Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-03-28
THE DAYTON TRAGEDY.
Interview with the Prisoner-State
meatS Of the Maniac Murderer.


Interview with the Prisoner-State-
meats Cfthe Maniac Murderer.
From the Dayton Journal March H.
The maniac husband and father was
in cage in the station house asleep,
when he awakened to tell his story to
u.s. When aroused he struck US at
once as deranged man, although his
naturally red face suggested intemper-
ance. But his story disabused US Of
that impression. AT the close he said
~ drank more yesterday than | ever
drank in one day in my life, and | did
not feel it at all. ;" We thought him a
man a least fifty years old. His orig
inally dark brown hair was grizzly, like
foolishly fashiohably powdered head,
though not as powdery as fashion die
tates to her votaries. His hair was
! long and lank, particularly on one
side; his face red, long, and thin,
with n strong, straight nose; fore
head low eyes gray and small
with wild, sharp outlook. He was
respectfully dressed; SAID he chad on
his good Clothes" and though work
ingman, the feeling and shake of his
hand was like woman's. He said his
story would take an hour. Late as it
| was, we told him to go on. he said
| his name is Leonard MaIquardt is a
! Hessian, 80 years old came to this
country when he was 10; has a sister
residing near Newark, n. j.; married
! Catharine Walter, III this country, when
he was -, and separated from her be-
cause she had child after they were
married a little over four months
! Eight years ago he married Mary
| Miller, a German woman, at Beaver
! town, who had been separated from her
! husband for about the same reason
/ that had caused the divorce between
/ him and Catharine Walter He loved
! Mary, and she loved hlm, and they
| had been true to each other. They
! had six children in eight years, the
Youngest only 8 months old, being one
| OF the three that were murdered. God
! knows, he said, a. don't know how
he died. He and Mary had not lived
unhatssaly, but then there were differ
ences. She believed in wit ,hts, tand he
believed. ~. her They first got to
"playingk Tire fool about heaven. ~
Both were Nutherans, though neither
went to church, nor saw Il clergyman,
and never had anything TO do with
spirituallsm. She had notions that she
must do as God and the devil told her.
| If God did not answer her after three
appeals, the fourth answer was from the
devil, and she thought-his story
/ that she must do what both
! God and the devil told her They
both prayed. He was devout :;
she, according to his story, didn't have
faith. They had children rapidly, and
she told him how to record their names
in the Bible. Both read the Bible, and
their first controversy was about heaven.
/ Their first child, now over seven years
old, was named Elizabeth, after the
mother OF John the Baptist, at his
wltc's dictatlon the second after Ha-
hakkuk, the prophet; the third after
John the Baptist (thls child dying when
eight months old; the fourth Leah ;
the iifth Samuel the sixth Magdalene
Leah, Samuel, and Magdalene were the
three who were murdered, Elizabeth
and Habakkuk escaping.
The unhappy wretch told long story
! about his discussions with his wife about
witches, God and the devil. He said
she urged him to take fire TO the woods
and burn the clock and looking glass
on it, because God had told her to-
She had taken things from her relations
cher father died several years ago)
which she thought bewitched, and
wanted them burned. She told him
that a bundle of rags were her mother,
and insisted that she should be burned
IN crock. He knew God--iu whom
he believed, had not ordered these
things to be burned, because they
wouldn't burn. Meantime the children
got 10 be believing IN witches. They
sand that their mother taught them so.
and they persuaded him that he could
catch the witches in his hands and
squeeze them to death Mary,
he said, would ask three times Of
God, aud if she GOT answer, all right :;
If she didn't then it was
the devil. When the devil answered
then | would quit, and say II was fool
cry. Then Marv would yet mad, but |
couldn't have had u better wife We
Were both kind 70 earh other through
all tins foolery The patRos Of this
poor fellow in tins recital wGs extreme.
~ touching, especially when he swent
over Mary was good wife; | could