Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-07-25

patched her. i general destruction of
property and search for money and
ammunition always succeeded the
murders.
by this time my company amounted
to fifteen, aud nine men mounted,
. who started fer Mrs. Whitehe;ld's the
other six we're to go through a byway
to Mr. Bryant's. and rejoin us at Mrs.
Whitehead'S). AS we approached the
house we discovered Richard White
head standing in the cotton patch,
near the lane fence. We called him
over into the lane, and Will, the exc
cutioner, was near at hand with his
fatal axe, to send him 20 an untimely
grave. As we pushed on 20 the house
| discovered some one running round
the garden. and thinking it was some
of the white family, pursued them,
but finding it was servant girl be-
longing 10 the house | returned to COM
mence the work of death, but they
whom | left had not been idle; all the
family were already murdered but
Mrs. Whitehead and her daughter
Margaret AS l came round to the
! door | saw Will pulling Mrs. " hite-
| head out of the house, and at the step
! he nearly severed her head from her
| body with his broad axe. Miss Mar
! garet, when I discovered her, had con-
| cealed herself in the corner formed Dy
| the projection of the cellar Stoop
! from the house; on my approach she
a : ON n ng1
after repeated blows with a sword, L
killed her by a blow on the head with
a fence rail- By this time, the SIX
who had gone to Mr. Bryant's re-
Joined us. and informed me that they
| had done the work assigned them. We
again divided, part going to Richard
| PorterS, and from thence to Nathanlel
| F'rancis'S, the others to Howell Har-
ris's and Mr. T. Doyle's. On my
reaching Mr. Porter's, he had escaped
with his family. / understood there
that the alarm had already spread, and
| Immediately returned to bring up
those sent to Mr.. Doyle's and Mr..
Howell Harris's; the party l left going
on to Mr.. Harriss having told them
I would rejOin them in that neighbOr-
hood. l met those sent to Mr.. Doyle S
and Mr. Harris's returning, having
met Mr.. Doyle on the road and killed
him; and learning from some who
Joined them that Mr.. Harris was from
home, 1 Immediately pursued the
i course taken by the party gone on be.
fore; but knowing they would com
plete the work of death and pillage at
Mr.. FranciS's before / could get there
| went to Peter Edwardss, expecting
to find them there, but they had been
there also.
Il then went to John e. BarroWS
They had been there and murdered
him. I pursued on their track to Cap
tain hewitt Harriss where / found
| the greater part mounted and ready tic
start. The men, now amounting tC
about forty, shouted and hurrahed rs
l rode up some were in the yard load
ing their guns; others drinking. They
said CAPTAIN Harris and his family
had escaped, the property in the house
they had destroyed, rObbing him OF
money and other valuableS. l ordered
them to mount and march instantly
this was about or 10 o'clock Monday
morning ] proceeded to Levi Walters
two or three miles distant. l took my
station in the rear, and as it was my
object to carry terror and devastation
wherever we went, | placed fifteen OF
twenty of the best armed and most to
be relied on in front, who generally lp-
proachel the houses as fast as their
horses could run; this was for two
purposes, to prevent their escape and
strike terror to the inhabitants-on
this account 1 never got to the houses
after leaving Mrs. Whitehead's until
the murders were committed, except in
one case.
II som atimes got in sight to see the
work of death completed, viewing the
! mangled bodies ais they lay in Silent
satisfaction, and Immediately start I'd
in quest of other victims. Having
murdered Mrs. Waller and ten chill
dren, We started for Mr.. William Will
liams's, having killed him and two lit,
tie boys that were there. While en-
gagged in this Mrs Williams fed and
got some distance from the house, but
she was pursued, overtaken, and COM
PEELED to get up behind one of the con-
pany, who brought her back, and after
showing her the mangied body Of her
lifeless husband, she was told to get
down and lay by his side, where she
was shot dead. l then started for
Jacob Williams's, where the family
were murdered. Here we found a
young man named Drury, who had
come on business with Mr.. Williams.
He WAS pursued, overtaken and shot.
Mrs. Vaughns was the next place we
visited, and after numbering the fam
lily there 1 determined On starting for
Jerusalem. Our number amounted
now to fifty or sixty, all mounted and
armed with gus, axes, swords and
clubs.
"On reaching James W. Parker $
gate, Immediately on the road leading
to Jerusalem, and about three miles
distant, it was proposed to me to call
there, but objected, as 1 knew he was
gone to Jerusalem, and my object was
to reach there as soon as possible; but
some of the men having relations at
! Mr.. Parker'S, it was agreed that they
might call and get his people. re-
NAMED at the gate on the road, with
seven or eight; the Others going across
! the field TO the horSe about half a