The Fugitive in the Mill
A murder suspect evades the law by slipping past witnesses in Sprague.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Samuel H. Clemens, the murderer of George Boland near Tampa last Friday night, has been heard of and may yet be captured. He passed through Sprague Tuesday morning, going north, and is evidently heading for the British line. Deputy Sheriff Steward is on his trail, but is 48 hours behind. At 11:30 Wednesday the sheriff's office was notified by Marshal Campbell that a man bearing Clemens' description had passed through Sprague. He was seen by Mr. Smith, bookkeeper in the grist mill, who at the time had not heard of the murder. As soon as he learned of it and read the description, he was certain it was him and notified officers, but this was 48 hours after he had passed. Clemens rode up to the mill, the first building on the west side of Sprague, early Tuesday morning. He inquired for the main road, but when directed, he sneaked around the outskirts of town across the commons instead of following directions.
“The attention of Smith was particularly drawn to the man because he did not follow the directions given, but instead sneaked around the outskirts of town.”
The manhunt remains a staple of local news, though today's alerts rely on instant social media notification rather than the days-long delay in communication that allowed this suspect to escape toward the border.
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