The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-01-19

CudnBeu his Sledllny pdCe Loi lOuu
clattering ascent Already he was on
| the tOpmOst stair-alTeady he wa throw
| ing himself at bound against the door,
when Louisa, having dragged her sister
| int the room, closed the door and sent
the bolt home in the very instant that
| the muTderer's hand came into contact
with the handle. Then, from the yiol-
ence of her emotions, she fell down in
| fit, with her arm round the sister whom
| she had saved.
How long they lay in this state neither
ever knew. The two old ladies had
rushed up stairs on hearing the tumult.
| Other persons had been concealed in
other parts of the house. The servants
| found themselves suddenly locked in,
| and were not sorry To be saved from
| collision which involved so awful a
| danger. The two old ladies' had rushed
| side by side, into the very centre of those
who were seeking them. Retreat was
| impDssible; two persons at least were
heard following them up stairs. Some
ling like a shrieking eXpOstulatiOn
and COunter-eXpOSJulati went on be-
tween the ladies and the murdeTers-
then came louder vOiceS-then one heart
piercing shrek, and then anOtheT-and
then low moaning and dead silence.
Shortly afterwards was heard the first
crashing of the door inwards 10y the mob;
but the muT! eTeTs had fled upon the
first alarm, and, to the astOnishment of
the servants, had fled upwards. EXami-
nation, however, explained this: from a
window in the roof, they had passed To
an adjoining house recently left empty;
and here, as i'll other cases, we had proof
| how apt people are, in the midst of ella
bOrate provisions against remote dan
gers, to neglect those which are obvious.
The reign of terror, il may be sup
posed, had now reached its acme. The
two old ladies were both lying dead at
different points on the staircase, and,
as usual, no conjecture could be made
as to the nature of the offence which
they had given; but that the murder
was yindictiye one, the usual evidence
remained behind, in the proofs that no
robbery had been attempted. Two new
features, however, were now brought
forward in this system of horrors, one of
which riVetted the sense of their in
security to all families occupying eX-
tensive houses, and other raised ill-blOOd
between the city and the University,
such as required years to allay. The
first arose out of the experience, now
first obtained, that these assassins pur-
sued the plan of secreting themselves
within the house where they meditated
a murder. All the care, therefore, pre-
viOusly directed to the securing of doors
and windows after nightfall appeared
nugatOTy. The other feature brought
to light on this occasion was YOuched
for by one of the servants, who declared
that the moment before the door of the
kitchen was fastened upon herself and
fellOW-servant, she saw two men in the
hall, one on the point of ascending the
stairs, the other making towards the |
kitchen; that she could not distinguish |
the faces of either, but that both were |
dressed in the academic costume belong |
ing to the students of the University. |
The consequences of such declaration
need scarcely be mentioned. Suspicion
settled upon the students, who were
more numerous since the general peace,
in much larger proportion military,
and less select or respectable than here
tofore. Still, no part of the mystery was
cleared up by this discovery; many of
the students were poor enough to feel
the temptation that might be offered by
any lucrative system of outrage. Jeal-
Gus and painful collisions were, in the
meantime, produced; and, during the
latter two months of this winter, it may
be said that our city exhibited the very
anarchy OF evil passions. This condition
of things lasted until the dawning Of
another spring.
1t will be supposed that cOmmunica-
tiOns were made to the Supreme GCTern-
ment of the land as soon as tie murders
in our city were understood to be no
casual occurrences but links in a sys-
tematic series, Perhaps it might happen
ON sOGiv other business of a higher
kind, just then engaging the attention
of car governors, that our representa-
tons did not make the impression we
had expected. We could not, indeed,
complain of absolute neglect from the
government: they s1nt down one or two
Of their most acc mplished police Off
GERS, and they sugCtAed some cOunsels,
especially that we should examine more
strictly into the quality of the miscel
IaneOus population who occupied our
large suburb. But they more than
hinted, that no necessity was seen either
for quartering troops upon us, or for
arming our local magistracy with
ampler powers.
This correspondence with the central
Government occupied the month of
March, and, before that time, the bloody
system had ceased as abruptly as it be-
gan. The new police officer flatteTed
himself that the terror of his name had
wrought this effect; but iudicious peo-
pie thought otherwise. ALL, however,
was quiet until the depth of summer,
when, by way of limiting to US, perhaps,
that the dreadful power which clothed
itself with darkness had not expired,
but was only repOsing from its labOrs,
all at once the chief JallOr OF the city
was missing. He had been in the habit
of taking long rides in the forest, his
present situation being much of a sine
cure. 1t was on the 1st of July that he
was missed. In riding through the city
gates that morning he had mentioned
the direction which he meant to pursue;
and the last time he was seen alive was
in one of the forest avenues about eight
miles from the city, leading towards the
point he had indicated. This jailOr was
n It man to be regretted ON his own
account; his life had been a tissue of
cruelty and brutal abuse of his powers,
in which he had been too much sup
ported by the magistrates, partly on the
plea that it was their duty to back their
own officers against all complainers,
partly, also, from the necessities created
by the turbulent times for more sum-
mary exercise of their magisterial au-
thOrity. No man, therefore, on his own
separate account, could more willingly
have been spared than this brutal jailOr;
and it was a general remark, that, had
the murderOus band within our walls
swept away fhis man only, they would
have meriteil the public gratitude as
purifiers from public nuisance. But
aartain thaf fIa ilor loH J{od