The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1899-10-25

distance of not over ten feet, and
facing the boy squarely, put a charge
of shot into his face and blew the
face and brains out from the nose
up. The boys hat and part OF
the skull were blown a distance OF
30 feet by the awful charge.
But still the fiend's insane mo-
ment had mad not passed, and with
cunningness possessed of the
devil, he unhitched the team from
the pulverizer, and started them a
few feet from the implement. Then
getting on the west side of the same,
only about ten feet from where his
stepson lay in a pool of blood, he
opened the gun, extracted the
spent shell, replaced it with another,
and then cooked both triggers.
Placing the barrel directly under
his chin, with one hand he pulled
the trigger, and turned himself off
this mortal coil. The charge blew
out the side of his face. blew off his
nose, and badly burned the chin
and neck of the murderer. He fell
forward, the gun under him, with
one barrel loaded and the trigger
cooked
People residing around heard the
first two shots shots that
launched the little fellows into
eternity, but heard nothiug more.
They supposed that the reports
were from the gun of hunter.
But when the last scene of the hor
rible tragedy was enacted, half a
mile south Of the scene on the old
Martin homestead Grant Martin
saw a man with gun on his shoul-
der walking rapidly towards the
pulverizer. Of a sudden he heard a
shot, and smoke arise A minute
later he saw the team move away
from the pulveriZer, and then came
another report, another cloud of
smoke, and the team started off on a
run. He stood wondering at what
had taken place, and when he re-
covered from his wonderment he
rushed into the house, told his wife
he believed there was something
wrong, and he proposed to hitch up
the old white horse, and go over
and see what was the matter. His
wife concluded to 60 with him and
into town, and Grant waited q
few minutes for her to dress her
self for the trip. They crossed the
river just back of the house and
drove near to where the bodies were
lying, but Grant and his wife were
too badly frightened to approach
and ascertain whether they were
dead. Instead, they drove to where
John Clark resides, a few rods
north of the Babcock home, where
Grant saw all employee of the farm
Nelson Chapman by name, to whom
he said that there was something
wrong over there-twO men were
laying over there by the disc, and
be asked Chapman to go over with
him. Chapman replied by saying
that he didn t think that there was
anything wrong, but Grant said he
was worried and asked him to 90
over. Mrs. Martin alighted from
the buggy and went into the house
and Chapman and Grant drove down
to where the disc lay. Chapman
got out of the buggy, observed that
the man and boy were dead, the
man laying on the gun, but not
knowing either, he could not say
who they were, although Grant,
who kept some distance away,
thought it was Babcock, the hat
laying on the ground being a cover
which he recognized Babcock as
having worn. Chapman pronounced
both very dead, and they returned
to the Babcock barn, with the ir-
tention of putting up the team in
the stall in the west wing. Chap
man opened the door, walked in a
few feet, and then rushed out, say
ing;
My God, there is a woman
dead in thnro -