Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-12-29
DEED OF A FIEND.
Terrible Butchey of a Family
in Minnesota.
A FATHERS DEvILIsH FERoOITY.

He Opens Fire an HI. Family with Two
with . Knife Som and One Dsueh-
ter Feel the Effects OF His Malignant
Rage His Fiendi-h Slaughter OF the
Former Almost Incredfble-The Trag-
cdy Wound Up with suicide.
ST. PAU, Mimi, Dec GA horrible
tragedy occurred near the town OF Carlisle,
In Wiikin county Saturday night. Carl
Reher, a German, 90 years of age, lived in
Wilkin county abont twelve miles from
this city. His family consisted OF a wife.
aged 40; son Henry, %, and three daugh-
tiers. aged q, 10. and Il. A few weeks ago.
after q violent family broil. Reher quit
the house and went to live in Elizabeth.
town eight miles distant. Saturday night
he returned home about o'clock. Alter
greeting his family he stepped into a room
at the back of the house and moment
later reappeared at the door with self
cooking revolver in each hand, which he
leveled and began firing.
The Knife Was More Deadly.
After wounding his son, eldest daughter
and wife the lamp was extinguished by
sne OF the bullets. The entire family made
rush for the door, hoping to escape in
the darkness. Reher dropped his revolver
and drew huge carving knife, with which
he fatally stabbed his son. The three
daughters got safely out OF the house. and
hid themselves in the outbuildings. Reher
then turned ON his wife and stabbed and
hacked her full of holes, any one of the
half dozen of which would have been
fatal.
The Fiend's Murder OF His Wife.
After his wife had fallen apparently
dead in the house Reher went out to find
his daughters and finish his work. He
did not succeed, and returned to the house.
HIS wife was gone, and the youngest
daughter, who watched the scene from
the haymow, describes what next occurred.
Her father appeared at the door with the
dripping knife still in his hand. The full
moon lighted up the landscape bril-
liantly and he saw his wife crawling
painfully on her hands and knees fifty
yards away. He ran to her and again fell
upon her with fiendish ferocity, and
plunged the knife again and again into
her PROSTATE body. Then he returned to
the hous- After her husbands death the
poor woman crawled back to the house,
and lay almost by the side of her dead
husband She had only strength to tell
the story of the awful tragedy, and then
died
Final Act OF the Tragedy.
When the neighbors, who were at
tracted by the shooting, arrived they
found Reher stone dead, with a bullet in
his brain and rope around his neck. He
had thrown the rope over beam and put
the moose around his neck, and as the
moose frightened had blown out his brains
Except the frequent quarrels in the FAM
lily there is no known cause for Rehers &C
tion- The tragedy is one of the most hor-
rible as well as inexplicable in the Grim
inal annals of Minnesota.
Everything Soaked with Blood.
Physicians soon arrived and dressed the
wounds of Henry Reher and his sister.
The former had lost an immense quantity
Of blood, and his injuries are so severe il is
thought he cannot survive. The girl
will probably recover, though her
wound Is dangerous Everything in and
about the cabin is soaked with
blood, and the scene was one OF the
most CHASTITY that could be imagined.
That the deed was premeditated is shown
by the fact that he brought with him from
Elizabeth three revolvers all fully loaded.
and that the rope which he used TO hang
himself was entirely new, bought only
the day before in Elizabeth