Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-01-31
HORRIBLE.


An u"hmman g1onster-IIs aufdcrs
TITS Wife Aud Chlld, and FL e.
MIN His Sisser-in-isSv.-Thc Guilty
From the St. Joseph (Mo) Herald
ALBANY, Mo. Jan. Is, 1877.
A man giving the name of Albert
Kline came in this evening from Iowa
and reports the particulars of a hor-
rible tragedy which occurred OH
Friday last, near the banks of the
Platte river.
About year ago a man named.
Phil. Ames moved into that neighbour
hood, bringing with him wife, a lit
tie child and sister-in-law. He Sc
cured small piece Of land and erect
ed upon it neat two story dwelling.
For time all things seemed to 20 Oh
nicely inside the family mansion, but
1t soon became evident to those who
grew intimate with the Ameses that
there was
SKELETON IN THE HOUSE,
and that all was not as lovely as it
| should be, or. in other words, the love
of the household was scattered around
among too many women, instead of
being concentrated upon one, as pro-
vided for by the laws of both God
and man. There was a GOODNESS
growing up between husband and
wife, only equaled by an apparent
warmth existing between the husband
and the sister-in-law. The neighbor-
ing women noticed that the wife Of
ten appeared in tears, was neglected
and left unprovided for, while her
sister received the smiles and caresses
of the husband. Whole days the wife
passed alone, having no company
save the child, bright, golden-hair-
ed girl of five summers, who chung
to her, and in whose existence she APP
peared to live and have her being
AT length, on the 10th of November
the little child sickcned, and suddenly
died. TWAS buried the..ncxt day
rude country burial, bitter cold
north wind, leafless trees, and a cheer
less grave, crushed the mothers spir-
it and
BROKE HER HEART.
Then it was that the spirit of the
first born Cain appeared to take pos
session of the husband. He frequent
ly beat his wife, drove her from his
bed and forced her to occupy mis-
cradle straw and husk pallet on the
kitchen floor, while the sister occu-
pied the place which belonged to her.
At length the wife, driven to despair,
told the story of her wrongs to Mrs.
Rosa Mcclure, and she laid the situa-
ton in the Ames household before
her husband, and he soon had the
men in the neighborhood worked up
to point Of lynching the unnatural
husband. They visited the house,
and would have hung the monster
but for the pleadings of his wife, who
went down upon her knees before
the angry crowd and begged the life
of the man who had so cruelty
wronged her, while her sister at the
: first sound Of danger had sought safe
ty in fight. The neighbOrs listened
to the poor woman's appeal, removed
the rope from the mans neck and sci
him free. To any but a man possess.
ed by a devil, this would have PROV
ed warning that would have turned
him into better ways. But not SC
with Ames. Scarcely had the crowd
dispersed when he returned to the
barn, saddled his horse and returned
to the house with heavy curb-bri
' die. Up stairs
KNEELlNG AND AT PRAYER,
with photograph Of her dead child
f in her hand, he found his wife. II
an instant he had struck her to his
I, feet with the curb bit, dragged her te
l the head of the stairs and thrown hel
$ to the floor below, where he contin
D ued to beat her with the bride unit
life had departed. In the meantime
the sister had returned from her hid
ing place. Another horse was sad.
died, the body of the dead woman
e was thrown across the saddle, and
the sister riding one horse and lead.
T, ing the other, Ames walked along
side and held the body in position un.
til they arrived at the river, where q
:. hole was cut in the ice and the body
thrust out of sight. A young man re.
turning home saw the parties jour-
ncying TO the river, and when he
reached the settlement told what he
had seen. A number of
ARMED MEN STARTED IN PURSUIT,
, and arrived at the river bank just as
the murderer and his paramount were
mounting their horses. They were
, called upon to halt, when Ames drew
a revolver and fired into the crowd
The fire was returned by a volley
and the guilty woman fell dead from
her horse, shot through the neck.
The man put spurs to his horse and
attempted to escape in the dark, but
a fortunate shot brought his animal
down and the murderer was captur-
ed. A rope was provided, and all
the necessary arrangements made for
a frontier funeral, when the wretchcd
man made confession, the chief
points of which are incorporated in
the above statement, and he further
stated that the sister of his wife had
administered poison to her little
neicc in order to get her out of the
way, and that they were planning the
murder Of the wife, that they might
live unmolested together. In this
they were prevented by thcmob of a
few hours before, and that he then
killed the wife as above stated. The
rope was thrown over limb, strong
men pulled at the end of it, and the
next instant quivering body was
SUSPENDED IN AIR.
! A number of logs were then rolled
together, brush was piled upon them,
and the bodies of the two inhumaI
beings placed in their midst. A
match was applied to the pile, and all
that now remains to mark the spot
and the tragedy is a bed of ashes.
The body of the murdered woman
was recovered on Saturday, and
buried by the side of her dead child.