Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-07-03
HORRIBLE CRIME.
"A Whole Family Poisoned by a
Human Monster
One of the Most Fel-ocious
- Deeds on Record.
From the Msmphis 8. Appeal. !. guIr !.


We are indebted to Walker Wood, Eiq.,
who arrived from Somerville yesterday,
for the particulars of one of the rzJst
cold-blooded and horrible affairs that We
have ever heard of-being the poisoning
OF an entire family, consisting of father
and three children, by an assassin, whose
sole motive was revenge The circum-
stances, as detailed by Mir. Wood, are as
follows. -.
Some two years ago very quiet, peace
able man, named Harrison Baily, living
some four or five miles from Someryille.
killed a man (whose name it is thought
best not to nention), as it was proven
on trial, in self-defense. He was arrested,
examined and discharged, as entirely
justilable; but relative of the man who
was killed made o VOW to revenge him,
and few months ago was heard to swear
that "neither Harrison Baily nor Ben.
Chambers "a witness who testified very
strongly in his favor), should live TO see
the S0th of june a.
On Saturday last, Mr. Baily visited
Someryille to transact some business, and
on returning home in the evening, saw
lying in the road, just before reaching his
place, package neatly done up in white
paper. lie dismounted, picked it up, and
on unrolling it, discovered it to be small
porter bottle full or nearly full of liquor
looking, to use his own words. ''as if two
or three drinks had been taken out of it. -
On picking it up he noticed that it was
slightly imbeded in the loose earth of the
road, as if it had fallen some distance,
and as he knew that his neighbor, Mr.
McFadden, had been in town, and had
started out just ahead of him, he conclud-
ed that it was his private bottle which
had jolted out of his pocket, and deter
mined to take it home and use it. He
was strengthened in this idea by learn
ing, on reaching home, that Mr.. McFadden
had passed by only a few minutes before,
and that no one had passed since.
| After resting he opened the bottle, and
on tasting it, finding it to be what he
thought very good article of whisky,
made toddy of q portion of the con-
tents. His three little children, one a
girl of eleven years of age, and two boys,
aged respectively eight and four, crowd
ing around him while he was doing so,
after he had made it he gave each of
them sip, and drank off the balance
himself.
That was a fatal draught A few mo-
ments after drinking, each was seized
with burning, gripping pain in the
stomach, which soon became alarming.
Aid was summoned, but came too late,
and in two short hours all four were stiff
in death.
The news was soon spread among his
neighbors and created intense excitement.
The deadly bottle was examined and the
liquor found to be saturated with strych-
mia. Mr.. Baily having recounted how,
and where he found the bottle, parties
went TO the spot and an examination re-
vealed the fact, it had been thrown into
the road from clump of thick under
growth, to and from which the party
who threw it, had walked on his heels so
as to leave no track behind. Mr.. Nc
Faden having been interrogated, declared
that there was no bottle or bundle in the
road when he passed by, some minutes
before; consequently it was thrown there
by some one who was watching for Baily,
and who intended that he should find
it and use it as he did.
The oath of the party spoken of above
was then remembered, and it, along with
various other things, directed suspicion
TO him, and it was determined to arrest
him. When the officers went to look for
him, however, he was gone, and though
diligent search has been made, no traces
of him have as yet been found.
The police and detectives in various
localities have been notified to keep a
sharp lookout for him, and he will, no
doubt, be caught sooner or later. The
wrath of heaven is sure to oYertake the
wretch who could deliberately commit so
great and so monstrous a crime