Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1877-09-01

HOOD.
Early in the afternoon Of Wednes-
day, Ben Bur Cox and bis oldest boy,
Willard, drove down to Glendale i'll a
two-seated carriage, both apparently
bent on having spree. Both com
menced drinking at the various saloons
about town, and toward evening became
quite noisy. The father was quarrel
some, and chose rather to quarrel with
his son than with anybody else. The
son, Willard, was not so drunk as not
to possess a little discretion, and so, TO
escape his father jumped into his car
riage aud began driving at furious
rate about town. During the drive he
ran into a buggy owned by Mr.. Robert
Clarke, doing considerable damage, and
then somewhat satisfied with the effort,
drove back to a saloon near the Cincn-
natl, Hamilton and Dayton Depot, took
his father in, aud started for home. On
the way home Willard occupied the
front seat of the carriage and his father
the rear, and neither spoke word. All
day long the two men had been "tuSs-
ing" and several times during the day
Cox had threatened Willard's life. In
deed, early Wednesday morning Cox
had called his second son Edward, aged
about fifteen, to turn the grIndstonc for
him while he sharpencd his axe, having
told him that he wanted it TO cut down
bushes. After the axe had been made
very sharp, the father did 90 and cut
down little shrubbery, but only 4 very
little, and the boy Edward, putting this
fact together with the fact that several
times of late his father had threatened
the lives of his whole family, became
somewhat frightened His mother in
timidated by these ugly threats, had
for months kept all her knives, the
hatchet and the hammer, and every
thing that could be used rs weapon
under lock and key. Edward wanted
TO get the axe to hide, too, after it had
been so carefully sharpened, and so
went to bis father and asked tor 1t. The
father replied that he had loaned 1t,
This reply did not satisfy Edward, and
he instituted search, finally succeeding
in finding the weapon carefully hidden
under the wood-shed, which is located |
in the rear OF the house.
AN UNNATURAL STRUGGLE.
The two men tnorosely proceeded .
homeward, each probably brooding over
the ugly words that had been uttered
during the quarrel in Glendale. Arriy
ing at the homestead the father alighted /,
first and proceeded Immediately to the |
house, while Willard went to the barn.
" hen Cox entered the house Mrs Cox, /
Edward and her two little babes, one /
three years and the other few months
old, were up stairs- Cox Immediately /
called for Edward nd'told him 10 come
down. The boy, knowing from his
fathers words that he was intoxicated, |
was reluctant about responding, when
the father began ascending the stairs.
The mother then, fearing an encounter
between her husband and Edward, met
the former on the stairs, persuaded him
to descend and to 90 to the kitchen,
where she had prepared lunch. Here,
with her babe in her arms, she seated
herself on her husbands lap ard sought
by every means known to woman's art
to pacify him. She excused Edwards
tardiness, saying that he had been asleep
and was not fairly awake, and besought
the man who had sworn to love aud
protect her to be quiet. In response
she received long and loud tongue
lashing, which Willard, who was still
in the barn, heard, and which caused
him 10 hasten to the house. On his
way thither he contesses he opened
large jack knife containing one sharp
blade and carried it in his hand, partly
concealed up his sleeve. On his arrival ]