New-York tribune., 1886-04-24
PRICE THREE CENTS
AN INSANE MOTHERS CRIME.
sLAYING FOUR CHILDREN WITH AN AXE.

Oh WucD, IN pDOr
mother laid open the heads of four of her little chill
dren with axe. Her mania was semi religious. Her
husband not prosperous; she feared the poor
house for her chlldrcn-perhaps the PRISON or even
worse-and so she sought to end their lives and
them from a future of poverty and crime. One Of
them Is dead; the others lay at the point of death
last evening" while the mothers own life was do
SPARED of, for she had taken strychpine. No such
shocking case has occurred since the day Almost year
ago. when Barclay johnson shot his mother his sister
and himself on rock on the Connecticut shore, in
order to deliver them from q wicked world
About five miles southeast of Keyport and just back
from the placid waters of Raritan Bay Is little ham,
let so insignificant that 1t docs not possess o
store post Office, but the farmhouses that rregu-
larly dot the sandy level plains of that part OF tho
State just here if animated by the earious in
stncts Of civilization, cluster closer together and
reward have received the pleasing title of Harmony.
The whole country round about is a vast market
garden and there tons of berries black kberriss.
asparagus and fruits and vegetables raised
fer the New-York market. One Of these houses of
unpretentious exterior, belongs to James Munros
Smith. 1t is plain, two-story frame building without
porch and having o high gabled roof. From the
point of each gable rudimentary chimney rises lit
tie way into the air and then stops short Around the
hot pear trees and apple trees which the buds
beginning to burst. In front is litto vineyard.
the vines still dry and leaess The front of the
shows traces of coat of pink paint which must have
dered 1t gorgeous years gone by but in the
the plain boards have known the touch of artist
except the ran the sun and the wind. Mr.. Smith
twenty of farming land around this
tumble down old house, which, in spite Of its decrcpit
appearance, shows pretty white lace curtains at some
of the gable windows and looks if it might be the
49,, 1oH~ o;1r D,t ri,
issued from the chimneys, and the inhabitants Of iar-
mony we're gathered their porches, casting lance,,
in which horror and sympathy mingled, toward Mr.
Smiths house.
The woman whose deeds the people Of Harmony
discussing in whispers is fortytwo years old of
dark compile xiOn ,short of stature, and powerfully
built Her frame Is now wasted by and disease
but the still strong that swung the axe above
her chldren's heads. Mrs. Smiths maiden
Hopping She was cursed with a morbid. broodiny
temperament, which exaggerated a thousandfoId all
the petty trials of life About twelve years ago on
the aston of the birth OF son. she seized with
attack of acute insanity and made an attempt to
take her life. Her friends her to the State Asy-
lum at Trenton and there she remained for about
eighteen months Long before that term had expired
her cure was considered complete, but she was noe
disct al ged until it was believed that all possibility Of
TO her husbands farm For time all wcat well but
gradually her fits of gloom returned Tie farm was
not yielding a good increase Her husband had been
obliged to put mortgages upon it amounting to 81, 1OO
a sum not far from It's full value Not long ago he
cleared away some cumps OF trees from bis place.
thus exposing tract Of marsh land to the sunshine
The result malaria from which Mrs. Smith suffered
considerably When. in addition to all this, the in-
terest on the mortgages began to run behind, the
woman's condition gave serious alarm. Ear,y ii
March her brother fearing return OF her insanity.
took her away from the farm and its depressing assoc
Citations to his home in Elizabeth There she stayed
month but instead of improving. she seemed to be fall
lug into still deeper gloom. She anxious to be
back again among her children to Shom she was pas
sonatey devoted and last Tuesday her brother let
her Co. with many misgivnss and with the intention
OF placing her again in the asylum unless she should
speedily show signs of Improvement
At o'clock yesterday morning, Farmer Smith
up aud doing chores about the house, preparatory
to his days work. He felt light hearted aud greeted
his wife ch"erily as she came toward him from tho
house. She answered his greeting with smile and
pointing the chicken said See. the door Of
the her. house is open. I'll go and shut it before all
the chickens get out"
She went to do a. she had said. and the farmer
started tho vineyard front of the house to
attend to tho hot beds Looking back he saw slip
paper fall from hs wifes and. bu. he paid atten
ton it and went with his work. Mrs. Smith shut
the door OF the ct ckcn house and then went to the
wood pile. There .she took up axe and with it
returned to the house, All her children still la
he'd upstairs except sixteen year old boy who was
ont at work. The woman. in hand went into tho
room where lay Edna. little girl OF four The child
was still asleep. With single we'll aimed blow tho
mother crushed in the little bead Rufus, boy OF
thirteen, lay in the next room. He too was asleep,
and mcrcifuy did not see his mother as she struck
him three blows that laid his head open. Continuing
in her horrible work, the mother whose axe was now
red with the blood OF her children, passed into the
room where Bessie and Aida slept. Aida is eight
wears old Bessie is about ten. The former was
awake and had just kneIt to pray beside her bed AZ
she was uttering the words she had learned at her
mothers knee the mothers fell upon her head.
and as the little hands raised in piteous entreaty
they were cruelty beaten down and gashed by mur.
derous steel. Aida covered in her bed, while this
terrible scene was going on. but her turn soon came
and her frenzed mother left her for dead, with her
arms aud hands all mutated and bleeding
The eldest daughter, girl Of eighteen, slept in
tSn %h ne ubsTs e se:e and aida
butchered and knew that her mother would soon be
at her own door She half OWNED what was going
on and IN an agony OF % terror 'no s~ %er bssS
without She knocked, but the daughter gave NO an:
swer. She attempted to open. but the daughter held
the door fast Then there q terrible struggle.
The arl hardly Enew what she struggling against
but she felt that it was fight for life. Once the door
was forced partly Open and the daughter the hor
ribe figure of the mother without, with the fatal
raj ied to srike With cry she redoubed aer efforts.
closed the door again and succeeded in boiling it, The
insane woman turned to go down stairs. On the way
she met faithful old negro servant who has been In
tie family for years. Betty her mistress aud
screaming from the house. followed bv Mrs. Smith
with the upifted axe.
Meanwhile Farmer Smith had been attracted by tho
cries His wife saw him coming toward her. anc she
dropped the weapon In the wildness Of is wite eye
and the blood on the the farmer read terrible
story but he did not yet imagine its ghasty details
sWhat have you donor be said. in a scared Wills
per.
ing TO the upper story where the children lay in heir
blood The father climbed the stairs With tremb-