The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1879-05-06

The Hanging Of the Great Assassin
Of the Age.

Of tho Age.
How Stephen d. Richards Died.
The Story Of Hls Bloody Life.
From the St. Joseph Gazette
On the 18th of December last the
telegraph announced to the readers of
the Gasctts that Stephen d. Richards,
the murderer of nine persons. and yet q
young man only twenty-three years of
age. was on that day safely lodged in
jail at Kearney. Nebraska. He was
charged with the murder of Mrs.
HARRISON and three little children.
THE MURDER.
Last fall he went to work for Mrs.
HARRISON, who lived with three little
children on . small claim. apart from
any neighbors. Her husband had
deserted her and was in Texas. BY and
by Mrs. HARRISON and her children
were missed. In reply to inquiries,
Richards said abe had sold her house,
land, barn, team, and crops to him for
$500, and had gone to join her hus-
hand in Texas. The lowness of the
price excited suspicion. but the latter
part of the story was probably enough,
and investigation was postponed. Soon
after this, Richards went to work for
. Swede, named Peter Anderson q
bachelor with some money. who lived
alone On December 7th Anderson
said to some friends that his tongue
was swelled. and he believed that
Richards had tried to poison him. On
the next day his friends went around
to look into the matter little more,
and found Richards in front of the
house with . wagon load of the
Swede's goods. They asked what
that meant, and he said Anderson
bad gone away and directed that his
things should be taken to Richards
house. They said they guessed they'd
look in the house, and Richards gavc
them the key. but did not 60 in with
them. In the house they found the
Swede with his skull broken with q !
hammer. When they looked for
Richards they found he had cut one
of the horses loose from the wagon
and escaped.
In the meantime Mrs. Hsrelson's |
premises were searched and the bodies
Of herself and her three children were
found With tho skulls broken in q pit |
near . haystack.
Richards fed forty-five miles south |
to Bloomington, and there got a team
to take him thirty miles east of Red
Cloud. There be took the cars and
returned to Hastings, very near the
place where the murders were COM
mitted. He had during his fight
shaved OF the full beard he wore and
changed his clothes. From Hastings
he went 10 Omaha BY cars, and then
BY way of Chicago returned to his
old home at Mount Pleasant Oh Satur-
day morning, and only stayed over
Friday night to attend q ball.
HIS ARREST
was accomplished ut Mt Pleasant,
Ohio, on the Goth of December, by a
constable named McGrew, and q
penitentiary guard named Folge.
Descriptions Of Richards had been
sent to Mt. Pleasant, his old home,
and the constable and the guard
recognizing the man determined to
gather him in. They
ARMED THEMSELVES WITH sHoT-GUNs,
and met him Friday afternoon, walk
ing in the fields with two girls. Being
unarmed be surrendered himself
quietly, but said that if he had not
left bis revolves in Wheeling, West
Va, he would not have been taken
alive. Sherifs Anderson and Martin
arrived on Saturday with Q requisition.
They experienced some delay in pro-
curing . State warrant, but got the
document at Last, started west with
him on Tuesday, December 24th.
When he Was arrested at Mount .
Pleasant he asked who should be .
notified in Nebraska of the arrest, and 6
be kindly gave the address of Captain q
Anderson. He recognized the captains 8
step in the Jail before he saw him.
Richards had tried his hands at bluff {
on . small scale at first but after the
Nebraska officers arrived he aban- 8
doned everything Of that kind. Sheriff j
Martin was from Kesrney county, and
Sheriff Anderson frvm Buffalo county, | |
Nebraska. Ii
THE RETURN TO NEBRASKA. e
On December 18th be was brought I
70 Omaha and taken to the Jail for =
'afe keeping until the western train
'hould leave. and in the meantime q
arge crowd assembled, about the c
,ourt house to zee him. He was
yiven his breakfast at the Jail, and 1t {
l1:3O was taken out In charge of the Q
'&cers and put in . bus in which be q
ode to The depot As he came out Of l
he building be seemed to be some !,
shat astonished ut the crowd of people : :
present. for be remarked, "fe the .
Whole id town here?" Some one .
aid something - 10 his being about Z
. big . man as any one around him, u
'hereuPon he responded. "Yes; 1
ouId handle any id one of them"
SHERIFF ANDERSON.
aid be had known Richards for some n
ime, and that he had him in the g
[earney jail % two different occasions .
-once for grand larceny, and once q ],
d. conspiracy. he said that in com. ~ 2,
u from Ohio with the prisoner, thew q
tssacted great attention al along the g 9
quite. At Chicago Richards told q q
ep0rter that he killed a man some