Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-06-11
Tragedy at St. Adams.
ARSON. ATTEMPT AT MURDER AND
SUICIDE.

We cOudense the following account Of a
horrible tragedy at st. Adams, from the
81. Adams Messenger of Monday
About Saturday midnight, Henry O.
Greene, Esq, at the south end Of Main
street, was aroused by his wife who had just
discovered that their barn was on FIRE. Mr..
Greene, partly dressed, rushed out Of the
north kitchen door to rescue his horse and
COW. lie. had no sooner reached the ground
than he was fred upon twice 10 quick sue
%cession, from the direction Of the barn.
Realizing that he was hit he tu rned back in
to the house, told his wife that he was shot,
bolted the door and cautioned her not TO
open il, and then they proceeded to give the
alarm. Mrs. Greene aroused their son, Sid
ney II. and his wife and two children, who
were sleeping up stairs, aud then ran to the
front door and shouted fire :" In a short
I me ~Beighbors began to arrive, and as the
b arm was then all ablaze and the flames had
caught on tho woodshed, which ran back as
an l. Of the house, attention was given en-
tirely to clearing the house. Mr.. Greene
was taken across the street to the house Of
MIR. &. ID. Williams, where il was soon found
that he was not dangerously hurt. Before
long the FIRE department arrived but owing
TO a scarcity of water in that part of the
town, and to the progress already made by
the fire, they were unable to save any part
of the buildings. The house, shed, barn,
hog house, one horse, one COW, three wagons,
two tons Of hay, all the farming tools, all
the provision in the cellar and considerable
furniture and clothing stored in a rear cham
Der, (most Of which belonged to his sou Will
liam H. were destroyed. Nearly all the
furniture and clothing in the front Of the
house were saved. Mr.. Greene estimates
his loss at about $4,000; insured for ST.
225.
Mr.. Greene thinks his assailant must have
fired from the corner OF the woodshed, which
was some ten or twelve feet from the kitch.
en- steps toward the barn. He saw no one,
although the flames made it as light as day.
The first shot passed through the muscles of
the left arm, just below the shoulder, struck
his side but did not penetrate and glanced
off the second one struck the inside Of his
right thigh. high up, and made a bad bruisc
but no wound.
Mr.. Greene's son, Marcus d., as soon as
he heard that his father was shot, sus-
pected Clifton Weeks, II near neighbor, and
gave his reasons. On arriving at the bed
side Of his father and ascertaining his con-
dition, he inquired if any one had seer
Weeks. No one had. He went, with others
to the Weeks homestead, which was next
adjoining Mr.. Greene's on the north, aud
some twenty-five rods distant, and they
found Mrs. Weeks, the mother of Clifton, il
deep anxiety and distress for fear that he
son, whose disappearance she had just hearC
Of, was burned in the baru. He was known
to have thought a great deal Of Mr.. Greene
horse, and his mother aud sister said he go
up and went out just a few minutes befor,
the FIRE, they supposing he had occasion Il
do so on account Of not being well, and sup
! posing aiterward that he saw the fire anC
ran to the rescue. To crafty them and re
move all doubt, the fire department aguil
|, played upon the smoking embers of the bari
and the refuse was all carefully overhauleC
by the Hooks, but without finding any trace
Of human remains.
Meanwhile the authorities, had dispatched
men in all directions to arouse the people fol
hhhiNo ahOhhN W W. III uoBNSAOo
characters. AS soon as day dawned, search
ing partie were formed, and all the build
ings, fields and woods in the vicinity, and
for three or four miles around were hunted
through. A mans retreating footprints
were found leading from the fire in a north.
westerly direction, and at a distance of somC
rods he seemed to have turned around ant
stood looking at the fire. At a little dis
lance from there the trail was lost.
Marcus ID. Greene's story becoming known
aud no remains being found, the fact tina
Weeks was missing, and had been known Il
leave his house a few minutes before the fire
broke out, directed suspicion toward hin
very generally as the perpetrator Of thu
crime. The story Of young Greene is briefly
this That about five o'clock Sunday after
noon, May 23d, as he was passing Weeks
house, he accosted Clifton, who was smoking
on the piazza, with som friendly inquiry
about his crops. An Indifferent answer wa
made and then Weeks came to the front gat,
and said to Greene that he had u prett,
serious charge against him. against me p
said & reene in surprise. ayes, d-n you
against YOU" said Weeks aud, with u bi,
oath) "if you can't clear it up III kill you,
or something Of that sort. His lips wer,
pale, he trembled and appeared to be in
violent passion. Greene, who was about h:
age, an old schoolmate and life long friend
was utterly surprised at this exhibition o
sudden malice and demanded to know wha
he meant. Weeks told him he had been in
t%erfering with his private affairs and IN 1
loud tone and hasty manner repeated hi
threats. Greene replied that he thought
!, everything Of Weeks mother and didn'
want to disturb her, but if he would come q
little distance from the house and explain
himself he would be glad to hear it, and j
not he was going home to his family. Ac
cordingly Weeks walked along a little anC
in q still very excited manner told GreenI
that he had been interfering in an affair Of
his with a young lady on Rugg street
Greene positively denied it and said he die
not know that he had ever had anything Il
do with a young lady in his life, aud inquir
ed who the lady was. Weeks answered tina
for about a year he had been going witt
Sarah Wilkins, who boarded at g. B
Smiths that she had been home to Canadi
and somebody, through Smiths folks oil
otherwise, had caused her to reject his sui
and had probably told her that he had a bad
disease. HE was troubled with salt.rhoum
nothing else.) And with an oath he told
Greene that he believed he or some one Of
his family did it. Greene assured him that
he did not even know there was such a girl
in existence and didn't believe his father or
family did, and that certainly he was on the
wrong scent altogether. This seemed to sat
isfy hin, he said perhaps he had been toe
fast in accusing Greene, asked his pardon
shook hands and separated, but vowed that
he would be r~evenged on whoever had done
it. Mr.. Greene says he had rarely if eveI
seen Weeks smoke before and had never
heard him swear, SO his conduct was very
extraordinary