The Washington bee., 1895-09-07

FishkIl says: The tigerish instinct
to STAY which prompted Lizzie
Halliday to take the lives of
her husband. her daughter and
her servant has again broken out This
time her intended victim was Miss
Catherine Ward, eomely, intelligent,
altogether attractive young woman
who is employed as an attendant in the
Matteawan State Asylum for the In
sane, where Mrs. Halliday is likely to
remain looked UP for the rest Of her
days.
Mrs. Halliday's attempt to murder
Miss Ward, In which she was aided by
made on Friday. Every effort has been
made by DR.. Allison, the superintend-
emit and his assistants to minimize the
gravity of the assault and even to hush
up the whole affair.
When Mrs Halliday first entered the
asylum it WAS necessary, by reason Of
ner constant lapses into maniacal fury,
ner condition has much improved and
she has been allowed to mix with the
other patients, use the comfortable cit
ting room, and take her share in the
oouseWork.
All through Friday morning Mrs. Hal
tiday had been querulous and complain
Ing. Her grievance was that she Lad
would like to go back to the State
prison. She believed and expressed the
belief that the Superin tendent and the
attendants were in conspiracy to keep
her at Matteawan.
Her chief confident and companion
vas Jane Shannon. who had been trans
erred from Ogdensburgh and, like Mrs
Halliday, has homtcidal mania These
two women were sent into the ba TIL
room to do some work on Friday after
noon, just after l o'clock. There are
forty women inmates, occupying two
wards. One ward leads into the other
The bathroom is to the right, in a
little corridor that connects them.
Ten minutes after Mrs. Halliday and
bathroom, Miss Ward, who was going
into the village, stepped into it to get
a change Of clothing.
The Shannon woman was in the bath
tub. Mrs. Halliday stood over In a cor
ner. Miss Ward turned for a moment,
stopped down and in the same instant
heard a step behind her. She started
up, wheeled round, saw two wild, blood
Mrs. Halliday's ten fingers wSNe fas-
tened upon her throat
There was murder in that clutch, and
Miss Ward knew It, With all her
strength she drove her assaiiant slowly
back, striking wildly, hlindly, as a Mat
seemed to rise before her eyes, but she
could not loosen the clutch that had al
ready choked out three lives She tried
to scream, but even as she opened her
lips the Shannon woman leapsd out of
the bath tub, struck her with the
clinched fist and put her hand over her
mouth.
To and fro over the floor of the bath
room the three women wrestled and
fought, the two trying to murder the
third: Twice Miss Ward grasped the
handle Of the door and twice the Chan
non woman struck her hand away.
Blaekness rose before her eyes, the
room Whirled round and round, her
senses were going, when with a last
convulsive move she forced the door
open and the three rolled out into the
corridor. Instantly her sister attend
ants, Miss Hess, Miss Crawford and
ged the three apart. Foam dropped
from Mrs. Hallidays mouth. Her eyes
were blazing. Screaming, fighting.
swearing, biting, scratching, she was
dragged from the room and 1t required
combination Of six keepers to control
her.
The Shannon woman, having accom-
plished her share in the attempt to
murder Miss Ward, was passive and
smiling, and consented to go back to the
bathroom. Both women, however, are
now locked in separate rooms.
Lizzie Halliday six years ago entered
The home Of Paul Halliday, a farmer liv-
ng in the little hamlet Of Birmingham,
Sullivan county, ostensibly as his house
Keeper. In order that she might bestow
more care on his weak-ninded son, Halli-
day married her. One day in his absence,
she set fire to the house, burning the boy
70 death.
She next stole horse. She was sent
20 an insane asylum, but discharged as
cured, and in September, 1893, the bodies
Of Margaret McQuillan and her daughter
Sarah. whom she had lured from their
home in Newburg, were found under the
barn. 81 had shot them and buried
hem. The corpse Of her husband was
found a little while afterwards, riddied
The woman was placed in the jail at
Monticello: There she had frequent VIC
lent outbreaks, attacking the jailer's wife
IN one occasion. She also set fire 10 her cot
md later hanged herself to her cell door
Then she was put on trial at Monticello,
iound guilty Of murder in the first degree
and sentenced to be killed by electricity
Che was removed to Dannemora gagged
md bound on account of her violence.
Governor Flower COMMITTED her sentence
% life imprisonment on the ground that she
and she was Tra az ~