What Burns Was It

Superintendent ot the Poor O. E. Mills, of Mancelona, is in the city and brings newspaper clippings regarding a stranger calling himself Tom Burns and claiming to be from Ann Arbor, who committed suicide in that village on Wednesday of last week, and whose body is now in the vats of the anatomical building of the university. Jnst who he is no one here seems te know.

Tom Burns had been employed at Sands lumber camp east of Kalkaska and had gone on an extended debauch. He wound up at Mancelona, seeming to be impressed with the idea that he had committed some crime and that he had an enemy who was following him to kill him. He kept crying out that he was awfully crazy and entreated Deputy Sheriff Kittle to lock him up. This was done. He insisted that the door of his cell should be locked. This was done, but shortly after being left alone he broke a window and with a piece of the glass cut his throat, completely severing the wind pipe and nearly severing the gullet. He was found in this condition and every effort was made to save him. He was unable to talk. Beef tea was introduced in his stomach by means of a rubber tube inserted through the gash in the throat. He improved and by means of a pencil and paper offered to bet $5 that be would get well. He was taken to the county farm and seemed to stand the journey well, but the loss of blood had been too great and on Saturday last he died.

After cutting his throat and after the doctors had worked over him he penciled on paper that his name was Tom Burns and that he carne from Ann Arbor where he had a sister and son living. He wrote that he had worked for J. Polhemus. He told about John, Tom and Dick Burns.

Mr. Mills, the superintendent of the poor is in the city, was not home at the time of Burns' death and his body was shipped to this city in accordance with law. Afterwards it was stated by some who knew him at the camp that he had been an old soldier. If this were so his body should not have been shipped here but taken care of by the Soldiers' Relief Commission. He gave his age as 57, but those who have seen the body say the man was not over 40.

The mysterious thing about the matter is that there was a man who worked for Polhemus formerly by the name of Tom Burns. There used to be a John and a Dick Burns in Lodi, but the Tom Burns who worked for Polhemus was a shorter man than is the body of the man who claimed that name. Those who knew Tom Burns well are positive that the body is not that of Burns. Mr. Marsh, the custodian of the body, says he knew Tom Burns, and that this is not him. Patrolman Collins also failed to identify him and thinks he never saw this man before.

Since the above was in type, further investigation shows that there was a carriage maker known as "Brickie" Burns, with red hair, tall and rather slender who used to be about Polhemus' four years ago. He had a wife and one child. The last that was known about them they were in Jackson. Patrolman Collins, however says it is not him, and that "Brickie" Burns is in Jackson. "Tommy" Burns, says Patrolman Collins, was au adopted son of James Burns now janitor of the First ward schools, who used to work for Polhemus, and he had an adopted brother named John who has since died. But Mr. Collins, who knew "Tommy" Burns, could not identify the body.