The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-10-18

IAOHA " OCCA 1ClJOcC G1lC Ills
eight motherless children. He intended
arising again TO feed the baby, Who, with
Miss Carrie Lynch, occupied bed in
the corner of the large hall, and near the
fireplace. The other six children lay
on beds in the same apartment A lamp
was dimly burning on the bureau
Lynch says when he lay down all the
children were asleep, and the last he
saw of Miss Carrie she was slumbering
with her face toward the little babe. It
was past midnight, and the brilliant
stars looked down upon the shadow that
crept stealthily into the doomed house.
Lynch was suddenly awakened by the
report of pistol and ball piercing his
bosom. His eyes were opened by the
shock to perceive dark object bending
above him. No word was spoken. The
demon fired again. This time the ball
penetrated his breast under the collar
bone. He fell senseless. How long he
was insensible he does not know. The
next he remembers he was making his
way out on the veranda, while a sheet
OF flame licked its red tongue out through
the doorway. He was, in narrow lane
IN front OF his residence, encountered by
TWO OF ms Mortified neighbors, Lado, and
his brother-inlaw, Hargrave. Lynch
said, I'm shot twice, and nv children
are all burned up. Look for them"
Inc wounded man was then taken to a
neighbours house, that of Mr. Weaver.
just as the two neighbors came up
the north wing Of the building was fall
ing in, and the entire structure going
down before the fierce flames that were
Wreathing around the bodies of Lynch's
eight children-everythIng he held dear
on earth. Next day citizens collected.
Coroner j. M. Pinckney held an inquest.
The bodies were dug from the ruins
burned into charred and blackened
crisps-and verdict rendered that thew
had come to their deaths from parties
unknown, and that the children had met
with foul play. Although parties were
suspected, neither the coroner nor any
other official took any steps to make any
arrest. There was but little inyestiOa-
ton, in fact, which tallies with the snh-
sequent course of the coroner in writing
communication to a local paper de.
tending one of Lynch's neighbors from
current suspicion, which has fastened
upon him. The coroner seems rather to
seek to avert suspicion than to inyesti-
gate the crime. In fact. the officials of
waller county, nor the people of the
nelghborhoOd where the crime was COM
mitted, have shown any disposition tn
ferret out this damnable crime. Gov
Hubbard, however, who has ever shown
disposition to punish crime, has offer
ed large reward for the assassins.
which Will in short time bring them
In. For day or two Lynch was una
ware OF the certainty of the fate of his
children, and until one of his friends.
sitting by his bedside, said:
George, it is my duty now to tell YOU
that you have not child on earth"
1t has been concluded by some of the
best detectives that the eight children
had either been killed or rendered insen
slble before their father was aroused by
the shot OF the assassin. Their bodies
were found in the exact position thew
occupied when they lay down to sleep.
Not one had even turned over or changed
position. Some think they were chlOro-
formed, and probably their father, who
was only awakened from his stupor by
the shock of the murderers bullet. This
view IS strengthened from the fact that
the neighbOrs who first arrived heard no
cry, no infants wall, as the flames form
ed their fiery winding sheet. 1t is ar
gued that had any of these innocent vic
TINS been alive, or uninfluenced by some
drug, the first shot at their parent would
have awakened some one of them, who
would have made their escape. The vic
tins uttered no screams as thew all went
down in their fiery death. This it is
that gives this unparalleled tragedy its
inexpressible and thrilling horror. How
long had these eight beautiful children
been killed before the confiagration was
set, and how were they killed? These
are questions that still remain dread
full and apparently inscrutable mystery.
To-day GlObe-Democrat correspondent
rode out to the scene of the murder, on
Spring creek. Hitching his horse to
one of the fine shade trees in front of the
ruined hOmestead-now silent as the
fresh graves filled by its inmates-the
correspondent walked the beautiful yard
whose scorched shrubbery still bears
marks of the destroying element, and
strobe over the blackened and charred
ruins. 1t was a sad sight. Here was
the exact spot where the burned bones
of the beautiful young daughter were
picked up; there where the charred
skull of one of the smaller children was
found. Clews to the perpetrators of
this, the most awful tragedy ever enact
ed in Texas, have been obtained, nor
will it be many weeks before the infer
nal devils who murdered the eight inno-
cents will be in hands that will not
sickle to send their blaokened souls to
hell in the same fiery element that hiss
ed above the bodies of their helpless
victims.