Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-09-03
Rey,nge or a Coward.

Deed That OF otafienl-sene,Pp Ppt oe'hish'
~ Revenge or a Coward.
The staid old State OF New Hamp-
shire has added n chapter to tho records
, Of crime In this country which hard y
cen be surpassed for the grim background
of the murder itself and the extraor-
dinary details which have followed It's
comm ss,on. The crime of which Frank
c. Almy is guilty was marked by the
most revolving cruelty and barbarity as
well as by rank cowGrdice. Six weeks
ago the wretch, angcred because his
sweetheart, Christie Warden, rejected
his advances, sprang from his place OF
concealment on a lonely road, dragged her
away from her mother and sister into
the woods, and not only shot her down In
cold blood but even mutilated her alter
death He escaped. boasting 10 her ter
riiied companions that now he had had
revenge. The horror OF the crime
aroused the ent re county. Large re-
wards, aggregating s., 00O, were oHercd,
and hundreds OF people as we'll as pole 0
and detectives from various cities hunted
for him = OF only alAover the New Hamp'
shire hills but tn oughout New England.
Other parts OF the country were ran
sacked, but 10 no purpose, and at last
the theory was accepted that he had
gone to Europe, and all hope OF his cap
turc was lost.
IL now appears, however, that he
never left the farm OF the Warden fami-
ly. With that fascination which some
times seizes upon criminals to remain
upon the scene Of their crimes he con-
cealed himself in the barn. From his
hiding-pla he saw the funeral of his
victim. In dark nights he stole up TO
the house and watched what was going
on within. He saw detectives and re-
porters within a few feet OF him and
heard them discuss plans and probsbili-
ties for his capture He even took food
from the house in the night and Wis ted
Christie's grave in the cemetery near by.
All these weeks it never occurred to the
astute detectives TO search the War
den premises, and had 1t not
been for the accidental discovery Of
some cans taken from the house. which
raised suspicion in the mothers mind
that he was somewhere on the promises,
he might still have been at liberty. She
mentioned her suspicions TO the Sheriff,
and that functionary with companion
kept nightly vigil about the barn. AT
last they were rewarded by sight of
the lean and haggard murderer emerg-
He was entirely unprepared for resi- t.
ance, but for some mysterious reason
tho two armed men made no attempt to
arrest him. Instead OF that they raised
q hue and cry and the next day the barn
was besieged by no less than ], 500 peop,e,
who procee~ ed to lombard their victim.
When he had been wounded two or three
times and it became apparent to him
that further attempt was useless he
agrVod~ to surrender and even dfctatod
terms so far as personal security was
concerned When the terms were ac-
cepted headded crime 90 crime by shoot
ing one Of his capto. s. That he was not
killed Oh the spot speaks well OF the
New Eng and sease OF justice. The
Sheriff who had been so reluctant to per-
form his duty promptly and energeticaily
saved him from ly ching by appealing to
the crowl TO let the law take its co .rse-
Th y decided To do so and the brutal
wretch was removed 10 jail II the
courts are as fearless and the law is as
perfelt as the Sheriff boa ted II will not
be long before Almy win expiate his hor-
ri le crime on the gallows
1t is not SO certain, however, that this
wretch will meet the fate he deserves,
A ready there is a certain halo OF ro-
nance gathering about him His visits
to his victims grave. his pr, servation of
lett r. and souvenirs she had given aim,
his declaration that he loved her all the
time, and that he shot her by accident
because bo could not bear to see her
snffer; frave Had a certain effect npOn
the maudIin and morbid asses OF soei-
ETY. who are ready to declare that he was
insane with love. People OF this Kind
arc making a lion of him, and there Is
danger that they may bring sufficiently
strong pressure TO bear 10 save him from
hanging. With all its conservatism and
| love for justice, sentimentality Is q
strong element in the New England
composition. as has been shown even lE
| the Jesse Pomeroy case and In many
another equally brutal and revolving
| The prosecuting officials, therefore, will
have a hard task before them. though
every circumstance OF the murder can
be easily established. Should any con-
| tingency, however, save this monster
| from the gallows IL will be public
calamity. The practice of girl-kiiling
has become alarmingly common, and 1t
! Is time that the courts should adopt
heroic measures to suppress IL There
is no better case TO begin with than that
| of Almy II all reports are true this Is
| not the first girl he has killed. There Is
| no romance about his crime. There
| was no love In his feelings toward
| Christie Warden. His act was dictated
by revenge, either because Christie
| Warden had wounded Lis pride by her
| rejection of his suit or because OF lower
| and more revolving motives In either
case he richly deserves death, and has
barred hiIaself from the sympathy OF
| any right-minded person. Crimes like
| his are becoming alarmingly frequent.
| and it is time that tn law should step
| in and protect helpless women from be-
4 ing slaughtered merely because they er.
| ercise the right of re. ectng the adj
vances Of men who may have conceived
sudden and revolving passion for tn m
rtiitoa. for IN. E.rn,.r.