Person Page - 2637

WEARY TRAMP ENDS IN LONG SLEEP FOR WOMAN
     MRS. C. ATKINS FOUND DEAD BY ROAD TUESDAY
     Exposure and Walk of Fifteen Miles Probable Cause
     Sought Aid for Church in Canada Woman of Eccentric Habits.
     That exposure and exhaustion followed a weary 15-mile tramp across the country, visiting towns and soliciting contributions for religious purposes, was the immediate cause of the death of Charlotte Atkins, a widow lady, whose lifeless body was found by the roadside three miles south of Crookston, Tuesday morning, was the verdict of the jury empaneled by Coroner H. C. Nelson at Crookston, late yesterday afternoon.
     The remains were taken to that city. where a post mortem was held and where they were embalmed, awaiting instructions from relatives in Canada, the former home of the deceased. The examination revealed enlargement of the liver and that Mrs. Atkins may have suffered from acute indigestion, aggravated by her long walk and exposure. That she was mentally of a high, nervous temperament, eccentric and actuated by an intense religious fervor, was brought out at the examination.
     A Pitiful Story.
     From evidence gathered by Coroner Nelson, the woman had been soliciting subscriptions for the erection of a church at Netherhill, Sask., a project which she had worked faithfully to carry out and in which she had overtaxed both mind and body. She was last seen alive at the farm home of a family named Novness, 19 miles south of Crookston, last Monday night, when she left, supposedly for other towns in that vicinity. Her long journey on foot from Grand Forks. Fisher, Climax, thence to Neilsville and Northward toward Beltrami, was traced by the coroner in a careful investigation made yesterday.
     Found by Farmer.
     Early Tuesday, morning Oscar Quist, a farmer, while driving to Crookston with milk, had considerable trouble to get his horse to pass a certain spot in the road about three miles south of that city, reared and gave the driver considerable trouble, refusing to' pass the spot. Quist: investigated and found the body of the woman lying as though in sleep by the side of the road, her head pillowed on her arm on a slight rise of ground. The body was cold and she must have died in the night, after lying down, exhausted and ill from her weary tramp of 15 or more miles.
     In a neat handbag lying beside the body, was a sum of money In bills and small change, some $67 in all, indicating that her mission to secure funds for the church she would have erected near her home in the sparsely settled north country had been successful. There were no signs of violence, and the unfortunate woman wore good comfortable clothing, was a well-preserved woman of perhaps 45 or 46 years, and neat in the extreme.
     Visited Here.
     Mrs. Atkins visited relatives in Grand Forks last week, according to advices received by the coroner, J. S. Milne and William Giles, both of this city, are uncles, he stated, and they advised him that there was no necessity for their relative to expose herself to the hard task she had undertaken, as she is in good circumstances financially and has other relatives who are located in Canada and who have been advised of her death.
     It is stated that during her stay here she visited at a local lady's, and suddenly left the house, saying that she "must go to church." This was the last they saw of her. It was noticed that she insisted on wearing her hat in the house at all times, and gave other indications of eccentric habits.
     Relatives Notified.
     Relatives at Creekfield, Sask., have been notified of her death, and it is expected that advices as to the disposition of the body will be received today. Three brothers reside in that place, a brother and a sister in Vancouver, C. and two sisters in Pittsburgh, Pa. Mrs. Atkins had no children, and her husband died some years ago, since which time she has resided in Canada with relatives, and on her farm near the little hamlet where she proposed to erect a house of worship.⁶

Survived by her husband, William George Davidson.¹