The Portland daily press., 1875-06-25
Wagner and Gordon.
A Resume of the Circumstances of their
Grimes.

The year 1873 was an eventful one in the his
tory of crime in Maine. IL that year three
persons were tried for atrocious murders, viz:
Lucy A. Mink for the murder of DIR. Baker at
Warren; Louis H. F. Wagner, and John True
Gordon. One of these, Lucy A. Mink, was
acquitted before the jury, but not by public
opinion; the other two were convicted, and to-
day expiate their crimes upon the gallows
The same year occurred the murder of Sheriffs
Hayden and Hubbard by James Cullen, who
speedily paid the penalty at the hands of a
mob.
THE CRIME OF LOUIS H. f. WAGNER
was in many respects the most atrocious lex
cepting the Gordon murder which followed
some months later ever perpetrated in this
state. The victims were inoffensive women
in the same house with whom Wagner had
lived for number of months and toward whom
he had no reason to feel any sentiment but
that of gratitude The motive was the robbery
of few dollars. On the 9th of March 1873
there resided upon Smutty Nose Island, one of
the Isles of Shoals, John G. Hontvet, an hon.
and industrious fisherman, with his family
consisting of his wife, Evan Christensen and
his wife, a sister Of Hotvet and Karen Chris.
Jensen. The HOntvet dwelling was the only
dwelling on the Island.
In the family some time previously had resid-
ed Louis III, F. Wagner, Prussan sailor who
was engaged with Hontvet in the fishing bust
ness For some time before the fatal night
Wagner had been in destitute circumstances
and to several persons had said that he must
have some money even if he committed murder
to get it. Some days before the fifth he had
been making inquiries in regard to the where
abouts of Hontvet's household, and having
made sure that Hontyet and Christensen would
be in Portsmouth on that night and the wo-
men alone on the Island, he set out at night
in an open boat and pulled to the Island on his
mission of murder and robbery.
Entering the Hontvet cottage he fastened
the door of the bedroom occupied by Mrs
Hontvet and Mrs. Christensen and proceeded
to ransack the house in search of plumber He
was sru prlsen to lind Karen asleep on lounge
in the kitchen. instead of the room she usually
occupied. As she awoke and cried out he
seized chair, sand inflicted repeated blows.
at which she stumbled and fell senseless at
Mrs Hontvets bedroom door. One of the
blows hurled the clio TX from the mantel. which
indicated l o'clock as the hour of murder.
Mrs Hontvet had endeavo1ed to get her door
open. She now foun it unfastened, and OPEN
ing it saw the assassin standing with uplifted
chair. She, however, succeeded in dragging
Karen into her room, though receiving several
blows, and closed and barricaded the door,
She then directed Mrs. Christensen to jump
out of the window and give an ALARM in the
hope of bringing some of tie neigboring island
ers to their assistance. Wagner was on the
outside as soo1 as Mrs Christensen, who recog-
nzed him in the moonlight, exclaiming,
"Louis, Louis, LouisI' With an axe, which
he had seized at the front door, he struck her
down, following up his blows upon her pros
trate form. He then started to 90 into the
house, and Mrs. Hontvet escaped from the
window in her night clothes, and with bare
| feet succeeded in Guiding the murderous search
| of Wagner. She took refuge among some
rocks on the shore where she was found in the
morning severely chilled and with frost-bitten
| feet. Baffled in his pursuit of Mrs. Hontvet,
| the fiend returned to the house to finish his
butchery and murdered Karen, who had recov-
cred consciousness and was fleeing from the
house, her screams being heard by Mrs. Hont-
vet. He then dragged her body into the house
ard placed it under the bed in which she usu'
ally slept, and also dragged in the body of Mrs.
Christenden, with the supposed design of
burning the house to conceal his crime-a
scheme which the escape of Mrs. Hontvet had
rendered unavailable. The house was thor
oughly ransacked, every trunk and drawer