The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-05-24
A MURDEROJS BLOW.
A Sleeping Woman's Head Spit
Open With ali AXu.

In a small dilapidated log clh,n, iocat, ii
near Mount hockey Church, halt mlle
above the Mary land line i'll Chester coun-
ty, Pa, almost directly north OF Brick
Meeting House, in this county. about
twelve or twirtecn miles from EIktun,
lives Isabel Cries with his wife. Ruth,
aud her two children. Tie house is To-
Gated on the farm of Peter Couither and
Cries rents the house and an acre Of
ground, the house of Mr. Gather being
short distance away.
The house in which the Cries live is a
poor one, much resembling the old huEcl
in which old Nicholas Nuclkrr lived at
the time of his tragic death few years
ago (Which will be remembered by our
readers. 1t has but two rooms, one
below and one above. the latter reached
by a rickety winding stairway. In the
upper room are located two beds, upoi.
one slept Cries and his wife and in the
other the two children. On one Of the
beds now lies Mrs. Cries insensbIe and
at the point of death, the whole left side
of her head cleft open by Il blow or blows
from an axe.
All that is known Of the affair is that
on Wednesday morning last. at about
o'clock the Coulthers, who are an aged
couple, were awakened from their sleep
by Cries, who startled them by anuounc-
ing that a murder had been committed
at his house. He said that few min
ntes before lie was awakened from sleep
by the sound of :; heavy blow, and ON
rousing up he saw a man running down
the Stairs with an axe iii his hand, hav-
ing dealt his wife, who was lying beside
him, blow on til" head.
Supposing his wife to be dead Lc started
in pursuit of her murderer ard followed
him some distance when he lost him. \
hired lad of Coulther'S, VIM. Weiscr by
name, vert home with Cries and found the
woman lying upon the bed with Il teri i
BILE cash cleaviug in twain apparently the
whole left side of her head No medical
aid was summoned until late the next
day, although DR.. MearnS resides but
two or three miles distant. The woman
was still alive at last accounts, but it is
not likely that she will recover.
The story told by Cries is doubted al
most universally by the people of the
neighborhood. Cries and his wife have
been married but few months. She was
widow when he came to The ncighb"r-
hood from West Nottingham.
\ short time ago she received 500
from her first husbands estate, which
she deposited III an Oxford bank. TIE
day previous to the attempted murder
Cries visited the house OF James klid
asking him TO fill up Il check for $llU the
money remaining in the bank, Che having
previously secured 500 Of it by signing
her name to a check. and she having
drawn $50 with which she bought COW
and pig) and sign his, Glies' $ and Wite'S
name to it. Kidd refused to do it, tell
ing him that Mrs. Cries could write and
sign her own name and Cries then went
home with the check, for the pnrpose of
securing her signature. The people IN
the neighborhood connect these things
together and lay the act at Gries'S door
Doctor Mearns says that from what Mrs.
Cries had said in one or two lucid inter-
walls which had occurred he does nnt
think she has any knowledge of how size
was hurt, so that Cries himself is the
only one acquainted with the real facts.
and he will not be likely to tivUlEe them