The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-03-01
Murder Of alloy.

Murder of a hoy.
L------. La.ls..a-- 4 2tl
Dir John Smith, the Vile or tile inhu
man fend who butchered his thirteen-year.
old son near Westminsteh California, was
brought to Los Angeles and placed In ial
to- await her trial as accomplice to The
muader Of het eldest child. The woman
In personal appearance Is not unpreposses.
sing, and there is nothing In her face to
denote absence Of the motherly instincts
of which she has shown herself to be utter.
ly. devoid. AS she entered the room,
belring In her arms pale and eickly look,
ing infant, the reporter saw before him a
woman small in stature, wltea round face
She was scantily olsd IN an old dress,
which seemed but the lnockery of an ut.
tempt to keep off the ceidss gusts which
now and then came sweeiangA through the
jail-yard. A scrap Of a shawl, gathered
her crying babe, added meagerly to her
physical comfort and formed bat another
line ID a picture which, had 1t not been
for her surroundings, would have been an
impresslvely sad one.
During the interview, which is in sub
stance reproduced below, she would, from
time to time, look up into the reporters
face with the fierce flash Of desperation in
her eyes, and at other times the tears
would we'll up from long unused springs
and flood the face and CHOKE the sound OF
her voice Her whole story seemed to be
sincere; there was no effort at dissimula-
ton OF assembling.
''Mrs. Smith you are here to answer the
charge Of assisting IN the murder of your
own son. Have you any objections to
stating 10 me what Impelled you to this
act 2"
81 had nothing TO do with it sir. If l
could have prevented it would. My hus-
band told Inc about an hour before he did
1t that the Lord demanded sacrifice of us
and that our boy had to die. l begged
him to spare my boy. cried and begged
him to consider well what he was about
to do, but all the answer he made me was
that Jesus Christ had died for us and the
Lord had told him that our son had to die
for His sake. He called my boy out of
the house and told him he had to die for
our Saviour. The boy asked him if the
Lord had commanded us to starve and
Josiah told him Y es. Then the little kneit
down by his side and his father stood up.
lie raised the knife, looked hard in the
boys face and then drove the kpife INTO
his breast. Oil it was awful, once It. was
done
mo; felt bad little, but when he
told me what he was going to do it did not
seem to me SO terrible. 1t was only when
saw the boy fall over and great stream
Of blood come squirting from his body that
felt how terrible it all was."
Had yonr husband ever been a religious
man4 Had he ever shown any symphonic
OF religious insanity Z"
"No, sir:' lie was not a religious man.
He believed in God. but did not follow
any religion He took to reading the Bible
a great deal few weeks before all this
happened and used often to read me all
That they say Iii the Bible about the sacri-
fce to the Lord. l begged HIM not to
read them much, but they seemed to have
a terrible fascination for him. lie would
read over again about the Lord command :
ing Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and
how He sent a ram 10 be tAe victim. III,
got to talking to his old father, who is now
seventy eight years old. and he said to
Inn: i am the Lord HIS old father
argued with HIM when he saw the way he
was gong, but 1t was no use. and my hus.
band would 60 on saying to HIM that he
had God in him."
'How long have you been married to
This man3 Has ho been good husband
to yon9"
"Thls coming December will be sixtee
years. l have no complaint to make
against him, for he has been as good a
husband TO me as a woman could want.
lie was always kind to all of us, and did
oil that he could to keep us from want.
But just before he did it he SAID that we
must all fast and that he would not let US
eat anything.
The boy asked him frequently If God
had ordered us all to starvo and he always
said He had If 1t had not been that my
head was sort of dazed and if the boy had
not gwen in at once, might have pre-
vented the killing, though he was mighty
bent on it,
''How did your husbands talk on this
subject of sacrifice affect you.2"
swell, | used to feel that IL the Lord
commanded me to starve or kill people. I
would not do il. But when he would talk
to me and persuade me that a good wife
should think as her husband did, I got so
as to think that what he said must be
right"
"Oh, yes, cir; often 10. I am always
thinking Of him, and can hear hlm at all
times asking to be brought in and laid on
his bed, and begging for little water be.
fore he diet. have his face before me
oil the time, and | hear his voice in my
ears day and night"
The woman continued with heart rend.
ing details Of the boys conversations with
his father and his numerous attempts to
make his father 60 back TO fishing after he
had given 1t up. She pictured in her
graphic but illiterate way the sickenlng
details Of her chld's death. During the
course Of her narrative deep sobs would
interrupt her story, but they seemed to be
more the result of emotional excitement
than natural grief of bereaved mother.
Covering Arrears.