The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1840-06-23
THE HUNTINGDON COUNTY TRAG.


II
II short account of which we gave some lime
since.
One Of the most shocking nurders-or ra,ber
'h"ssacres OF an entire lauily-thHt ever cast a
siam upon civilization was perpcra,ed i'm Cro,,,
wen townships Huntingdon county, on Saturday
me 10Th nlt. The prominent particulars AZ
ghihered from an individual present at he ex.
ANIMATION are these: William Brown is the IA.
'ner OF the murdered IN uily, which consistedsof
The parents and six children The el,IeSt ,,s@geI
ter Is married to Robert McConahy who lived
on his tathern laws premises Ills a tenant.
Drown, II seems, Is II rough man, addicted to in
temperance, and when in this condition was II,
Inc habit of threatening to kill some of his fami
! ~, though never known To have attempted ,uv
thing of the kind. lie WINS in the habit of work.
ing in the neighborhood AT carpentering: whilst
hicConahy conducted the farming operatiors
Saturday morning the old man and the elaes,
son, aged about 81 left home for their places Of
employment; shortly after which, McConolv
proposed TO the next oldest son and Younger
one to Ego hunling," at the same time direct
ing the daughter and another of the bows TO do
some work in cornliell, Mar. Conahyl wife
having the day previous been conveyed TO n
iriend's house at some distance, hv her husband
After me above disposition had been gone into
the whole family had been dispersed exceut
n,is' Nf"Wi' VINO remained in the house. Nc
ConalIy and the two boys Oh the hunting excur.
SION had not proceeded much beyond a mile
from the house when the report of guns WINS
heard, and when the bodies Of the two bows
were found, II appeared tllat the Oldest n stout
hoy, had not been MORALLY wounded by the shot
that he made desperate battle, until overcome
ny his mercess assailant, who finally cut his
thioat Whilst this scene enncting, the
smaller hoy ran some distance but was pursued
shot and beaten TO death, and, with his brother
buried beneath The leaves and other rubbish.
Shortly after this, the girl and her brother en-.
gagged in the cornfied were attacked; the girl
was shot, but there was ample and painful evil
dence to show that the first wounG was not ia.
tai, and that she resisted the murderer with eX.
traordmary power, which ceased only when
both Ger arms were hrok en-, and her throat Gu,
from har TO ear! The boy here as in the other
case, appeared TO have been first shot anl then
beaten and stabbed until life was extinct The
bodies were then covered up. The next object
Of the liend incariate was the mother of those
murdered children. She was found in the
house and was despatched with common butch
err knife, with which her head was nearly sever.
ed from her body, though not without mani
festatons of having resisted her destroyer TO the
extent of her power. She was buried in her he'd
and The blood carefully wiped off the floor. The
murderer then stationed himself in the barnwilh
two loaded rifles, at point commanding a view
>of the, door of the dwelling house, and awaited
the approach of lie next victims. The first was
the eldest son, who, when upon the threshold of
| the door received fatal shot, and tell dead up
house, and the door closed Nexi came the ,fa.
Their, who upon putting his hand 10 the door
round " fastened, upon which he made ox
clainaton OF dissatisfaction, and at the same mo-
ment heard the report OF gun, and lett ball
pass close to his eyes as cause consdera.
! bile pain; III moment after, another discharge
| OF rifle sent ball so near as to cut off part of
| his ear, Craze his whskers, and pass through his
hat lie then cast his eyes towards the barn
and diSff1aered person hastily turn round the
orueFsSllrcctng his course to the woohs.
Upon effectug an entrance into the house,
Mr. Brown found his eldest son upon the floor
dead, and upon further examination, discovered
his wife concealed in the bed clothes, life also
extinct. lie then communicated the dreadful
circumstances 10 his neighbors, who nmediale-
/ y Instituted "A search for the other members OF
the family who were found as already described,
the searcIers beieg led in the right direction by
the reports of the guns previously heard. The
next question was aoho IS the Murderer? The
character and habits of Brown at once gave col.
or to the suspicion that he had returned home
naddened, thousands have been before him,
by Intoxicating liquor, and had thus put in
cution his Oft threatened and unnatural purpose
He secured-but fortunately for him he re.
maned sober that day, and only needed to
bring forward his proofs to satisfy all that he
could not he tie murderer.
McConahy, the son in. law, was present. and
in reply to an insInualion from him unfavorable
to Brown, the latter at once accused him as the
criminal, averring that he was the man he saw
running from the barn, &c. This soon resulted
in the liberation OF the OLD man aud the securing
of McConahy, who, in all the subsequent exam
ination, became more deeply involved in coudem
ming circumstances, and was finally committed
TO Huntingdon Jail TO await his trial in August.
4 Providence seems To have inlerposed in
markable manner to Illustrate the design of the
assassin. IfMcConahy is the guilty man, the
only object he can have had in view to des-
troy the whole family in order TO secure the
property of his father in law to himset-and 1t
, would seem that the calculation was that the
public would be ready to conclude that Brown
had perpetratcd the dreat!fu slaughter and then
committed suicde--a conclusion thar might
have been produced if he had fallen hythe shots
aimed at his head, and If lie had left his employ
ment prepared for such deed by intoxication.
i A DREADFUL OUrRAGE.-We are Informed,
says the Peoria Register, that four horse thieves
} were captured about two weeks ago in Iowa
Territory, somewhere nenr Davenport one o.
1vhon, wasinstnu tly hupr M 10 Il tree, where he