Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-13

side in the dreanless sleep of death
four little, lisping mouths, sweet a
opening rosebuds, and crimsone,
with brighter hue, were fixed as i
to receive parting kiss from font
mothers lips. Their little eye
were not staring with that open
CHASTITY look of death, so repulsive
but all were closed as perfectly ant
as smoothly as if the "Now I lay
me down to sleep" had been whis-
pered at mothers knee, and theiI
balmy slumbers had descended on
them gently as evening dew.
| The cheeks of the three elder
were flushed, as if in a glow OF
healthfGl excitement, but the baby,
| Nellie, with silken curls Of faxen
hue clustering closely about her
head, was white as purest wax, and
lovely as budding pink.
| On the floor near the bed lay q
heap of little clothes with shoes and
stockings just as they had been re-
moved the night previous when
they undressed for bed. None of
them had anything on save their
night clothes, and they had evident
| ly been taken up one at time and
their Threats cut from ear to ear,
and had then been arranged on the
floor and carefully covered by the
maniac father.
In the granary lay the corpse of
the wife and mother. This is an
old shell of q building entirely
empty, a desolate and lonesome
place. Mrs. Gray lay with her feet
| to the door and her face to the floor
in a puddle of blood, with her left
| arm extended parallel to the body.
The only clothing she had on was
a coarse cotton night dress, a short,
rough coat, belonging to her hus-
band, which she had evidently put
on to protect her from the cold
morning air while she accompanied
her husband to the barnyard, and
a pair of old shoes, which, in her
haste, she had left united. She was
middle-aged woman, with pleas
ant countenance, and about thirty
years of age. Her night dress was
open in front, and upon her breast
and ether parts of her body were
seven wounds, her husband had
given her with q carving knife.
Through one of them her intestines
protruded. Her throat was also
cut from ear to ear. and her face
and the front part of her body was
covered with blood, presenting an
indescribably revolving and sicker-
ing sight.
From all the circumstances it
was surmised that his wife was the
first one killed. She probably saw
some indications of insanity, and,
hastily slipping on her shoes and
throwing the shawl about her that
was found on the fence, attempted
to escape.
He overlook her near the bars,
and may have knocked her down
with the bloody club or saplin re-
ferred to in she description of the
premises.
After this, he may have used the
axe, and then probably dragged
her from there to the granary, and,
after throwing her upon the floor,
cut and mangled her body with the
knife, as described above. From
the granary he evidently returned
to the house, where he sharpened
the case knife on the grindstone
near the door, as 1t was marked
with bloody fingers, both ON the
side of the stone and on the han
die. When fully prepared he en-
tered the house, and, after fasten-
ing the door, began the slaughter
of the children. Which one came
first, or in what order they were
taken, none but God knows. 1t is
probable that one only was muir
dered in the bed, the others each
being taken out and killed upon
the floor between the beds. There
were marks about the person
of the eldest girl which
would indicate that she had en-
gagged in a struggle with the mad
man, but the younger ones may
have never awakened from sleep.
1t would be a blessed consolation to
know for certainty that such was
the case, but it is horrible to think
that he may have chased them
about the room with that bloody
knife, and made the last ones wit
nesses TO the death Of the first vic
tins.
The reporter of the st. Paul
Pioneer visited the cell of the i'll
fated prisoner, and took down his
statement as follows
l had not felt we'll for several
| days, and Tuesday night was I'M
easy about one of my cows that
was about coming in, and was up
and down several times to look after
her. just before daylight l went
out again and my wife went with
me. On arriving at the yard l
found she had a calf, but it was
dead, and another was sick that l
| thought would die.
This existed only in his disor-
dered mind, as no dead calf or sick
| COW could be found Yesterday
When l found this, / thought /
was coming to poverty, that l was
sick and would die soon, and my
family would be left destitute, and l
thought it would be better to send
them to heaven at once. | at once
took the grubbing hoe and struck
my wife on the head with it; this
did not kill her and she scree med
terribly; ! then stabbed her seven
times and she was dead; / took her
up and carried her to the grain
house and laid her down on the
floor Her screams wakened the
children and Maggie came out of
the door; | had a hard time killing
her Che stopped to exclaim); oh,
l tell you it was the bloodiest MUIR
der on record; l then took the axe
and placed the other children down
on the floor and put my knee on
their breasts and took the head of
the axe so describing the action),
/ HOLDING the axe hv hofh hands and