The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-06-14
before the other had yet reached the bed

before the other had yet reached the bed
side.
The old man then put his hand to his bo-
som, and the trembling drover saw the
long blade the other had given him.. For
an instant the murderous weapon was pois-
cd over his head, and then descended upon
the person Of the poor wretch in the bed.
The mur ierer paused in his work for an
instant, as If to satisfy himself that life was
extinct; and then moved quickly from the
room. ss5,gsa,- st.s. .tt
As soon as the sound of his footsteps had
died in the distance, the horror-stricken dro.
yer escaped through the window and ran
with all his speed to Marquise, where arous-
ing the people of the hotel, he told his fear
ful story. A crowd soon collected about
him; and accompanied him to the scene of
the foul mu-der
|. All about the house was stlll, but on APP
preaching the stab'ea light was discovered
within; and moving noiselessly to the door,
peering through the cracks, the two mur-
derers were found in the act Of digging q
grave beneath the flooring. A rush was
made upon them, and they were arrested.
AT the sight of the drover, who was the
first to confront the guilty wretches, the
landlord uttered shrek Of terror and fell
to the ground, while his accomplice. pale as
a corpse, gazed upon him with alright, not
doubling it was the ghost of the murdered
man who stood before him.
The party now proceeded to the house,
dragging the two murderers along with them,
Lights were procured, and still keeping
the prisoners with them, the people entered
the room where lay the body of the man so
strangely murdered instead Of the horse
dealer. The wife and daughter followed.
When the covering was removed from the
face Of the corpse, and the full light of the
candles flared upon it, wild cry burst from
the lips of the landlords wife.
My son-my murdered son! Who has
done Ms?" =.
And with hystcrical scream she fell to
the floor.
"No, no it can't be so, mother ~ exclaim-
ed the daughter, as she struggled to reach
the bed. But the terrible truth burst upon
her as her eyes fell upon the mangled form
Of her brother, as she also swooned upon the
body.
/. The cries of the brokcn-hearted females
seemed to arouse the old man for moment
and gazing wildly at the sight before him,
he also realized tie terrible truth. He had
murdered his own son!
On investigating the facts before the mag
istrate on the following day, it was ascer-
tanned that the son Of the innkeeper, who
was dissipated young man, had visited
Marquise the previous evening, where, with
some of his associates, he had been engaged
in drinking and gambling till late hour;
and being too much intoxicated to remount
his horse, and ashamed to meet his family,
some of his fellow gamblers had accompa-
MED him home; and supposing the room in
which the drover had been put to be vacant,
they had assisted the drunken man into the
window. 1t was their voices the lodger had
heard; and thus it was that the hapless youth
met his death, and our friend escaped
The accomplice of the landlord proved to
be his own son-in.law, Henri Legrand. From
that awful hour the wretched mother of that
murdered boy, murdered by his fathers
hand, remained raving maniac.
It is only necessary to add, in concluding
this tale Of horrors, that the drover recovered
his money; and Justice, claiming her due,
the two murderers paid the penalty of their
crime upon the guillotine. Shortly after
this last event, the people Of Marquise, to
whom the scene Of the unnatural murder
had become an eye-sorc. assembled and lev
eled the buildings to the ground. The spot
is now covered with brambles and thistles,
and pointed out to the stranger as place
to be avoided.