Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-08-10
HORRIBLE MURDER!
OF Tw" Young Children Near Wash
ingtOn.
Special to the Cincinnati Gazette.

~-N
the outskirts of this city last even
ing. The victims were mere chil~
dren, a boy aged three and his sister
aged six. The children were left at
home by their uncle and aunt, while
the two latter went to market with a
load of vegetables. The uncle re
turned about 5 o'clock for second
load of marketing, when he found
the children dead, both having been
brutally murdered The two chilr
dren were found lying de by side
| beneath the shade of large oak
tree, with their brains and
young blood bedewing the grass for
a yard around. The body of little
Lizzie was stark and stiff, while that
of Joe was yet little warm. At the
feet of the two murdered children
was found a new ak, but there was
not spot or blemish upon it, At
the head Of the bodies the wretch
who committed this terrible crime
had placed small fir tree, set in
stand of wood and used at Christmas
tide for decoration purposes. Some
farm hands were summoned by the
shrieks of Mr.. Fisher, the uncle, and
the bodies were carried into the
house. As yet no definite clue bas
been discovered.
An old negress and her daughter,
who lived near, were both seen on
the grounds, and were arrested, but
their presence there was not unusu-
al, and tue absence of all motive is
turning the attentlon Of the authori-
ties away from the women, though
they are still held. The story of the
uncle, Mr.. Fisher, as given to the
Republican, is as follows:
| On Saturday morning, between 10
and IL o'clock, Nc. Barnes, the two
children, my wife and 1 ate dinner,
and shortly after NJ S. Fisher and
myself started for the city. Before
leaving, my wife told Lizzie, the little
girl, to sweep out the dining room
and kitchon, and to have a basket of
chips ready to build a fire when we
returned home. The little ones
seemed very cheerful, and followed
us half way down the entrance
of the grounds, waving their
hands and telling us not to
forget to bring them something
from the city. When we reached
the city We disposed Of some of our
stock of vegetables, and | returned
home, leaving my wife at tue market
to sell the remainder. 1t was be-.
tween and o'clock when I reached
the farm, [ drove past the house,
and saw the two children lying on
the grass, as thought, asleep. |
concluded not to wake them until |
had stabbed the horses, so kept on
down the road to the stable, which is
about fifty yards north of the house.
After had finished, put the har-
ness on my arm and started back
toward the house. The children
still remained quiet, but this did not
create any uneasiness, and I was just
on the point of going up the back
steps into the kitchen, when sudden
impulse seized me. I dropped the
harness on the porch, and went
closer to the spot where the children
were lying. It was somewhat dark,
and thus far had not noticed any
thing unusual in their appearance
walked up to them, and to my
horror. discovered that their faces
were covered with blood.
[ stopped quickly and picked up
the boy. He was limp, but dead
and some of the blood on his face
dropped on my shirt sleeves
l did not know what to do.
The little girl was laying in a
pool of blood, and her brains were
oozing out from terrible cash in
her head. Her body was cold and
sti,i. She lay with her arms folded,
while just beyond her head was a
piece of cedar which has been used
last Christmas as Christmas tree
The boy, when I found him, was ly'
ing with his head toward the east
and his feet pointing toward his sis
ter's head. They were pretty close
together. and the little fellow had
his right wrist resting on his fore
head, as though he had raised the
arm to ward off blow. A few feet
beyond them lay an ak, which be-
longed on a woodpile in the rear Of
the house. 1t did not appear to be
blood stained, but was not in
the posi- ion it had been left
in the morning. AS soon as I could
collect my thoughts I ran around tc
the front of the house and called to
the men working in the field and
they quickly came to the spot. ]
asked them who had been to the
house during my absence, and they
replied that the only person they had
seen was Christians Taylor, the old
colored woman who lived in the
stone house near the gate by which
you enter my farm. While we were
talking the old woman came up, and
when asked her ii she had COM
mitted the murder, she stoutly de-
MED it, and said she had only
been up to the house to re-
turn wash.board she had bor-
rowed from my wife. The men
said she had been chased away by
the dogs, for they had seen her stop