SECTION FIVE
Pages 1 to lO
Woman's and Books
VOL. XXIX.
PORTLAND. OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 31, 1910.
' NO. 31
WOMEN IN TROUSERS
LEAD LIVES AS MEN
Amazing Careers Recalled by Startling Discovery of Adventurous Esca
pades Mystery of Catherine Coome.
ieified Credit" at Powers
Asbestos Pads
Ours is a different credit plan don't judge it by others in vogue in Portland. Ours has absolutely no
objectionable features. Our credit is free no extra charge of any kind. Our plan is confidential. Lib
eral concessions are given there's no crowding of payments. "We'll tide you over adversities take
H no undue advantage of you when sick or out of work. We'll help you in hundreds of ways, protect
you and grant favors that would be relused m any other store in Portland. In addition to tins, you re
given a selection more varied-than any other store affords and the prices we ask are always much
lower than those ruling: elsewhere.
est 30c Mattings at
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit
Matting of every kind is becoming scarcer day by day, and in consequence prices are on
the upward move. If -we hadn't been forehanded enough to contract for a year's sup
ply many months ago we couldn 't begin to sell the best 30c matting at 19c, as we shall
do tomorrow. There are 20 patterns to choose from largely the much-wanted browns
and tans.
ALSO A SALE OF ' ' SUMMER BUGS"
The very thing you'll want for the Summer cottage, being cool, comfortable and inex
pensive. Cash or credit; terms to suit.
BOKANYA RUGS WOOL-FILLED
9x12, $17.50 value, at $12.20
9x10.6, $16.00 value, at 59.95
7.6x9, $13.50 value, at . . $8.75
FIBER RUGS
9x12, $14.00 value, at S5-75
8.3x10.6, $11.00 value, a. $6.85
WOOL FIBER RUGS
9x12, $16.00 value, at $9.75
7.6x10.6, $14.00 value, at $8.95
.6x9, $7.50 value, at..... $-4.20
y A N ri rvi I KF JiUU-S
9x12, $17:50 value, at ..$12.15
9x10.6, $16.00 value, at $11.20
7.6x10.6, $13.50 value, at $8.85
19C :
These are exactly what is needed to protect
the dining table from the heat of dishes
fresh from the hot stove. Prices are ex
tremely low. Canton flannel covering.
20c Asbestos Pad, 4 by 5y2 inches, J C
30c Asbestos Pad, 6 by 9 inches,
25c Asbestos Pad, 5 by 7 inches, 19
at........ IOC
50c Asbestos Pad, 8V2 by 12 inches, 2 'Jq
$4.00 Stand at $1.95
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit
I I $19.50 Dresser at $11.85 j
P 1 Cash or Credit Terms to Suit I
111 4 j! Very handsome . n fll u i"""! " " ""In m
1 $ waxed quartered
3 V ' V-lST golden oak i 7 llTTTfXi
3 ).'. T shaped posts and l Jrlr'S-I7 fal
S3 fji-' P't ' mirror stand- Ml ill Ml ,
m ri '. 1 ards, beveled i fT! flK El til
m- 1 French plate 'ff'jjj " Vl M
il J ' lllmiptor, 18x30 I tf I til LI
N M l-i A Inches. The top i f f 11 t
This stand comes in mahogany finish;
the top measures 24 by 24 inches; the
shelf is square; the legs , are square and
heavy. A very rigid piece of furniture.
$7.50 Iron Bed $4.35
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit
This is an extremely good bed at the
price. Comes in green only and is
trimmed with gold. The posts are
heavy and are ornamented with heavy
ehills; five filler rods in head, and
foott the foot being extended.
$18 Go-Cart $11.45
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit.
These Go-Carts are of the best make of
' ' one-motion ' models
and extremely easy to
operate and carry.
They have rubber
tires, and come in
green and brown.
$23.50 .ffiS $11.85
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit
"fiTe've just received another shipment of these fine
Quartered Oak Library Tables duplicates of those
that sold in such a rush a few months
ago. They come in Early English and;
golden finish; have a double top, 24x44
inches, and a roomy shelf underneath.
The construction and the design are both
extra good in every way.
$80 Rocker $4il5
Cash or Credit Terms to Suit
Made of hardwood, has
saddle wood seat,
shaped slat' back and
arms ; very heavily con
structed. Rich golden
finish.
Exactly
Like Cut
I J 1 11 1 i
t 1 v A - M
siiiiiiisiisiiiiia
LOS ANGELES HAS HORROR WEEK
FILLED WITH CRIME AND TRAGEDY
Murders and Murder Trials With Members of Promiuedt Families as Principals Make People Shudder Frank
Bell, Ruined Millionaire, Kills Man Who Hounded Him Talented Artist Is Burned to Death.
BY R. M. WHITNEY.
LOS ANGELES. July 30. (Special.)
The shudder of tragedy has held Los
Angreles longer than usual of late;
murders and trials for murder have
filled the news columns of the papers
and have monopolized conversation
when men and women gathered. They
have not been commonplace crimes, ,
but have had many features of unusual
Interest. The principals have been mem
bers of prominent families, so that the
details of the awful events have been
discussed more widely than Is usual.
George C. Luitweiler, who killed his
wife, wounded her sister. and took
poison himself, is the son of a promi
nent business man who has been iden
tified with Los Angeles industrial life
for more than & quarter of a century.
Luitweller's life was saved after he
roic efforts on the part of physicians
called from the county hospital, and
he will be tried for murder. The trag
edy was caused by the refusal of his
young wife to agree to the sale of
their home to provide funds for Luit
weiler to enter a sanatorium for treat
ment for consumption. That the crime
had been planned in advance is shown
by the .fact that Luitweiler purchased
the revolver with which he killed his
wife and the poison with which he
tried vainly to take his own life the
day before. Luitweiler and his wife
had grown from babyhood to maturity
In this city. They had hosts of friends
gained during their school days and
In after years. The news of the trag
edy gave many families in Los Angeles
a shock. W. C milinghsm. father of
the murdered woman, and of May Ag
nes Dillingham, the wounded girl, cre
ated a scene of intense dramatic in
terest at the Inquest when he appeared
before the Coroner's ' Jury. In a
trembling voice, often choked with
motion. Mr. Dillingham told what he
knew of the .married life of his daugh
ter the short five years that preceded
her tra1c death. He told that Luit
weiler llad made her life an unending
torment: he told of the clashes he had
had with the young man, and how
Luitweiler had threatened his life and
that of his wife on more than one oc
casion. There was something terribly
Mtthetic and dramatic In his final a re
peal to the Jury "I ask you, gentle
men, only for justice for my child."'
Hounded Man Kills Lawyer.
The Luitweiler tragedy marked the
beginning of the week of horror. The
week closed with the killing of O. P.
Widaman, an attorney, by Frank M.
Bell, a ruined young millionaire. Be'l
was a prosperous cattleman of Texas I
up to three years ago. He had in
herited more than $1,000,000 and had
proved his capability by taking good
care of his fortune and investing it
judiciously. He was well known In
the club life of most of the big citie
of the United States and he and his
beautiful wife had many friends and
an assured place in society. Then they
came to Los Angeles and within two
months Mrs. Bell brought suit for di
vorce. Widaman was her attorney, and
for three years he seemed to be a
Nemesis pursuing Bell to his doom.
Mrs. Bell was unable to secure a di
vorce, but the Bell home was broken
up. During the trial of the suit Bell
and Widaman met by appointment in
a room in the Hollenbeck Hotel to dis
cuss some financial feature of the suit.
Three shots were fired, though no one
was wounded, in that room. Who flrod
them is a mystery. Each man ac
cused the other of trying to murder
him. Bach had the other arrested on
an attempted murder complaint.
Neither was convicted. Widaman had
Bell arrested for perjury and he was
acquitted. Widaman had Bell's private
yacht attached as it lay iu the harbor
here, but Bell threw the United States
Deputy Marshal who served the pa
pers Into the Pacific Ocean and sailed
away to Mexican waters. When he
returned to San Diego after a cruise
of several months, he was arrested
again, and Widaman again appeared
assisting the prosecution. Bell proved
that he was outside the three-mile
limit and the attachment had been il
legal. He was acquitted. Bell's for
tune was dissipated by this litigation
and the incidental demands made upon
it, and he" was left penniless. But his
lawyer, John R. Fleming, out of friend
ship for the young tnan, gave him a
home at his residence In Hollywood.
Immediately Fleming was bombarded
. with anonymous letters threatenlrtb
him with death and his children with
kidnaping if he continued to harbor
Bell. For the past five months Flem
ing's -home has been guarded by de
tectives. Two months ago Fleming,
visiting a shack on the rear of his
lot, found Bell bound and gagged In
the building. He bad been set upon
and beaten almost into Insensibility,
and left in the shack where he had
been two days .and nights. He spent
six weeks in the hospital as a result
of this experience. He declared that
his assailants were friends of Wida
man. but he was unable to muster
sufficient evidence to warrant the is
suance of a complaint. Two days after
Ike left the hospital he was arrested
wandering on the railroad track not
far from Widaman's home in Artesia.
He was armed and Widaman said that
his (Widaman's) life was in danger.
Bell was acquitted when he told with
convincing earnestness that he was
planning to commit suicide, but
wanted to have one last interview with
Widaman to persuade him to leave
Mrs. Bell and their children alone.
Then came the final tragedy.. Bell is
in Jail awaiting trial. Fleming, hi
faithful attorney, says that Bell has
been Insane, driven to madness by the
continuous troubles of the past three
years and many sober-minded people
believe Fleming's statement.
Elopement Ends in Murder.
In the course of this tragic week,
marked by murder at the beginning
and the end, George E. Figueroa, de
scendant of Governor Fisrueroa. one
of the early Spanish grandees of Cali
fornia, was tried and convicted of mur
dering his bride of five weeks. Sie
was Sarah Madeline Pugsley, daughter
of a respectable family and sister of
& prominent newspaper artist. Fig
ueroa and the girl eloped after a brief
acquaintance and the news of the murder
was the first news many of her friends
had ot her marriage. It was proved
trell his wife's charms to a friend and
that he killed her after she had fought
him to protect her honor. It was a
grewsome tale. The connection" wixn
the Carriega fortune made the story
of unusual Interest. Mrs. de Samman,
Figueroa's aunt, was the principal wit
ness against the youth. She it was
who secured a large portion of her
mother's fortune, the Carriega esfate,
by proving years ago In a court trial
that her father wa.s not her mother's
husband. Her mother had occupied a
secure position in society of the early
days of Los Angeles and her fair fame
was not tarnished until after her death,
when her own daughter, the present
M de Samman, exposed the early
amouxs of the dead woman. as a neces
sary prelude to obtaining a large tor
tune. Nothing but trouble has fol
lowed this money. Accidents, fires, un
fortunate Investments, disgraceful
episodes left a long trail from the co irt
where Mrs. de Samman secured the for
tune to the court where she succeeded
in convicting her own nephew of mur
der in the first degree "without rec
ommendation of mercy."
And in the meantime, in Santa. Ana,
Frank F. Skelley, a lumber merchant
and member of numerous frater-ial or
ders, has been on trial on a' charga of
murdering his wife by throwing gaso
line upon her and setting a matcn to
the drenched woman. At the time of
the woman's death Skelly was so badly
burned, supposedly in trying to extin
guish the flames that enveloped his
"wife, that he was' in the hospital for
several weeks and is scarred for life
He said that the gasoline stove ex
ploded while his wife was preparing
breakfast- But several witnesses have
testified that they heard Mrs. Skelly,
fatally burned, as she was being car
ried into the house, and as she lay upon
the bed, accuse her husband of ier
murder, using such expressions -as
these: "Frank has murdered me; he
threw gasoline on me." "Frank, why
did you not shoot me?" "Frank, how
could you do it? What have I done?
What a horrible death. Oh, Frank,
how could you?" There had been noth
ing in the married life of the Skellys
to indicate that the young husband
wanted his wife out of the way, but
after the woman's death rumors of
trouble were common enough. Skelly
has been overcome several times dur
ing the trial with grief and his condi
tion throughout has been pitiable.
Artist Dies Tragically.
Another tragic death was that of Mrs.
Gustav Faber, an artist of more than
usual talent, the wife of a musician.
In Germany they had eacl made en
viable reputations in their respective
lines of art. but after coming to South
ern California they met with reverses
and had had hard work to make both
ends meet They lived at San Bernar
dino, where they occupied- a bungalow
built fn their more - prosperous days.
Mrs. . Faber was preserving jellies in
a small outhouse in the rear of her
residence. As the wood fire failed to
burn properly she poured coaloil upon
it. Instantly- she was wrapped in
flames and a gasoline stove close by
exploded. Thinking of her home and
the art treasures it contained, and
seemingly unconscious of the fact that
she was ablaze, she rushed from the
outhouse to the residence, setting it
afire also. She was completely en
veloped in flames when neighbors, who
had heard her cries, rushed to her aid.
Before the fire could be extinguished
all her garments had been burned off,
her shoes destroyed, and not an inch
of her body escaped scorching, her'
back and breast being actually cooked.
Her remarkable vitality and pluck
were shown as she lay on the ground
under a tree, whiles kindly neighbors
wrapped her charred form with sheets.
"Doctor, am I going to die?" she asked.
When informed that her case was hope
less, she continued: "W'ell. call all
these kind women and men close."
Then, gazing about her, she said: "I
want It thoroughly understood, and
you are all my w.tnesses, that all we
possess belongs absolutely to ray hus
band. He owns the land and the home.
Tell him there is money in the top
bureau drawer, and tell him all the
jewelry is concealed in the . lower
drawer." With that she sighed and
died. Five' minutes later her husband,
who had been summoned from town,
dashed through the crowd and madly
threw himself upon the dead form of
his wife. He is prostrated and his
friends fear that his mind is perma
nently wrecked by the tragedy. His
faithful wife's forethought, however,
went for naught, as the house and all
it contained were destroyed by the fire
that caught from her blazing clothes
when she rushed from the outhouse in
her aeonv.
One of the most pathetic events in
the local courts was the finding that
Mrs. Mary C Jack Bobbins was insane
and her commitment to the asylum at
Patton. Mrs. Bobbins had Just filed
suit for divorce from George A. Rob
bins, a mining engineer of prominence,
known "in the mining regions of Can
ada, the United States and Mexico. An
unkind fate seems to have been, pur
suing Mrs. Bobbins during the past
year and this latest development comes
as a climax to a series of disappoint
ments and heartbreaks. She was mar
ried to Bobbins in Vancouver about
two years ago. Their honeymoon was
spent in Portland. Thence they went
to Idano, where Bobbins was interested
in some mining properties. Then they
came to Los Angeles, where Bobbins
opened an office and had a prosperous
business, beverai montns ago she be
came an invalid and was unable to
leave her home. Her husband ap
peared to be very attentive and she was
happy despite the affliction that would
have sorely tried one with a more
gloomy nature.
LONDON, July 30. (Sp-eclal.) How
many women are there masquerading'
as . men in your locality? Maybe the
question is not so foolish as it looks.
For before suffragettes came to trouble
the world women often found ways to
gain"" equality with men.
There was "Harry Lloyd," for in
stance, who has just handed in her
checks on the outskirts of London. The
mystery of this woman, who for over
25 years worked and lived as a man,
has roused tremendous interest. So
well did she scarry her masculine I
clothes that nobody suspected her
secret.
When a doctor was called to the
house In Alma road, Enfield, on the
Northeastern fringe of the metropolis,
to attend "Harry Lloyd" In his last
moments, he presently came downstairs
and said to Miss Lloyd, who believed
herself to be the daughter: "I thought
It was a man I was called to see?"
"Yes, It is so," she replied, "that is
my father." Then she was shocked to
hearthat the dead body upstairs was
that of a woman.
Inquiries established the fact that
the' woman's real name was Marie Le
Roy, the daughter of a French officer,
whose widow resided in Brussels some
time about 1872. Well educated and
full of the joy of life, the little French
woman-used to attend the Hall or
Science in Old street in the days when
Robert Ingersoll. Charles Bradlaugh
and Austin Holyoake. his publisher,
lectured there. Why this well-educated
woman cut herself off from all her
friends and lived the latter half of her
life as a man is a mystery which she
has carried with her to the grave.
Probably, however, it was due to a
wish to protect the good name of the
girl who believed her to be her father.
This theory has recalled similar acts
of devotion disclosed from time to time
In the life histories of other women
who have posed as men. More often,
however, women, have adopted man's
attire through sheer love of adventure,
and a dislike of the limitations and re
straints imposed on their own sex. Of
this the most notable example was the
famous Madame Velasquez, who took
so active a part in the war between
the North and South. She organized a
company of recruits and to the intense
surprise of her husband, who was an
officer in the Confederate Army, she
one day presented herself before him in
camp and he was in the extraordinary
position of having to accept the serv
ices of his own wife as lieutenant.
Soon after she joined him. however, he
was killed by the accidental discharge
of a carbine.
Madame Velasquez had many exciting
adventures during the war. She fought
through the famous Battle of Bull Run
and was, badly wounded at the- fall
of Fort Donelson. After giving up
service as a soldier she acted as a spy
for the Confederates, and when the war
was nearing its end she took a hand
in Jjlockade running.
In keeping with Tier adventurous
nature, she married three times and
had several children, but the cares of
motherhood do not appear to have in
duced her to settle down, for in later
life she Joined a miner's camp as a
man and made extensive tours through
Europe. - At the beginning of her male
career she went to great pains to con
ceal her form and had made for her
half a dozen fine wire-net shields',
which she wore next to the skin. Over
these she wore an undershirt of silk
or lisle thread, which fitted closely and
was held in place by straps across the
chest and shoulders. These under
shirts could be rolled up into the small
compass of a collarbox. Around the
waist of each of the undershirts was
a band with eyelet holes arranged for
the purpose of making the waistbands
of the pantaloons' stand out to the
proper number of inches.
An ambitious imitator of Mme. Velas
quez came to the front as lately as the
South African War. Among the host of
strange offers that poured into the office
of a London daily newspaper, was one
from a young woman engaged in business
In a South Coast watering place, asking
for advice -to enable her to go out to
the wat1 as a private. ' The sage counsel
which was given to "Mabel" had little
effect, however; for ehortly afterwards,
in the khaki uniform of a young recruit,
she fell into the hands of the authorities,
whose unsympathetic conduct nipped, in
the bud her patriotism at the very mo
ment when It was on the point of blos
soming. One of the most successful and adven
turous of female masqueraders was Han
nah Snelf, "the female sailor," who
ended her romantic career in Bedlam
asylum. - She had married a Dutch' sea
man who robbed her of her savings and
disappeared, leaving her with an Infant
daughter. On the death of the child,
Hannah dressed herself in a suit of her
brother-in-law's clothes. assumed his
name, and set out to wander over the
face of the earth in search of her hus
band. ' She enlisted, and at the siege of
Pondicberry was the first in a party of
English foot soldiers to ford the river
breast high under an incessant Are from
a French battery. She received a danger
ous wound in the leg, but a negress to
whom she confided the secret of her sex
assisjed her in extracting the bullet and
healing the wound.
Shortly afterwards she went on board
th "Tartar" as a sailor, and was trans-
.Off TVCe MyOT
L A ? 1? I r
'Htf v -
W- 5 n v'
jyrAjyjYJiCyVjDojv. jfrscx;
ferred to the "Eltham." While the vessel
was at Lisbon she learned that her long
lost husband had been arrested at Genoa
for murder, and to expiate his crime had
been put into a sack with a quantity of
stones and thrown into the sea. On her
return to England she obtained release
from naval service by allowing her sex
to become known. She was taken in hand
by an enterprising showman and ap
peared at the Royalty Theater in Well
close square, and for a time was a great
attraction. Also, on account of the wounds
she had received in action, Hannah was
awarded a naval pension of 160. With
her reward she took a liquor shop in
Wapping, the signboard of which was in
scribed: "The Widow in Masquerade; or
the Female Warrior," and there she
flourished till her mind gave way.
Equally varied and exciting was the
career of Mary Ann Talbot, the young
est of 16 natural children of an Earl. A
"John Taylor," she was taken to sea by
a scoundrel named Captain Bowen, who
kept the maintenance money allowed for
her support- She was wounded in engage
merits, taken prisoner and suffered many
vicissitudes before residing at Rhode
Island with the family of Captain Field,
whose daughter fell violently in love with
the smart-looking young sailor.
When the "Ariel" sailed for England
the love-sick girl went into violent hys
terics, and was only pacified by Taylor
promising to return as soon as possible.
On the voyage, to the young sailor's dis
may. Captain Field spoke sympathetically
of his daughter's attachment to him,
and told Taylor that he intended to retire
and hand over to him the command, of
his vessel. From this dilemma the girl
sailor was rescued through being captured
by a pressgang soon after landing, .and
she had to, reveal her sex In order to
be released.
Her next adventure was as a high
wayman, going Into partnership with
notorious character named Haines,
whom she deserted soon after the com
mencement of their "business." Then
she joined the Thespian Dramatic
Company and. although she was not a
great success on the stage, she man
aged to subsist on the engagements
which the fame" of her adventurous
career procured for her.
A female masquerader who attained
great notoriety for aer personal cour
age as a soldier, during the Duke of
Marlborough's campaign against the
French in the Low" Countries, was Mrs.
Christian Davies, the daughter of a
Dublin brewer. While in winter quar
ters she amused herself by pretending
to make love to a burgher's daughter,,
and was so successful in her suit that
she found herself compelled to fight a
duel with a sergeant of her regiment,
whom she all but mortally wounded.
In the early days of the British
colonies several cases of women mas
querading as men were discovered, the
dangers of pioneer life in those days
being sufficient motive for adventurous
women adopting the sex which afford
ed them the best protection. There is
living near Melbourne a wonderful
character, Marion Edwards, otherwise
known as "Bill," who still conducts an
hotel in male attire. During her 30
years' Yesidence in Australia "Bill"
has turned her hand to almost every
thingrand recently told a woman Inter
viewer that she wished to remain what
she was "a woman without feminin
ity: a man without being male."
"She has the figure of a lightweight
pugilist; the weather-beaten face and
rather bleared eye that one sees in
sailors. She has no sign, physical or
mental, that connotes her gender. She
tempts one to believe almost that sox
can be made a matter of habit." So the
Interviewer describes the Australian
Amazon.