St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-15
MADE A BRAVE FIGHT.
Further Particulars Of the Florida
Butchery.


JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Dec. l4.-De-
tails of the tragedy near New Symrna
are coming in slowly, telegraph COM
munication not having been estab-
lished until this morning. Mr.. Pack
wood left home Friday morning for
Maitland, to be gone two days. Mrs. L.
ID. Hatch, neighbor and dear friend of
Miss Bruce, came to spend the day and
night with her during Mr.. Packwood'S
absence. Miss Bruce was a daughter
OF Hamilton Bruce, of New York city.
Irwin Jenkins was the first to discov-
er the crime. He is negro who called
at the PackwOod house every Saturday
to do errands and light jobs. At 9
o'clock In the morning he Knocked at
the door aud got no answer. lie saw
window smashed in and then called the
neighbOrS, who made an investigation
and then notified the sheriff and cOrO-
ner. One of the first men to reach the
scene after the alarm had been given
thus tells the story of the crime:
when we reached the house we all
crowded around the broken window
and peered in. Before our eyes was an
appalling spectacle. On her back by
the window in a pool of blood lay Mrs.
Hatch with pistol ball wound on the
inside corners OF her left eye. Her
face was blackened with powder. The
other bodies lay near her. When the
crash came she had evidently been
near the window. When the murderer
entered, her little son, frenZied with
fright. had probably fed, as a child
would, and had sought refuge i'll the
bed clothes of bed lounge at the other
end of her room. He was torn from
there, shot over the left eye and his
throat cut in three places. His head
was almost severed from the body. The
bed clothes were stained crimson.
"While the murderer was entering
the window Miss Bruce had apparently
secured an old Smith d WessOn pistol
which was handy and fired at him. The
ball took effect in the window frame.
Tile murderer, needless of this on
slaught, continued his terrible work.
By this time Miss Bruce had gone to
the closet and secured double-barreled
shotgun. She leveled it at the muir
derer as he approached, but unfortunate
~ both hammers snapped on shells that
had been exploded many days before.
He OVerDOwered her and accomplished
his deVilish purpose probably after kill
ing her little nephew.
1.-The murderer shot her through the
cheek, the ball crashing through her
the bed. There must have been anOth-
er struggle for the possession of the
gun. He tore II from her grasp and,
swinging ii around his head with both
hands, drove the stock against her face
with terrible force. The blow struck
her between the forehead and nose and
crushed in her skull. Every bone in
her face was broken. Then, with il
keen bread-knife, he stabbed her in the
neck, cutting out a square section of
flesh and finishing with two terrible
gashes Oh her throat.
Frank PackwOOd "a beautiful little
authenticated child of FIVE years, was
found on the floor al the foot of the bed
with his throat cut. His features had
been married. The floors of both rooms
were completely covered with blood
and the mattress on the bed on which
Miss Bruce lay was sOggy with gore.
On the curtains and walls blood was
spattered thickly. When the neighbors
later on began to clear mp the premises,
the blood was scoOped up in masses and
thrown cut. The remainder was sopped
| up with cloths and the sputs were
scrubbed and strewn with -four. But
even this did not hide the evidence of
! the bloody crime.
The conviction is growing that the
murders were committed by somebody
belonging to the neighborIlOOd, or at
least familiar with the premises and
surrounding country. There are rumors
of a discarded lover who had sworn
vengeance, and that robbery was not
the object of the murder. TIE murder
| of Mrs. Hatch and the two children was
/ undoubtedly to destroy evidences OF the
assault upon the killing of Miss Bruce.
| The revolver and shotgun were the
property OF Mr.. Packwood. and either
Miss Bruce or Mrs. Hatch had uudoubt-
edly used them in self-defense. The
negro Jenkins has been arrested. but
nobody believes that he knows anything
! Of the crime. Two hundred armed men
with bloodhounds, on horseback and
/ afoot. arg securing the country.