The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-12-31
POISONED Her CHILDREN.
THE HoRRl8LE WORK OF AN INSANE
MOTHER.
An Almost Incredible Story of insanity.
The First Child Died Get. l. and the
Last One Taken Ill with Same Symp-

toms Dec. s.
LOUISVILLE, Ky, Dec. 2o.-The
Courler-Journal says: Mrs. Jessie
Hisbee. a neatly dressed and rrepo-
sessing young country woman. was
placed in jail last evening. Against her
! name on the slate was written the COM
mon-place charge OF lunacy, but behind
that lssshe accusation Of a crime so hor-
rible as to be almost incredible.
The unnatural mother is accused Of
poisoning four OF her children with ar
senic. One at a time they diedtron the
same fearful drug. but not until the last
little life had been taken was suspicion
aroused.
She next made a futile attempt on her
own life with the same poison. Since
then she has attempted to kill her hus-
band. She IS undoubtedly mad wonl-
an. however, and this fact is the only
thing that relieves the horror OF her aw-
full deeds.
Until the past three months there
were no siens Of mental falling on the
part@of the mother, and until an eNanin-
alton of the bodies, which took place
here, she was thought to be perfectly
sane, her strange actions in the past hay
lng been attributed to grief over the first
child's death.
The unfortunate woman IS a native OF
this city, but since her marriage had been
living on plantation in Meade county.
Her husband is well known and is one
of the most prominent farmers IN that
section. No definite cause has been
assigned for the strange and unnatural
crimes. Until the death Of the first
child she was remarkable for her devo-
ton and care of her little ones.
The first murder was committed on
the evening ofOctober II, and the others
followed at intervals Of two weeks.
During the illness Of each child the
mother showed stolid indifference
which her friends and physician con-
. strued as grief. Each murder was care
! fully planned and cunningly executed.
Though every child was attacked with
the same symptoms and died with the
spasmodic cramps which accompany
arsenic poisoning, the suspicion OF no
one was aroused until after the death OF
the fourth child, when the mother at
tempted her own life.
The women is % years OF age, and
was the mother of FIVE children. the
eldest Of which-was S,years of age. 1t
was only for the sake Of the fifth child,
and in order to save its life from the in
human mother, that the husband told
his suspicious and suggested post
mortem examination of the children.
It was then for the tirItime learned
that tbsIs4wsrassAe victims /st Their
ssass rs work. and that while pretend
nc to give them dellcacies before send
ing them TO bed, she in reahsS was ar
ranging for their. death.
During the illness. ;sugerings and
the deaths of each of these victims:
Mrs. Rigbee moved about the sicS
! rooms, fulfilling the physicians instruc-
tons and administering the medlcinesat
the right time without showing any
& signs Of grief or betraying herselfas the
author of their deaths. Eer manner,
more Than anything else. threw the nus
band and physicians of. their guard. and
ouieted any suspicious which may have
been aroused.
After the death Of the third child her
actions were strange, but this was at.
tribaied to her supposed grief. She sell
daanspeke, and moved about the house
with cat-like Stiffness.
On Dec. S, the day before the Oldest
child. and the last victime. was taken IL.
Mrs. Higbee expressed herself as very
ANXIOUS about the child's health, and
asked her husband if ne thought the pa
Z tient looked well. He replied that he
5 thought she was looking unusually well,
and prayed: ould not suffer the fate
ofthe other children. At this she re-
nied that no one could tell when they
were going to die, and that she had 9
presentment that they allwould be deac
inside of two weeks. The next morning
before Halle, the Oldest child, started tt
school, Mrs. Higbee told hernot to both
ar about her lunch, as she would arrange
Il herself. While the rest Of the fanali!
were out of the room she buttered sew
3 eral biscuits, and when the child cam:
in had them wrapped mp in a napkin
The mother kissed the child goodbye
and told her 10 come home as soon a.
4 school was over.
80 During the morning, while the chile
: was absent,sMrs. Hisbee called her hus
band. and again began asking about th'
absent child's health. He attempted t
reassure her, but she was not to be com
s forted. and several times was heard t
saw tha5 she was certain the child woul'
die as the others had.
The first intimation which Mr.. Hisoe
had that his wife was numbering hi
children was the fact that it was hardl..
s. an hour after she had ceased talkln:
about the child at school, when tie littl
,saSreturned, suffering from cramps, a
sasc victims had been attacked. Il
sscshe relapsed into uncon
2d remained so until he
Sj2 nnsband then told his lear
4 Sding physician, and request
Mi 5s make a post mortem eXam!n
u 81 is, however. was so DltterI.
the mother that the matte
led. She become indigaran
learned what was intended
s. itened to kill any one VIII
tempt it.
\ "a be dead very soon myself, " 81
4 g6 her husband. land they can Gu
s. sS- -up. i SslsSsssIsy choose, but no one shal
hs, apparently, soreal tina
. hS suspicious were, for
81 husband was informed tina
hissuspicioas were corroborated his erie
was spitiable. He then told that he an
his wife had not lived happily togethe
for the past six months. and feared tha