The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1891-08-22
A Syifess Horrible Crime.

A atarSllng STORY comes IFOm one Oh
the lumber camps at Kettle Greek
Pa, the truth of which interested
parties have started out to- investi-
gate. In April, 1889, the people Of
all this region were horri6ed by the
news that Frank Hancock a lumber.
mau, living at Blue Ran, near the
Roga and Potter county line, had
murdered four of bis children and
cmmitted suicide by hanging himself
in his house, The news was made
known by Hancock's wife who had
been absent from home onathe night
of the TRAGEDY.
Her story was that she had gone
home and had found the four chill.
dren lying dead, some in the house
and some 10 the yard. They were.
stabbed and frightfully mutilated
with a big butcher knife. The oldest
child was eleven years old. A ifth
child, a babe. was asleep and uninjur.
ed ia a pool of blood at the side Of
one Of its murdered sisters. A note
in the handwriting of her husband,
apparently, was found which confess
ed the terrible crime, giving as his
reason his desire to rid his wife Of
himself and little o8es because Of her
scondnct.
a few days age . messenger from
the Kettle Greek camp went TO Cou,
dersport, the county seat of Potter
county, with the Startling story that
Mrs. Hancock had died in camp.
and that before dying che had made
a confession. which moi only acquitt-l
ed her husband Of the murder of the
children aud himself. but which de-
clares that she herself and two of
her paramours, whom she named, but
whose names are not made public,
murdered her husband and children.
y The confession was to the effect
that she had become alarmed at the
threats her husband had made
against her because Other persistent
unfaithfulness, and egged on by the
two men, she resolved, with their aid,
to put Hancock out OF the way. The
plan was tochlofoform him while he
was asleep, hang him to a rafter and
place note in hisipocket, as if writ
ten BY himself, stating that he had
committed suicide and why. She
had chlofoformed her husband while
he was asleep in bed and the two
men, who were awaiting the signal,
entered the house, provided with a.
rope and were hanging Hancock
whenthe oldest child awoke. rose up
in bed, and seeing the strange men.
made an oatcry. The mother herself
seized butcher knife and tried to
Tighten the child into silence, and
failing size stabbed ii to death.
{ The other children awakened by
the noise, were all butchered as. the
first had been, to. silence them. !.
The babe. being too young to be
dangerous to the murderers, was not
harmed. A new note then had to be
written to include the murder OF The
children fas well as the suicide. and
Mrs. Hancock. according to the al
legged confession, wrote it, snrronnd-
ed BY sthe victims Of the horrible
nights work.
4 case which will attract atten.
ton ID medicaIs circles IS redoreed
rom Lamar country; Ark. Mrs. Eli.
ia Ryan. a widow lady 80 years old,
who has been totally. blind for thirty
years, had q tooth pulled from her
upper jaw, Tie root Of the. tooth
was nearly an inch ii length. When
Eit was extracted Mrs. Ryan com;
planned Of intense pain n-her eyes
and later cried ont that she could
see plainly her sight having peen re
stored.
- --------- IS
The, best men and women in the
world do not 60 around talking q.
bout their goodness. The fact is they
hardly know they are good, for they
aeefsoF humble and anxious 10 help
others that they never hold up, their
own virtues aud perfection 70 the
gaze of others.