Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-12-26
The Nebraska Murderer.

O0 S6turOay TWO SD0IiH5 IIOiu Nt-
arrived in S:eubeDville, and
identified s. ID. Richards, who was az
rested near Mt. Pleasant, on Friday,
and taken to the jail at that place, as
the man who stands charged with the
murder of Mrs. HARRISON and her three
children, near Kearney, Neb. A re-
porter of the Sunday Local visited the
prisoner in hts cell, and the following
which appeared in that pa
per OF Sunday, was ELECTED:
Last evening special reporter OF the
Local visited him in his cell, and was
ia troduced to well dressed handsome
young man of % summers, tall and
straight es an BROW, broad chested,
muscular, of herculean physique, but
Withal, of easy carriage aud graceful
inein, polite, modest and quiet. He
talks in low musical voice, with his
soft gray eye riveted upon his auditor.
He related this strange, startling and
thrilling story, which if true, is with
out parallel in the history of Il Tur-
pin or McHeath.
81 was born in the staid little town
of Mt. Pleasant, in this county, and ia
-arly life had the precepts aud charac-
Ter Of the Quaker instilied into my
mind. grew up TO boyhood, and un
I'll three years ago, NO event occurred
10 interrupt the even tenor Of my way
But about that time having desire tC
roam and rove, | started westward and
then began my wild career which is
soon TO close. | never WAS drunk.
do not drink now; never did. [ have
lived in Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colo
RADIO, and have many friends wherever
I have been. Ny rule has been to con
iide in no one, out, now that my doom
is staring me in the face, l tell you
have been the cause of six bloody mur
| dtrs. No one ever knew this before.
v2 baen lt5,,ed l:;EEii ,:s - 5sii xor rla
~ young man, and in those place:
y here l am acquainted, moved il
/ the cream of society. The first man
murdered was on account of u quarre
We had-it was in Buffalo county
Then another man, ! butchered!
went into a house one day, the mar
who lived there heaped vile oaths upol
me; SeiZing d hammer that was nea
! by, beat out his brains and left him
soon forgetting or caring anything
about it. Once an officer undertook t,
arrest me, we exchanged five shots;
received two wounds but overpowereS
nim. Then / bound up his wound
and had him taken TO a hospital. Som
of the bodies have not been found.
| left body in Kearney county-tha
was my last murder. /, made lots O
money in various ways. l expect t.
atone for my crimes on the gallows
There is no hope for me now. But
lshall go to the scoffOld as fwould to IN,
dinner and with as little concern.
returned home, not to escape the ven
geance of the law but TO see my friend
and the companions of my youth 70
the last time. I knew 1 must at las
fall, but had l been armed whel
they came after me, I@would not hsv
been taken alive; and when 1 die m,
death will be avenged, for my partner
will have the blood of those that hunt
ed me down. They tell me l nigh
get out on a writ of habeas corpus.
say no, cannot. There is a kind an,
lpretty woman out there that want {
see once more. She would sacrifie
anything for me. Her husband is
drunkard. She declared to him if h
thought more of whisky than her, b
might leave her. So, when the peopl
saw mo strolling through the street
with her, the gossip5 took it up and
was compelled to say to patrolma
that if two certain fellows didn't qui
talking there would not be room fo
them and me in the burg. That ende
it. own a quarter section of lam
well stocked, and L thought to hav
settled down there. l am sorry t
have brought this thing home. l hat
to think they mnst suffer for m
wrongs. Oh, tell you, sir, when tn
blood of my victims WAS on my han
/, have thought the same thoughts
think now. 1 thank you for this 0p
portunity to tell my tale, awful as
is. L expect to publish letter myse
.:an early day.