The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1869-04-22


1 could look under the breast-bone.
One of the beds was covered wit
blood, from the pillow down to til
). middle of the tick; while on the other
D. which was unstaiaed, lay long case
knife. sharpcned to q keen edge, AM
which had evidently been used by TIL
fratricide. Between the beds the foo
was covered with deep pool Of blood
presenting much the appearance of
battle field dissecting-table; and nea
! the centre Of the room lay the bodies o
four little innocents--two girls an,
two boys-all arranged in accordanc,
: with their agea, lying partially on thci
right sides, with their little faces turn
ed in the same direction, besmearet
with gore and cold in death.
They were carefully covered to theil
shoulders with a bloody quilt, whicl
the maniac had taken from the bed, anc
with tender care had covered them TO,
the long, long sleep of death. No pen
can paint, nor words can tell, the heart
rending agony of that sight. 1t was
enough to make devils weep. -Four
little heads, beautiful even through
their crimson stains, lay side and side
in the dreamless sleep Of death; four
little, lisping mouths, sweet as opening
rosebuds and crimsoned with brighter
hue, were fixed as if to receive part
ing kiss from fond mothers lips. Their
little eyes were not staring with that
open CHASTITY look of death, so repul
sive, but all were closed as perfectly
and as smoothly as if the "Now | lay
me down to Sleep had been wills
percd at mothers knee, and their balmy
slumhers had descended on them
gently as the evening dew. @
The cheeks Of the three elder were
flushed, as if in glow of hcalthful ex.
element, but the baby, Nellie, with
silken curls Of faxen hue clustering
closely about her head, was white as
parest wax, and lovely as a budding
pink.
On the floor near the bed lay q heap
OF little clothes with shoes and stock
ings just as they bad been removed the
night previous when they undrcsscd for
bed. None of them had anything on
save their night clothes, and they had
evidently 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 building entirely empty, a desc
late and lonesome place. Mrs. Gray
lay with her feet to the door and her
face to the floor in puddle of blood,
with her left arm parallel to the body.
The only clothing she had on was u
coarse cotton night dress, q short
rough coat, belonging to her husband, |
which she had evidently put on to
protect her from the cold morning air
while she accompanied her husband to
the barnyard, and apair Of old shoes,
which in her haste she had left united,
She was middle aged woman, with
pleasant countenance, and about thirty
years OF age Her night dress was !
open in front, and upon her breast and /
other parts Of her body were seven
wounds her husband had given her
with 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 sicken
ing sight. ... ..--
From all the circumstances it was
surmised that his wife was the first one
killed. She probably saw some iudi-
cations of insanity, and hastily slip
Ding on her shoes and throwing the
shawl about her that was found on the
ence, attempted to escape {
He overlook her near the bars, and
nay have knocked her down with the
bloody club or saplin referred 10 in the |,
description of the premises.
After this he may have used the axe, ,
md then probably dragged her from
here to the granary, and after throw
ng her upon the floor, cut and man I
led her body with the knife, as dcs-
ribed above. From the granary he
returned to the house, where
e sharpened the case knife on the
rindstone near the door, as it was O
,arked with bloody fingers, both on
he side of the stone and on. the handle. {
hen fully prepared he entered the S
ouse, and after fastening the the door n
cyan the slaughter of the children.
Which one came first or in what order g
ley were taken, none but God knows. n
is probable that one only was muir. p
cred in the bed, the others each being al
ken out and killed upon the floor be- Ell