Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1854-04-22
a AIurder0us Maniac.

lana Glalndealer, OF the OH INST. II Is
truly story of horror -
A horrible tragedy was enacted at Roots
town, Ohio, on the 22d nit. A private
letter from a witness of the scene furnish
es the following details
1t seems that Mr.. Horace l.. Ensign, Of
Rootslown, had IiSen on the morning Of
the 22nd, and, without dressing, was in
the act Of putting stick Of wood in the
kitchen stove, when he was lelIeI by
bow on his head. Mr.. L. was standing
at the time near door that opened into
the wood shed. The door was aiar and
the blow was given from some person in
The shed.
The correspondent says:-AIr. Ensign
saw no one, but placing his hands on each
side of his head he FASTENED through into
his dining room, where his wife was. He
exclaimed, II am killed; some one has
split my head open with an axe" He
then ran out to the door and cried murder.
His wife seeing him bleeding, and a cash
on his head just above and also back OF the
temple, shouted for help. Meantime the
chidren were awakened and came run
ming in; the eldest, a son of sixteen, on
coming down stairs, opened the door TO
the woodshed, thinking his father was in
there. On opening the door the first OBJ
ject that he saw was man with an uplIt-
ted axe, looking like a demon at him.
He says, "CaIeb, what do YOU want OF
me ?" Caleb sprang back and shut the
door. By this time a neighbor rcame across
the street and went to the wood-house,
when the maniac addressed him by name:
donald Deming." 'That is my name,'
he replied; and continued he, "John Chit
tendcn, what are You doing with that
axe ?" 81 thirst for blood, and blood |
will have" said he. Mr.. Dcming tried
TO cool him down, and after 4 few minutes
succeeded in getting the axe. However,
before he could get it away, Chiltenden,
who is powerful man, sprang for the
axe, and Deming being much the weaker,
Chntenden wrenched it from him. ,.Some
of the children had been sent for help, ev-
en- in their undress.) A0erIosing his hold
upon the axe, Deming retrealed to the di-
ming room, where Horace sat bleeding, and
his family around him, frightened very
much. Deming held the door from the
f dining room, and hoped to keep him from
that, but with the axe he shivcrcd the
door at once, wnen Mr., Deming eXclam-
ed, "run for your lives"
By this time another neighbor got there,
and on seeing what was going on, ran for
t home TO get his rifle, thinking it best to
f shoot the mailman. Upon the word being
given TO run, they all left as they thought
and Deming shut the outer door; but La.
cinda, their eldest daughter, Ihleen years
old,) stopped to save a little brother, two
and half years old, who hal been ava
kened by the breaking in Of the door, and
had jumped from his bed on TO the floor,
and stood screaming from fright. She
caught him in her arms and reached the
outer door just in time to get her fingers
Pinched as Deming shut the door. She
saw the wretch leap through the door,
through where the upper panel had been
broken. She called 10 have them open
the door, but by this time she received
blow from the head Of the axe, which fcI-
led her with the little one still in her
arms. Meanwhile, Horace had a prescn.
timent that some child still remained in
the house, and had gone around to the
back kitchen door and entered, passing
into the dining room. There lay LUcin-
da, weltering in blood, and as he suppo-
sed dead. The outside door had been
opened. Deming had opened it for the
child when she called; Chiuenden was in
the act of splitting open Deming's head;
Horace sprang across the dining room and
seized the aXe-handle TO avert the blow
from ID. Chttenden finding some one
behind him, turned upon him, and in the
SCuiile quito the bone on the back of IIo-
races head. Upon that Horace seized
him by the throat, and Deming by his
! leg, and by hard struggle they got him
down, he still retaining the axe, and IIo-
race still choking him. By this time The
woman had called the man hack tha, had
gone for his rifle. He came, and with
much difficulty wrenched the axe from
him, he only he'd it by one Land;) they
then got ropes and bound him. Horace
was covered with blood, and so was the
floor.
After the man was secured. a messen.
ger was posted TO Ravenna for medical
aid. The word flew like lightning, and
a general rush ensued. Horaces head
was trepanned. His brain lay exposed
during his struggle with the man. The
pulsaton could be seen, but the mem
brane was not broken. The inside OF tie
bone vas l j inches long and ! of an inch