The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-08-29
WILLARD COX'S FATHER.

WHY HE KILLED HIM THE GRIMES
THAT LED TO 1T AND THE
| MOTHERS SAD
STORY.
Early in the afternoon of Wednes-
day Ben Burr Cox and his oldest
boy Willard, drove down to Glen
dale in two-seated carriage, both
apparently bent on having a SPREE
Both commenced drinking at the va
rious saloons about town, and toward
evening became quite noisy. On the
way home Willard occupied the
front seat of the carriage and his fa-
Their the rear, and neither spoke a
word. All day long the two men had
been "fussiDg," and several times
during the day Cox had threatened
Wizards life. Indeed, early Wed
nesday morning Cox had called his
second son Edward, aged about Is,
to turn the grindstone for him while
he sharpened his axe, having told
him that he wanted it to cut down
some bushes. After the axe was
made very sharp, the father did go
and cut down little shrubbery, but
only a very little, and the boy Ed
ward, putting this fact together with
the fact that several times of late
his father had threatend the lives of
his whole family, became somewhat
frightened. His mother, intimidated
by these ugly threats, had for months
kept all her knives, the Ratchet and
hammer, and everything that could
be used as a 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
his father and asked for it. The
father replied that he had loaned it.
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.
The two men morosely proceeded
homeward, each probably broodirg
over the ugly words that had been
uttered during the quarrel in Glen
dale. Arriving at the homestead,
the father alighted first, and pro-
cceded Immediately to the house,
While Willard went to the barn to
put up the horse. When Cox enter
ed the house, Mrs. Cox, Edward and
her two little babies, one three years
and the other a few months old.
were upstairs. Cox Immediately
called for Edward, and told him to
come down. The boy, knowing from
his fathers words that he was intox
icated, was reluctant about respond
ing, when the father began ascend
ing the stairs. The mother then,
fearing an encounter between her
husband and Edward, met the former
on the stairs, persuaded him to dcs-
cend and to go to the kitchen, where
she had prepared him a lunch
Here, with her babe in her arms, she
seated herself on her husbands lap.
and sought by every means known
to woman's art to pacify him. She
excused Edwards hardness, saying
that he had been asleep and was not
fairly awake, and besought the man
who had sworn to love and protect
her to be quiet. In response she re-
ceived loud tongue-lashing which
Willard, who was still at the barn,
heard, and which caused him to has
ten to the house. On his way thith-
er he confesses he opened a large
jack-knife containing one sharp
blade, and carried it in his hand,
partly concealed up his sleeve. On
his arrival in the sitting room, which
is adjacent to the kitchen, bis father
sprang to bis feet and seized one of
the kitchen chairs. Mrs. Cox then
stepped into the doorway leading
from the kitchen to the sitting-room
hoping thus to prevent an encounter.
The husband and father then raised
the chair, levelled it at his wife,
struck the little babe lying in her
arms, brushed by her and made d.
rectly for Willard.
To escape n attack indoors,
where he would have been at a dis.
advantage, Willard ran out into the
yard, and there coolly stood at bay
against shade tree, with his knife
in the right hand and raised above
his head. The father came on, hold