. K. Judson, an inmate of
the State Insane Asylum at
Jackson. Different persons had
recognized him and the marks
on his clothing had confirmed
the fact. Coincidehtally, Mon
day afternoon, a letter to the
local officers, was received from
Dr. Clarence Pierson, superin
tendent of the asylum, giving
notice of the escape of a patient,
the description of whom tallied
with that of the dead man.
E. K. Judson was sent to the
Asylum from Orleans i)arish,
Nov. 13, 1906 and was a man of
considerable brilliancy being a
fluent speaker, and was always
chosen by the inmates to make
addresses on occasions when im
portant delegations of visitors
came to the institution. He was
a native of New Orleans and was
aged 43 years. At one time he
was a government contractor,
and later a tement walk contrac
for. Hlis conduct was however
always marked by eccentricities,
to which no attention was paid,
until, says the Times-Democrat,
lie conceived the idea "that a
certain woman of New Orleans
was being defrauded of a large
sum of money. Absorbed in
that idea, lie wrote a series of
letters to hler which at length he
came so annoying that she I)re
ferred charges which were
brought to tihe attention of the
Post Office Department.
"Mr. Judson was arraigned be
fore the late United States Com
missionir Craig, on a charge of
sendirg improper letters
through the mails. Thecommis
sioner pIromptly dismissed the
case and turned the accused
over to the then coroner, who
adjudged him insane, and he
was taken to Jackson, where he
remained up to the time of his
death."
The Asylum authorities re
garded him as harmless and al
lowed him certain liberties and
privileges. Sunday he was giv
en permission to visit Jackson,
and when last seen was in com
pany with Dr. McKowen, with
whom he had been intimate for
some time.
Tuesday morning, at ten
o'clock the coroner's inquest was
again held and its deliberations
were behind closed doors, and
adjournment was only made for
dinner, the afternoonsessionlast
ing froip 1:30 to about 3:30, when
the verdict of the jury was form
ally announced, as follows:
"State of Louisiana, parish of
West Peliciana, Oct. 18, 1909.
"An inquisition taken upon the
body of E. K. Judson, there dead.
"The jurors of this inquest,
having been sworn to inquire on
behalf of the State of Louisiana
how and by what means said de
ceased came to his death, do say
that E. K. Judson carne to his
death from strangulation or suf
focation. We have arrived at
this finding by the condition we
found his body in. We find that
his tongue was protruding and
clenched between his teeth.
Face, head and neck in ecchy
mosed condition, or extravasa
ted blood, showing that pres
sure had been made on his neck,
while the circulation of blood
was going on, and by the sud
den stopping of the heart-action
it remained there. This condi
tion we found nowhere else oh
the body at the time. We also
found that some inflammable
substance had been poured over
the front of his clothing, burning
it off, and his body, from the chin
to the waistband, to a charred
condition. We have gotten evi
dence from sworn w'itnesses,
who say that he was last seen
with Dr. E. C. McKowen on Sun
day evening, in Jackson, La.,
and Monday, the 18th, his mur
dered body was found at Wake
field, in West Feliciana parish,
about twelve miles from Jackson,
his home. We also find that Mc
Kowen admitted to witnesses
that he was at Waketield on Sun
day night. We also find that a
certain Frazier roadcart was
tracked from where the body
was found, back to the town of
Jackson, La. We also found that
the cart was left at Ike Lewin'
repairing shop, between Sunday
night and Mgnday morning. We
also find that the cart was the
property of Dr. McKowen. We
also found that the body had
been brought there in a vehicle
and deposited on the ground
where it was found. And, judg
ing from the evidence, we think
that E. K. Judson came to his
death at the hands of Dr. Mc
Kowen on the night of the 17th
or the morning of the 1nth of
October, 1909.
"In testimony whereof, the
coroner and jurors of this in
quest have subscrilbed their
names, the day and year above
stated. And, from evidence, we
find that E. K. Judson was killed
either in East or West Feliciana
parish.
"W. H. TAYLOR, Coroner.
"R. H. STIRLING.
"F. C. Wwlcox.
"G. S. DAVISON.
"W. R. B. TURNER.
"W. L STIRIaNG."
The witnesses examined at
this inquisition were Dr. Clar
ence Pierson, superintendent of
the State Insane Asylum at
Jackson; Dr. J. F. Griffin, an as
sistant physician and H. E. Mc
Queen, an employee at the asy
lum, who positively identified
the dead man as E. K. Judson.
Other witnesses from Jackson
were S. E. Slocum and D. M.
Pipes and two colored men, Ike
Lewis, a blacksmith at Jackson,
and Dr. McKowen's hostler,
John Dalton.
D. M. Pipes testified that the
accused admitted to him in the
course of a conversation shortly
after his arrest, that he had
been in the neighborhood of
Wakefield Sunday night.
Tom Dalton, Dr. McKowen's
hostler, stated that Monday he
missed the "jumper," from the
stables, whence it had not been
removed for several months.
Dalton says that he went to bed
at 10 o'clock Sunday night, and
that Dr. McKowen was not in
at that time.
Ike Lewis, blacksmith, told of
finding the cart with the broken
wheel before the door of his shop
Monday morning. He was posi
tive the cart was not there Sun
day night at 11 o'clock, and he is
certain It is Dr. McKowen's cart.
R. H. Stirling and F. C. Wil
cox, the deputy sheriffs who
worked up the case, described
the tracing of the cart tracks
from the spot where the body
was found to the blacksmith
shop.
Judge Geo. Woodside, presid
ing judge of this distrlct, arrived
from Clinton, Tuesday morning.
He recused himnself in this case,
being a connectiom by marriage
of the accused. Mrs. Woodside is
the daughter of T. C. McKowen
of Lindsey, who is first ~ousin to
Dr. McKowen. JudgeWoodside
appointed Hon. II. F. Brunot,
judge of the 17th Judicial Dis
trict, Judge ad hoc. Judge 8.
McC. Law rason has been retained
as counsel for Dr. McKowen.
Hon. Jos. L. Golsan is the Dis
trict Attorney, and will prose
cute the case.
Dr. McKowen's relatives, T. C'.
McKowen of Lindsay and D. M.
(('ontinut-d on ~sa-ond pI,#'.)
RAIL-BOAT ROUTE
TO 0ONVENTION.
Liisiaa RaIilway sid Navigatie. Co. Wil
have Bat aid Barge. with P.llm..
Sleepers, i iver Parade.
The Lakes-to-the Gulf I) e, e,
Waterway Convention will be
held in New Orleans, Octotber 30,
and November 1 and 2, lik!..
President Taft, ·ongressional
party, Governors from thirty
two States, as well ,a three
thousand delegates will Iw wpres
ent.
The Louisiana Railway and
Navigation Company will, (on
October 29, operate a special
train, consisting of Pullman cars
only, which will leave Shrevej, rt
at 1 a. m., Friday, October 20.,
Montgomery 5:05, Aloha 5:3t,
Colfax at 5:50 a. m., Alexandria,
at 9 a. m., Friday October 29,
and arrive at New Orleans at 8
a. m. Saturday, October 30.
The special train will run all
rail from Shreveport to Naples,
thence via river from Naples to
New Orleans. Pullman cars will
be transferred to new steel
barge "Naples" at Naples, in tow
by magnificent steel transfer
steamer, "Sarah Edenborn," re
cently built for.paussengar ser
vice. The pullman cars will re
main on barge until arrival at
New Orleans. Passengers will
occupy cars while on river.
The trip from Naples will 1e
through the mouth of Red River,
through source of Atchafalaya
river, through Old River into the
Missipsippi river. Will arrive at
mouth of Old River about 2 p. nl.
Friday. In the Mississippi river
at the mouth of Old River, will
join and become part of the
Presidential river parade.
The Presidential party will ar
rive at Baton Rouge at 8 p. in.,
Friday, October 29, and will leave
at 10 p. m. If the movement of
fleet will permit, it is the pur
pose to land and discharge pas
sengers at Baton Rouge to hear
President Taft's address.
The fleet will arrive at New Or
leans at 8. a. m. Saturday, Octo
ber 30. Seven warships will be at
New Orleans. Five thousand
soldiers and sailors will parade
the street. of New Orleans, Hat
urday, October 30.
The pageant will be the most
remarkable ever seen on any
river in the South. Other cities
such as Cincinnatti, lauinville,
Cairo, Natche., Vicksburg, Hel
ena and Arkansas City, have giv
en notice that they will put boats
in the parade.
A Populr Fallhcy.
New Oreins .tstm:
There in a popular fallacy alsmut
a drowning man sinking for thle
third time. The number of times
a man sinks has nothing to do
with his drowning. lie may
sink butonce, and he may go is
neath the water any number of
times. It all depends ulen the
person who is drowning, his
physical condition and how quick
ly his lungs till with water. That
cycle of three is carried along by
those who insist that a itr'm
dies in his third congestive chill.
But that is not true. The name
rule holds good in congiestive,
chills as in the case of the drown
ing man. A person may die in
thefirst, or lie may have half a
duen and still live. The rule or
three does not obtain there either.