Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-03-03
A Tale OF Woe.

In 1854 John Byers returned to his home
| in Clearfield county, having served for
three years in the Union army. In the
school district where his home was at that
| time the teacher was Sarah Z. Sutchell, a
| handsome and cultivated girl not yet IN
| her twenties. She was sprightly and llve-
| IL and much sought after by the sallants
of the neighborhood. hut it was not until
John Byers, tanned by southern suns and
SCARED by rebel bullets, laid siege to her
heart that she surrendered In 1850 they
were married. and lived for some time IN
| Clearfield county, but upon the death OF
her father she fell heir 10 cosy little farm
in East MahoniDg township, Indiana eoun-
| ", and thither they removed, with two
little children. They prospered, as frugal
farmers do, and happiness shone in the
cottage for many days. One June morning
the husband went merrily to work in the
fields. giving to his wife as he turned away
! his usual chearful greeting, and she set
| about her domestic duties happily Her
work for the morning included the family
| wash, and in this work she had occasion
TO 20 back and forth to the spring, some
| little distance from the house. Her young
| est child. scarce year old, sat on the
| floor wrapped about with rugs and quits
| The little one at that lime had To De sup
| ported in a sitting position, and the moth
| er never dreamed it cap bic oil NOV lng
| from the nest she had built about 1t IN the
morning hours with many tender caresses
and soft baby whisperings In her last
| journey to the spring the mother LETT SIT
| ting by the wash tub pail filled with boil
ing water. and during her few moments alb
sense the baby crept from its nest TO the
steaming bucket, grasped the side OF II
| its tiny hands, upset it and IN an instant
was deluged with the steamlng contents
| The terrible cries If the child reached the
ears of the mother and she ran with frantic
stems to the room and in a moment realized
the awful nature of the accident Almost
paralvzed for a moment and not knswin z
what To do. she clasped the babe IN her
| arms and ran to the nearest nelgn0Orlng
| house nearly n quarter of mlle distant.
| There everything that was possible TO De
doEe for the relief of the little angulsnSd
one was at empted, but in a brei hour IL
died, suffering untold agony. Ihe nus
| band. summoned hastily from his labor,
was confronted by his almost demented
| wife and saw his babe, that he had kissed a
| fex hours before dead, and its face telling
| the tortures il endured before deaths hap
| py relief came.
| This was the first sorrow that came into
| the little household.
Two years later a child 3 years of age
| fell into an open CRATE, its clothing took
| fire aud it was burned to death.
The double affiiction made an alteration
| in the father. He grew moody and morose,
but at times fell back into bis old cheerful
self Other children came, until the mum,
| Der of the family reached seven. But eyll
spirits brooded in the fathers brain he
thought at times his wire was to blame for
/ A. l. had
and sent to untimely graves two OF his
cherished brood. From reproving the SUI
f-ring mother he gradually began to abuse
her and sometimes In most lnhuinan
manner. The poor woman, whose heart
was broken by the loss of her two children,
but " hJse love and devotion for her hus-
never faltered suffered without reproach-
ful word his bitter denunciaJiOns for many
years But there came a time when the
oldest boy had reached the age OF 10, and,
with "A boys love for his mother, resented
the unkindness she suffered from his Iath-
er, and took her part when the husband as
sailed her. One day, when the lather nau
expressed his intention 10 assault his vile,
and bis son, two, if he interiered, the boy
picked up gun and shot him dead.
For this crime the boy was tried IN the
Indiana courts in 1886, and all the facts
indicated above having been proved, the
iusy acquitted him. But life at the old home
proved unbearable to him, and shortly alter
his release he removed to Colorado, where
he now lives.
Last Friday, in the midday of life, less
than AZ years of age, the mother died and
the death scenes as reported by those about
her dying couch were terrible. One con
vulsion succeeded another. She tossed
wildly to and fro on her bed, and at times
it took the supreme efforts OF the four or
FIVE attendants to restrain her. One neigh
Dor says she developed symptoms of hydro
phoba-barking, snarling and growing IN
deep gutterals-and the closing moments
of the unhappy woman's life were OF an ap-
palling and CHASTITY character.
But this is not the end of the chapter
The funeral took place on Saturday. Re
turning from the funeral the next oldest
son, Perry, went into the stable to look
after the horses, and while there he was
kicked by colt in the side. and at this
writing is probably dying from the injuries
received.
To- day the eldest daughter, Mabel, aged
about II, is lying sick in bed with an III
ness that may prove fatal.
Perro is still living and Mabel is IN
fair waV to recover.