Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-02-05
D0uhle Murder and Suicide.

lage q suburb Of Lyndon, Vt. La
ter reports co nfirmed the rum0rs
The facts as gathered from various
sources are these:
Silas Wilder, u well.to.do farmer
about 80 years of age, living in that
town with his father and mother,
killed both bis parents, wounded his
wife, perhaps fatally, and then com
United suicide. The details of the
shocking affair show that tho muir
derer must have been insane. for
Oh no other theory can his bloody
deeds be explained. lie had been
married only about five months,
but had lived unhappily with his
wife. His parents both strenuous
~ objected to his marriage with her,
but he persisted and brought her
home to live with them. The par.
ents resented this, and there has
been much bitterness and strife, es.
pecially of late. Wilder has been
greatly depressed in mind, and has
shown symptoms of mental unsounC.
ness, but has never been suspected
of murderOus or suicidal tendencies.
As near as can be learned the ter
rible events of to-day began in a
war of words at the breakfast table.
Wilder then started to get a new
pair of overalls, the straps to which
his wife had cut too short. He was
very angry, and began abusing her,
when his mother aged 20, spoke to
him saying, 81 am glad it was not
me. II had done this there would
have been a greater row than there
is now" or something to that effect,
whereupon Mr.. Wilder, being fur
ther eAasperated, said, "Damn you,
| will dry you up" He immedi.
ately started for the wOodshed
threatening to kill them all. His
wife following him, and, as if seizt d
by sudden frenzy, he picked up
an axe which lay close at hand. His
wife grasped the axe, and clung to
him so that he could not use it, at
the same time screaming for help.
WilGer's father, hearing the cries,
came out, when Wilder shouting,
"If l can't put stop to this with
an axe, l can with my knife y He
thereupon drew a large clasp knife
and stabbed his wife in two places,
intlicting shocking wounds in her
head and breast. She fell to the
ground, and Wilder, turning from
her, picked up the axe and dealt
his father a heavy blow on the
head, the bit penetrating the skull,
and no fell bleeding and insensible.
Wilder's mother, attracted by the
noise Of the struggle, came out to
the shed, and seeing what was going
on hurried back into the house took
down a large tin horn used to call
the men in from the field to their
meals, ran into the front yard and
blew it, hoping to attract the atten.
ton Of the neighbors. Wilder heard
her, and following her into the
yard split her head open with the
same murderous weapon which had
felIed her husband.
She was instantly killed; but the
old gentleman, though terribly
wounded, had somehow managed to
crawl into the house, a distance of
about seven feet from where he fell.
Wilder returned to the shed, and
finding his father still alive lying
on the kitchen floor, he again struck
him with the axe, nearly severing
the head from the body, and fasten-
ing it tight to the floor, which the
bit of the axe sank deed into. The
murderer's wife had in the mean
time regained her senses, and sum.
moning all her courage and strength
she started for the nearest neigh
bors, halfa mile away. Wilder saw
her as she went out of the door and
started for her, saying, "For Gods
sake, haven't l killed you yet" She
eluded him, however, and the DIES
perate man cut his throat with the
same knife he stabbed her with.
He, however, missed the larger veins
and arteries, and, though he bled
profusely, was not satisfied that it
would kill him, and throwing the
knife away went out to the barn,
took rope from the stall back of
his horse, climbed up to and upon
the high beams under the roof. Here,
ono end of the rope fast, he
led a moose in the other, placed it
about his neck and jumped off.
His neck was broken by the fall,
md when the neighbors summoned
~ his, wife arrived, they found his
bleeding, CHASTITY corpes swinging
rom the beams.
The murderers father was 70
ears old, his mother 20, and his
wife 90.
MIR. ID. w. Bartlett writes from
Washington to the Independent
The Northern Democrats in both
branches of this Congress are 'liter-
lily dumb dogs before their South.
m masters; and to-day the state
# things would be uncomfortable
ere but for the fact that the adj
is Republican and the
southern members,are held in check
y their intense desire to get con-
r0l of the Government through the
all elections, No Democrat ven
lred to reply to Hill. None will
rapple with Tucker. The South .
RI members are used to governing, |
nd they will have no trouble in con- &
rolling the 'doughfaces' of the
'orth, as they did in the years be-
IRE the civil war"
The advice we would respectful I
: tender to the PrOhibitiOnists in
lew of the depressed condition in. q
} which persistence in the third q
arty policy has brought their cause, j