The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-08-29
ALEXANDRIA, La, WEDNESDAY,, AUGUST %, 1877

playing with his knife. He lungee
at his fathers head, gouging on
pieces of his scalp here and there
and then, maddened with the agony
of strangulation, lunged the knit,
as deep as it would 60 into his faith
er's right arm, just in front of the
elbow. The knife dipped clean te
the bone, severed the artery, ripped
through tendons and veins, and laiG
open a wound at least three inches
in length. Meantime the distracted
mother was endeavoring to restore
animation to her well-nigh lifeless
babe. The blow inflicted by the
brutal father had rendered the little
thing unable to breathe. While the
mother was thus engaged Edward
had slipped downstairs and was tug
ging away at the two unnatural com.
batants, endeavoring to separate
them. In his efforts, and while Will
lard was wildly lashing around with
his knife, he, too, received an ugly
wound in the left arm, very similar
to that which his father had recelv-
ed, but not quite so deep. By this
time signs of life were discovered in
the baby, and the mother, anxious
to lend a helping hand to her strug.
CLING boy, laid the baby in the era
die, ran to the bloody scene, seized
her husbands shoulder and dragged
him off and away from his grip.
This she was able to do, for Cox was
rapidly weakening from his loss of
blood.
"You've made me lose my hold"
exclaimed the father, the first words
he had uttered in the fight, as his
vito dragged him away. you've
made me-lose-my"--begau the
poor wretch once more, and then,
staggering to his feet, he took one
OR two steps and fell up against the
corner of the house a corpse.
The son arose, shook the dirt from
his clothing as cody as he would
have brushed the nay seed from his
hat in harvest, went out into the road
called "Murder!' at the top of his
voice, then proceeded over to Ben
Recher, a neighbor, and said to him
"I've killed the --; if YOU
don't believe it, you can 60 over to
the house and wash and dress his
corpse" A little while after, he re-
turned to his home. Meantime OFF,
Ger Duly, of Glendale had been mott
fed and DR.. Patterson summoned.
When the officer arrived to take
Willard Cox into custody be found
the young man in the act Of doffing
his shirt, soaked with his fathers
blood, and of DOMINIC a clean one,
preparatory to going down to Glen
dale to be locked up.
Ben Burr Cox, or "Burr" as he
was Familiarity known was a heavily
set man, with a brutal cast of coun-
teuance. He was for years boon
companion and partner of Tom Nc
Gehan, the notorious Hamilton
rough. At his death he was about
forty years of age. When young he
possessed fine farm in Butler coun
ty, but he squandered the whole of
it in gambling and riotous living.
The farm which his wife now occu-
pies was legacy from her mother.
This he had sought to obtain in fee
simple. The widow told reporter
last evening that Cox had never been
kind to her. Away from home he
was as afable as a country parson,
but when surrounded by his family
be was tiger. "Again and again."
said she last evening, "did he come
to my room last fall when l was
Frustrated with bilious fever, and,
while sitting on the edge of my bed
holding butcher knife, puff tobac-
co smoke in my face, swear that 1
shouldn't sleep, and then swear that
ii l opened my mouth he'd cut my
heart out. Why last Saturday night
Willard had to sleep in the barn be-
cause Burr had threatened to kill
him if he came into the house. He
has often told me that he'd kill Will
lard. Somehow he hated that boy.
He wanted full swing here and Will
lard wouldn't let him have it. He
has squandred hundreds of dollars of
my money and never helped me any.
He hasn't lived at home regularly for
the past sixteen years. We got
along all right when he wasn't here,
but when he came home it was mise.