The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-08-03

hour, Frederi elk Nathan, one of the sons, re
turned, and On the way up to his room on the
third floor, stopped at the reception room door
which was unlocked, and went in. He found
his father in bed, but awake, 1or wsen Frede
rick asked il his brother had come home, Mr.
Nathan ans wered In the negative. Frederick
then, kissing his father, bade him good night
and with the CHEEKY return of his benson from
his fathers lip lingering In his ear, he went or
up stairs and TO bed. A few moments later
and at precisely 1s-20 o'clock A. H., Washington
Nathan. the other son, returned. He, TOO
stopped. found the door uniastened, went IN
found his father lying peacefully on his Inn
prmptu bed and spoke to him, but getting nc
answer then, saw that the old gentleman was
asleep, and Without awakening him went 0ul
and to his bedroom on the third floor, and i'm.
mediately retired. Ias.
At this point positive testimony stops. The
house was wrapped in sleep, but in all the
vast mansion were only FIVE persons beside
the assassin, who must have been lurking
somewhere about 1t for hours, awaiting HE
opportunity. which was about to come. In
the reception room, In the position described,
was the aged proprietor; in the large bedroom,
occupying the rear of the same floor, Ann
Kelly, the housekeeper, was sleeping, with all
the communicating doors set ajar for the sake
efair; on the third floor one Of the sons occR-
pied room Immediately over the reception
room, and the other son occupied the CORES
ponding room ar the rear OF the same floor,
and on the fourth floor slept VIM. Kelly, son
Of Mrs. Ann Kelly, the housekeeper, who was
employed In the house as q servant.
THE DEED DONE.
All the city remembers the terrible storm
that reached its acme at midnight of Thursday;
how the lightning flashed and the rain fell In
torrents. During that commotion Of nature
the inmates of the tated house In Twenty-third
street were yet awake, but they soon sank to
rest with nature. Early in the evening the
neighborhood is one Of the most bustling In
The city, but during the later hours OF the
night there are few more lonely. The house,
with its fellows on either side, with the vast
marble hotel opposite, seem splendid sepul-
chres, so little of life appears about them.
Friday morning 1t was even more deserted
than usual, as the heavy rain had driven oil
llngerers to shelter, and patrolman John Man
gum of the twenty-ninth precinct. whose post
OF Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets,
between Fourth and Seventh avenues, included
the scene of the tragedy, noted the unusual
loneliness. He passed first at IL A. NJ, and
tried the doors of No. l2-they were fastened,
and the house gave no sign of life; he passed
again at 10 A. NJ, and again tried the doors,
both Of the main hall and the basement, and
they were yet secure. The dreadful deed had
undoubtedly then been done, but the house
Kept Its gTim secret and gave no sign to the
peering eyes OF the patrolman. who passed on
upon his lonely vigils.
TIE FRIGHTFrL DISCOVERY.
The gray dawn of morning came and yet
the house contained. Its secret, but discovery
was near at hand. The mournful duty that
had called the aged millionaire to the city re-
qnlred early rising, and at 5l O'Clock MS son
to call his father. He turned the handle OF
the receptlon-room door and stepped into the
ROOM He glanced at the bed, it was empty,
but at the same instant his eyes rested on
horrible object beyond. His father. marred
and mutilated out Of semblance to his Kind,
lay upon the floor at the door TO the Office.
Clothed only in his night-gown, smeared with
blood from head to foot, his lace bruised, ms
eyes wofully disfgured, his head gaping with
six cruel wounds, his right hand crushed, the
loved father lay upon his back, one loot just
touching the sill Of the door leading into the
office, the other leg drawn up, with the
knee resting against the door-frame, and
with both arms drawn back and the hands
clenched, as II In agony. Washington at once
run to his fathers side, and was horrifed. His
fathers blood oozed up from the soft, thick
carpet, anu wet Ills leeL W tiie !uslep. nio
nlghtsown. long, like that of his fathers, was
dabbled with blood as. he stopped over the
mangled form. Only moment ne paused,
and then, rushing to his brothers room, told
In O word of the horror below. The two BROTH
ers, clad only in their night garments, rushed
down into the street. through the main hali
door, which they found closed but unlocked,
and shouted Murder" John Mangum mad
lust passed the house for the third time; had
= r1aar in, N
and seeing it closed and nothing unusual about
the house, had passed on and was three doors
below. He turned at the cry. and seeing
these two young men thus attired, and one
dobbled with blood he hurried back and went
with them into the house. Washington, as ne
went out, had seen lying on the floor OF the
hall, Just inside the street-door, ship-carpen,,
ters ''dog." 1t was simply a round piece OF
iron. about two feet long and an inch and q
half thick, with the ends turned down at right
angles and fattened. One of the prongs
was smeared with blood, with gray hairs min
gled with it. They went up stairs. The pat
rolman was made of sterner stutf than tne
bankers sons, but the sight shocked even MN;
Yet he obeyed the mandate OF duty and lald
his hand upon the bloody breast The BODY was
warm, and he thought there was q chance that
life had not been utterly crushed out OF 1t:
He called for doctor, and the physician OF
the Fifth Avenue Hotel was summoned, and
in five minutes was beside the corpse. but only
to shake his head, sgniiyinG that lie was
rome. The blood was dried upon the body,
and 1t was his opinion that life had been some
time extinct; the murder had been done pro-
bably before three o'clock. The patrolman,
guided by the knowledge OF the sons, scruti-
nized the surroundings, and carefully noting
all down for future use, left an associate to
puard the scene of blood, and reported at his
S,ation-house, in Thirlieth street, near Seventh
avenue. Sergeant Henry Hutchinson. at half
past seven O'Clock, sent the tale OF terror over
The police telegraph wires to the central ONCE.
THEORY OF THE MURDER.
Never did murder tell its own story more
plainly than this to an experienced eye. If the
dead man could have opened his mangled lips
he could scarcely have added to the narrative
given by the bloody corpse and Its surround
fngs. Never was 1t more clearly shown now
false is the aphorlsm that dead men tell no
tales. for this dead man told tale as distinct
ly and vivldly as could the assassin, who was
the only other witness OF the scene. Upon one
point only was there a doubt, which can prob
ably only be solved by the assassin himself,
and that is as to the manner in which, and the
time when, he gained access to the building. 1t
may be that he entered clandestlnely during
the day and remained secreted somewhere IN
the house until tine hour for his purpose arriV-
ed, or it may be (although no door or window
has the falntest sign of violence about lt) that
he entered by scaling the balcony and noun