Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-11-28
THE BEAUTIFUL OCT0R0ON
HerseIfand LOrer ASsasslnated
The Murderer DevOuted by
| AlIigatOrs-


They were ClarksOn Collins, blonde
young American, the proprietor OF the
plantation, and his head overseer and
friend, David Owens, and they were
celebrating the anniversary of their
National independence with many a
bumper to their distant country end
their absent friends.
We'll, Senores Americsnos,' said a
musical voice behind them, ARE you
not going to thank me for the good
dinner l prepared for you with my
own hands?
The two friends turned, and found
themselves face to face with beuuti-
ful octoroOn girl of twenty years at
most, who had just ascended the steps
Of the veranda with rush net full OF
oranges, bananas and couple OF pine
apples, all fresh plucked and loading
the air with perfume, on her head.
Come, now,' she continued, laugh
ingly, as she placed the fruit on the
table, here is your desert, and here
l m ready for my reward
Take it, then, Teresita,' exclaimed
Collins, for you have earned it nobly.
Your banquet is fit for an emperor,
and twining his arm around her waist
he drew her face down toward his own
and imprinted kiss on her lips.
But did you really prepare the din
ner yoUrself?' asked Owens, initiating
his friends example and drawing the
girl to seat on his knee. is ii all
your work"
Every mersel of it, she replied, CO.
quettishly, running her slender fingers
through his curly hair. i would not
trust to Maria's clumsy hand on such
an occasion as this, you may be sure.
She can cook well enough for common
folks
Your husband, for instance inter
rupted a voice hoarse and quivering
with rage, and an understood, savage
looking mulatto bounded upon the ve-
randa, while the girl started up with a
shrek of alright
Curse you, you wantOn! Since you
are SO fond of feeding other people but
me, 90 and cook dinner for the devil!'
And snatching a long, keen knife
from his bosom, be plunged it up to the
hilt in Teresita's body before either OF
the Americans could interfere.
The girl fell dead, and springing
upon Owens, whom he seized by the
throat, the man yelled:
AS for you, you dog of an American,
have watched you this long while.
You wanted my wife, did you? Very
we'll, you have enjoyed her. Now go
and have your fun with her In hip
And with circular sweep OF his
knife, like that employed by butcher
in Sitting the stomach of bullock, he
ripped the overseer open, while the
latter, who had snatched fork from
the table, drove the tines into his
cheek, leaving the weapon quivering
there as he fell.
By this time Collins had recovered
himself, and. catching up the heavy
stool on which he had been sitting, he
felled the murderer with single tre-
mendous blow, and shouted for assis-
tance.
The mulatto resisted furiOusly, but
still made no effort to injure the slaves
who secured him, using his knife only
10 hack and mangle the bodies OF his
victims until he was finally dragged
away and bound, leaving the veranda
inundated with blood.
After the bodies were removed the
planter, followed by the negroes, drag
ging the prisoner behind them ut the
end of rope, led the way TO u deep
but narrow stream that irrigated the
plantation, and commanded the mur-
derer to be thrown in.
The order was promptly obeyed ,and
the man bad hardly touched the water,
when score OF hideous heads appear
ed all about, and in moment more he
had disappeared. The alligatiors had
devoured him.
Then Collins returned to the house
and soug hit to drown the recollection of
the days tragedy in manner which
resulted in his being carried to bed by
his servants dead drunk.
He awoke late at night with his
throat on fire from bis debsuch, and,
after vainly endeavOring to get up,
called for glass of water.
Almost instantly withercd and mid
eous negress, who had been squatting
in the doorway of the room, appeared
with the required beverage.
The planter swallowed it at a draught
and demanded more.
At this second glass, which he con-
sumed more slowly, he smacked his
lips several times, and finally asked,
suspiciously: What is the matter with
this water? 1t tastes strange
Does it?' returned the hag, with q
croaking laugh. Il should think it
would. Why, there is enough poison
in it to kill dozen men!
Collins uttered hOarse cry and en-
deavored to rise, but the old woman
threw herself upon him and seized his
throat in her claw'like hands, stran'
CLING him and preventing his call for
help.
You killed my son, because he
treated his worthless wife and her
lover as he ought Now you shall die,
and before the breath leaves your bo-
dy you will wish that you had perish
ed as easily as be did. You have
drunk of the DEVILS grape, each drop
of which is sufficient to destroy man
with the most horrible TORTURE
And she burst into another shrek of
unearthly laughter, while the planters
frame began to quiver under her hands
in the convulsions of unbearable ago.
ny.
The DEVILS grape, as the natives of
the Spanish West Indies Call it, is a
small green berry, very closely resem-
bling gooseberry, which grows on a
certain species of parasitical plant that
attaches itself to coffee-trees where they
have become barren and are permitted
to grow wild.
Each grape yields from two to four
drops of viscious white liquid of sol
poisonous and acrid nature that it
will perforate even the thick, calloused
skin on the palm of a slaves hand.
lis effect, when introduced into the
human system, is to produce indescri-
baby violent headaches, racking pains
in the bones, like those of rheumatic
gout, terrible convulsions, and final
suffocation from the bursting of inter-
nal blood vessels. The screams of the
poisoned planter, which even the iron