The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • 32

'i-'W-y Praxes aaniiifNSBsiTtfeM i' -mt 7 Memphian's Death Uncovers Story Bizarre Career and Arrest of One of Women in Life and Husband i rrilis is the story of the Case of the Poisoned Milk Bottle It concerns itself with the murder of Walter Lewis Samples a 6f)-ycar-old Spanish American War Veteran who died two days after drinking from a bottle of poisoned milk which was placed on the front porch of his home in Memphis Louis Roy House 40-ycar-old owner of a 1400- acre stock farm in the new Mississippi cattle country and hia wife Bertha Hamilton House have been jointly indicted for the murder of Samples and police say they caused the bottle to be placed on the front porch Police first arrested House and said hia motive waa jealousy over intimate relations Samples had with his wife over a period of jears Mrs House readily admitted the relations but said her husband "could not have committed the he waa too The Brother of the dead man scouted a confession police crime and said he believed Va- It was on the front porch of this modest three-room house in-Memphis that was placed the Milk -Bottle from which Walter Lewis Sam plea drank and later died' mm -V if YCr -XV- 5 'V v- i -V-V -fc-f -JL nearly week of questioning -the solution waa announced brother said Samples met Mrs House' about 10 years ago when she came to his house to sell him a washing machine" He said Samples lent her Mrs fiertha Hamilton House 40-year-old part Indian was in-dieted with her husband after police discovered she was sole beneficiary in Mr $10000 will She is pictured above being greeted by her husband at police headquarters shortly after their arrest said House had made to the woman did Others who studied the case had difficulty in believing that husky straightforward House who built up bis own freight trucking line and with the proceeds purchased the 1400-acre Green Pastures Plantation to raise slock was the sort of men who would slip poisoned milk' under the nose of another man if he wanted to kill him Then Attorney General Will Gerber announced ihat a will of Samples had been found among Mrs House's possessions in which she is named sole beneficiary of a $10000 estate This caused police to switch the possible motive from jealousy to money and Mrs House was jointly indicted with her husband Both have pleaded not guilty to the crime The South is agog over the murder of a man who during his lifetime was regarded as a highly respected bachelor and was a ranking official in the Spanish American War Association After his death he was revested as a man with a remarkable power over women and to have had bizarre relations with a number of them It Was Sample Bottle He Decided The story begins on Feb 25 of this year a frosty morning in Dixie White-maned Samples clad in his deep purple dressing gown went to the lront door of his modest home for the morning paper the Commercial Ap He shivered slightly as the biting wintry air struck his pink-tinged face Hurriedly he reached down to pick up the paper and there beside it was a bottle of milk! Samples' eyebrows went up In surprise because he hadn't ordered any milk that day Besides the shape of the bottle told him it was from a different dairy than the one he patronized No doubt left by mistake he concluded and going back Inside be telephoned his next-door neighbor No he teamed thev'd received their bottle Samples pondered a minute and then his lace cleared It was a sample bottle Much pleased with this manna from Heaven he placed thr milk in his refrigerator You see Samples loved milk It was his favorite drink The reason he didn't order it more regularly was because he ate most of his meals away from home But et every meal he drank milk It was good for him and Samples was very fastidious about food He ate raw carrots and spinach and all sorts of things just because they were good for him A little later he dressed and ate some bacon and eggs and toast and washed it down with glass of the newly found milk 1 Now here we come to one of the most significant factors in the story 4 A Having Head Cold May Have Cost Life The fateful milk bottle contained a variety of rat poison which has a bitter taste and gives off a distinctive odor Ordinarily a finicky person like Samples would have ob served something was wrong as soon as he opened the bottle but he didn't this day He had been suffering from a severe cold and had previously remark' ed to friends that he was unable to smell or taste anything He poured out a glass of the doctored milk and gulped it down Later he said it tasted strange going down but thought the Queer taste was in his own mouth because of the cold A friend later described him as probably drinking the milk and paying in characteristic fashion "It tastes funny but darn it it's gool for me" and draining the glass Samples' brother firmly believes that if Samples had not had the cold he'd be alive today After downing the milk he left his home end drove to sn-ether house he owned in the neighborhood which he was redecorated Neighbor Widow Spent Night as Nurse In little while he sensed a peculiar sensation in his throat His stomach began turning cartwheels and he was soon doubled with pain Stumbling to his car he started home On the way he became violently ill had to ston and vomit Upon reaching the hntje he staggered to the phore end callH Mrs Shirley Mills a middle-aged widow whose husband had Louis Roy House and his wife indicted Jointly on charges of murdering Mr Samples bought the house and 1400-acre planta tion in South Mississippi shown in scenes above and at right) for $45000 last fall Police say they have learned that the former Memphis truck-line operator was' having trouble meeting the down payment of $0000 7y i LOUIS ROY HOUSE some money and that the relationship was purely business Lamb by Day and a Wolf by However Mrs House said in press interview that she had been intimate with Samples since 1929 before and after her marriage to House and that she had stolen $7800 from her husband to give to Samples She would not discuss her relationship with Semples but called him a "Human Vampire" Police Inspector Hi li ds de scribed him as a "Iamb by day and a wolf by When police- told Mrs House her husband had confessed she screamed hysterically She protested his innocence said he confessed to get her out nf jail because am about to become a mother" Interviewed in the twice that many The average litter of the female rattler runs from five to a dozen according to Evans but last year one mother presented him with 64 offspring The demand for rattlesnake 1 steak which Evans calls a "thrill outweighs the supply He has standing orders from distributors for tha delicacy Oil rendered from the carcass Is sold tor its alleged curative powers The skins are valuable mostly for their decorative quality Persons desiring a pair of genuine rattlesnake shoes may order them on the spot SO-O-O-O SLE wrjaw Look at this picture and see Left to right'ore- Jackie Terry and snooze waiting their turn to strut at i quarters gt city jail' Mrs House a 40-year-old slightly built part Indian puffed nervously on cigarette after cigarette and said her husband was not guilty "He must have been driven half crazy by the hours of questioning to have made such a she said "I told him it would send him to the electric chair but fie said he loved me and confessed to keep us from rotting in jail He said I am innocent Police said they were checking on the amount of the shortage reported in House's accounts but one officer said "it was evident Samples bled Mrs House Mrs House Found Sole Beneficiary in Will At first it was thought that Samples had left no will was found among his effects' although he kept alt his account in minute detail even tq purr chases of bread 'However la-ter Attorney General Gerber reported a will purported be that of Samples had been found among Mrs' House's possessions Biggest source of income is the venom1 used chiefly for serum Venom is sold to roedicel laboratories "by the snake" says Evans because just as dangerous to handle one snake which may give two drops as one that gives 30 the maximum The snakes are "milked" about once every three weeks jrom May to October Evans and his wife personally do all the for the venom They get insurance for their- -workers the job -being considered i too dangerous' by-state authorities In milking the snake Evans-holds it by the head 1 a I the fangs EPY if you can keep from- yawning Martha cuddled up for a spring New York's Boys Club pet show looked deathly pale and called hospital attaches It was too late Samples died at 11:40 on the night of Feb 27 Death waa formally reported as being -from "stoppage of the with no hint of murder Analysis Showed Milk Was Poisoned Next morning before she knew of death Mrs Mills remembered the advice of two days earlier to have the milk analyzed been so busy she found time Obtaining a sample of the milk she called the hospital to find out if it had facilities for analyzing and then learned of death She immediately went to the police vith the milk and wired brother in Oklahoma Analysis disclosed the milk contained rat poison and ap autopsy showed the same substance in body Police said it was murder and the investigation Now here is where the Jekyll-Hyde picture of Samples commenced to unfold Hitherto he had been described as a genial bachelor who had been retired a dozen years ago from the Engineers He had dabbled in real estate with mod-' erate success Considered a level-headed business man friends brought their financial problems to him He helped them with their income taxes advised widows of war veterans on estates and often drew up wills for his friends However though affable and convivial he was alwtys reticent about hia own affairs He played bridge but never gambled He enjoyed dancing and temperately drank whisky and beer He never smoked Somewhat of a Beau Brummell he had several suits of the finest cut clothes At his death he had about $300 in a checking account a $2000 life insurance policy--four pieces of rentable Memphis property and some land in Arkansas He had an income of more than $200 a month from pensions and rentals Veneer Shrouding Personality Lifts Bom in Missouri he had been educated at the University of Missouri and briefly taught school in his native state He also had been a postman in Nevada Mo He came to Mem-' phis about 40 years -ago with the Engineers He had served honorably in the war of and waa senior vice commander of the Memphis Camp of the United Spanish American War Veterans Association He was slated to be commander next year He read much and was well informed on current events In short he sppeared at death to have been a normal happy bachelor of property and res pec-ability who had been foully murdered for no apparent reason And then the veneer that shrouded his personality began to be lifted First of all it developed he was not a bachelor but had been married years ago in Missouri The marriage ended in divorce after a short while and his wife has long since died Next came the revelation that there had been numerous women in his life of all types to whom he gave costly Christmas presents although in business dealings he was rather close-fisted Some of these women were highly respectable and there was no reason to believe the relationship was other than purely friendly Others police said he had been Intimate with end they were questioned in daily stream by the police Police claimed Samples had gone with over a dozen different women within the past year Type Murder Brother Thinks brother who had come in from Oklahoma and had taken up residence at home told reporters first that he believed his brother had been the victim of ami and rherrhe la femme 1 Later he discounted tales nf his brother's love affairs but held -to the 'belief -that it Who Cares for 20000 Has Handled Them for 22 Years Without a Bite 9 TP'- K- rt i naming her as sole beneficiary to his estate Previously Mrs House was being held merely as a material witness but this information brought her directly into' the case and she was indicted jointly with her husband for the murder House has had little to say to reporters about the ca-e -other -than-to state that there had been some lies told and that it would all come out at the trial House is a good-looking well set up man who talks and acts like a successful business executive In a brief meeting with his wife in the cortir of the police eta tion shortly bf ter the alleged confession he embraced her fondly Until last October House had operated a successful freight trucking line and had lived modestly in Memphis When he sold oyt his trucking interests everything was in order his successors said He bought Green Pastures at an auction for $45000 At fint he was believed to be a wealthy man and to have paid cash for the plantation but sub- -sequent developments revealed he had purchased on the installment plan and was-having difficulty meeting the down payment of $9000 through chamois covering a jar Evans' 22 years of handling snakes and dealing with Curiosity seekers has brought him financial security and the habit of not asking too many questions His favorite story deals with a group of Chinese who make frequent pilgrimages to the ranch With great ceremony the Chinese select a snake place it in a jar of alcohol and watch it die to the accompaniment of more rituals When Evan kept asking the Chinese why they did this they replied "We buy snake You got money" AIL of which is part of the business nf running a rattlesnake farm Flax Adapted To Make Paper for Cigarettes (Hr VmHmI Fmn) TllINNFAPOLIS Minn A liVinew industry is springing up in Minnesota because of the European war German occupation of northern France cut the American tobacco industry from its source of cigarette papers Cigarette manufacturers turned the problem over to research experts who discovered that cigarette paper could be made from flax straw The French had used linen rags Minnesota Is the nation's leading flax producer Consequently six Minnesota tow mills are operating 24 hours a day to meet a sudden dcmsnd for the by-product of a straw that farmers often burned Herbert Miller head of the Minnesota resources commission- estimates that 100000 tons of straw will be processed in the state this year The farmer ii paid about $7 a ton for the straw WALTER LEWIS SAMPLES 69-year-old Spanish-American War veteran tpho died two days after drinking from a bottle of milk left on hii porch- Analysis showed the milk contained rat poison been Samples' friend and who aays she regarded him as her rounselor in business affairs She is an official in the veterans' auxiliary On the night before drinking the milk Samples had attended a committee meeting with her but left her immediately after and what he did later if anything hat never been revealed Samples fainted during the phone conversation but had sufficiently recovered when she arrived in response to his desperate call to answer the door He-' was vomiting profusely Mrs Mills called a doctor who prescribed a saline laxative and gave him a hypodermic The doctor asked Samples what he had been eating and was told about the strange milk After sniffing the bottle the doctor suggested Mrs Mills have it tnalyzed Throughout the night Mrs Mills stayed with him and nursed him He writhed and moaned until morning and was unable to keep a laxative in his stomach Felt Better Next Day Then Came Relapse Strangely-enough the following morning Samples felt better Mrs Mills left him and went to work During the day he obtained relief from a laxative took a tub bath busied himself around the house and though he was well on the way to recovery Late in the afternoon he phoned Mrs Mills and invited her to have dinner with him at his home He ordered two dinners sent in and ate lightly of soup a salad and then retired with a glass of milk He sent Mrs Mills home saying he thought he could sleep1 However during the night he suffered a relapse and in the morning was once again filled with nausea and had developed a pain in his side A doctor was called and over the phone he said the pain was probably caused from the vomiting About noon Mrs Mills Came to see him and he agreed to go to Veterans' Hospital All this timp Samples seemed to have no idea he had been deliberately poisoned He had no idea' the poison was slowly seeping through his body carrying death While waiting for the ambulance Samples with characteristic rare and thoroughness directed Mrs Mills to shut off the water stop the paper and milk He expected to be gone several days and hated to have his porch cluttered 1 i Only I Had Not Been So At the hospital his condition appears not to have been considered serious He was given a hypodermic and throughout the afternoon he chatted with Mrs Mills about the annual flower sale on Memphis streets to raise funds for veterans They were both chairmen of committees and the sale is to be held the end of this month Once during the afternoon Samples said to Mrs Mills "if only 1 had rot been so She said he never elaborated on this and she did not know what he meant Mrs Mill left him at 9 ihat night and he was fairly comfortable About 11 a patient parsing by rpom saw he was a woman's type of murder He continues to believe that The brother told of women' hia brother had helped but could think of none-who would want to kiUhim For 35 days the case rocked along apparently getting nowhere Was it to be another unsolved murder in Memphis? There had been several recent- ly Public pressure was put on the police Action was demanded Then with lightning swiftness on -Friday April 4 action came Police announced the case was solved They had obtained a confession from House the former truck line operator He had admitted putting the poisoned milk bottle on porch and hia motive was jealousy police said 1 Another Woman Comes Forth with Key' The key-to the solution had been-furnished by another woman It seems that this woman a Mrs Scarley widow of' still another Spanish War veteran had come to Samples' home on a purely- business mission for advice about some compensation papers A woman was there crying about loss of a purse containing $35 Samples introduced the woman to Mrs Smith as Mrs House Mrs Smith Temembercd that as she left she noticed Mrs House peering after her from the windows All this happened about two years ago After death this Mine Mrs Smith happened to have a flat tire in front of the victim's home She went into Samples house to'use the phone and started talking to brother his wife end Mrs Mills who were present At that time the papers were full of stones about the dead man's women friends Mrs Smith recalled the meeting with' Mrs House described her and then brother and his wife remembered having 1 met Mrs House on a visit to Memphis six years ago Mrs Mills decided the police know about this and called them Mrs House was located at the Green Pastures Plantation was questioned for six hours by police and released However two weeks later tlie Houses were lured to Memnhis by ihe police on a pretext of a business engagement arrested upon entering the city and afjee (Bjr Cnttnl Prtw) COLFAX Calif Seein' snakes? Better steer clear of the Foot Hill ratllesnajit ranch with its 20000 or more inhabitants This 3000 acre ranch one mile west of Colfax on national highway No' 40 literally crawls with rattlers "au and in confinement Believed to be the largest of its kind In the world the farm is owned and operated by Evans and his tefans in the deli- wife both vet cate task of handling their temperamental charges Even has handled rattlers for 22 years and has never been bittern The actual management of the huge ranch is a humdrum busl-hess according to Evans The interest in the unusual enterprise' comes from visitors to the ranch averaging 100 to 200 during the week and 1000 on Sundays When he first started the ranch Evans allowed the public to view the pens where he keeps thousands of the reptiles But he lost hundreds of snakes which are "highly nervous creatures" and cant take the stares of a gaping public Now Evans maintains a snake pit especially for visitors where rome 25 to 50 rattlers are under the limelight for show-off purposes Even so the loss of snakes Is still large life In the pit virtually is a death sentence to the rattler who will usually die within 60 days after its contact with the curious public Feeding time draws the most visitors The snakes are fed live mice as they like to kill their own food When the rattlers get "fussy" a special meal of raw hamburger is provided Revenue from the snakes Is derived from four source meat hide nil and vrhnm Last year 12000 snakes-were slaughtered for market purposes and this year-Evans expects to kill: -J tr A st rr -nig.