Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-07-29
Terrible Tragedy i'm st. Adams.

powerful neighbors.
Terrible Tragedy in st. Adams.
The murder of the Frenchman Minard
has been followed by a more horrible deed
Miss Mariette n. Ball was teaching in
District No. 2, east of st. Adams village,
and Friday afternoon, while on her way
from school, was outraged and murdered.
From the Adcertiser and Messenger we
get the following particulars:
About half mile east Of st. Adams
rises a high wooded HILL which is traversed
by two roads, one, commonly called the
Fairfield road, leading up from the south
end of the park, and the other leading up
from Congress street past the residence OF
Gov. Smith. On the eastern side of the hill
is a farmingneighborho rather sparsely
settled. and a road, but little travelled.
runs north and south connecting the two
main roads above described. On this road,
about one-third way from the north end,
stands the school house where the victim
of this tragedy had been teaching. She
usually spent her Sundays with the family
of Mr.. Foster A. Page, ut the south end of
this road, where it intersects with the Fair
field road. and ito reach there had to pass
over an uneven surface and through quite
u stretch of broken timber. 1t was in this
unfrequented place, something like one
third Of a mile south of the house of Mr..
John Collins, and fully half a mile north
of Mr.. Pages, that the double crime was
committed.
1t was desolate spot, though within a
few rods of open fields, and within two
miles of ST. Adams village. The victim
was a fine, handsome, robust young wo-
man. about twenty years of age. Friday
afternoon she dismissed her school and
walked along the road toward Pages. In
front of the house of Mr.. Collins she said
good-by to the children and passed on
She was never again seen alive, but by the
fiend who was lying in wait for her. She
passed the Collins house ut about half past
three o'clock, and carried Il bundle con-
tanning night dress and some sOiled linen.
This bundle has not vet been found.
No especial concern was felt for the
missing girl until Mrs. Page, on going to
the Collins house. on Saturday afternoon,
discovered that Miss Ball had passed there
the evening before. Word was immedi-
atelv sent to Mr. Page, who had mean
while learned from his son that Miss Ball
had been expected to meet her sister at
her fathers house in St. Adams, on Satur-
dav. and the flmilv were wondering at
her non-appearance. Mr.. Page then set
out along the road, (Which leads from
North Fairfax to Brainerd's Mills), and
getting some assistance, soon came upon
the first clue to the mysterious disappear
ance of his friend. This was the discovery
of an ambush on the upper (wesD side of
the road, about thirty PAGES north of the
dry channel Of Il brook, which was crossed
by a plank bridge without top-logs or
riders" The tieni had evidently con
cealed himself behind a small clump of
thick bushes. for a branch had been cut
from one. and another branch had been
twisted off and stood up before him to
make his concealment more complete
That he had spent some little time there
was evident from the trOdlen appearance
of the Ground. from shreds of his mask
found there and from a rail of the fence
Just behind. which he had leisurelv whit
tied while waiting.
The party now began searching with
lanterns and after three hours cropping. at
one o'clock SUNDAY morning Frank Har-
IFS. Il NoiUI tbl'lt+t llltlil- ti>NDN tI Ctl tilt
corpse Of Miss Bail. The appearance of
the body, rs it lay on the ground on the
east side of large birch stump. Just fif-
teen rods east of the road. was less shock
mo than might at first be supposed, for the
villain. with some faint spark of decencv
OF civilization left in him, had lain her out
with some deliberation, carefully COM
posed her limbs and covered them with
j,,,. L. nj b1I y,-rnD1,al o,-,r
skirt about her head to conceal the ohastly
wounds that had caused her death. The
hands were living by the side. and the hair
was dishevelci and filled with leaves, and
there were some slight marks of violence
on the body and arms. The unhappy Girl
had evidently been killed by a blow or
blows upon the left side of the head. which
smashed the skull to pulp The left
hand was also discOlored and some of its
bones broken. doubtless by a blow which
she was trying to ward off. 4 trail of
blood was traced through some underbrus h
back to the road some thirty rods distant.
and there bv the bridge, close to the road
fence. We're marks of fierce struggle
Miss Ball was an unusually active and ro-
bust woman. and no ordinary man could
have overcome her. Her own footprints
visible.
The footprints indicate that when the
murderer sprung from his ambush she ran
but WAS Overtaken first ut the bridge and
then attempted to turn back The rail
fence at that point bore no evidence of his
having taken her over it, and the suppose
ton is that he drew her off the east end of
the bridge, since the gravel of the brook
f 4
a shred of carpe ting from his mask was
there found. The mask itself was found
between the fence and the roadway, Just
piece of carpet, fastened together with
pieces of withe, and had holes cut for the
eyes and mouth. Just over the fence by
the brook channel, her hair ribbon was
found, and Il stone on which there ap-
peared to be a spot of blood.
The grass and poke-wecd at that point
were broken and trampled, and this fact,
together with the finding of some of the
gravel from the brook channel in the vic
TINS clothing, indicates to many that
there was the scene of the first part of the
crime.
\ few feet below that the brook channel
makes a turn to the north, and Just across
it was found small bow that had been a
part of her hair ribbon or was in some
way attached to her clothing. From this
the trail led into a thick clump of saddles,
where, by an old decayed stump. there
were evidences of struggle and the deal
ing of blows, for blood-spatters were on
the surrounding bushes. There was a
blood-stain on one little tree, some two
inches through the trunk, as if her head
had lain against it about a foot and half
from the ground, when the blows were
dealt. Another one very near that bore a
similar large stain. 1t is thought that this
is the place where the murder took Mace