The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-06
supposed that he intended to do them a
he did Shanklin.
How the I<nappa Were Killed.

How the knapps Were htIted.
I'VE met about dusk last Wednesday
evening at a point in the woods half
mile from the house of Wad Huntington
Huntington lives a little over half a
mile up the Cowlitz river from its mouth.
There were no tracks left behind US.
can tell you. We skirted along the edges
OF the roads. II was between nine and
ten miles to knapps house. and We got
there along after nightfaH. II WAS not SO
awful dark, as the moon was shining
Pierce climbed over the fence chat sur
rounded the place ahead OF me. He car
ried the gun We had only one. This
WAS gun left in my care by Theodore
Judge, who lives somewhere in East Ta-
coma. | climbed over the fence and
stopped The fence Is thirty or forty
yards from the house
pierce erept on up toward the house.
] could see light and somebody moving
inside the house When Pierce was with
I'm ten or twelve feet OF the house he
stopped and fired one shot. He then
stood still a few minutes and / heard
noise that sounded like somebody strug-
Cling. Then Pierce fired another shot. |
started toward the house and he raised
his hand and motioned me back. and
stopped In few minutes he went inside
md remained quite a bit before he came
out again. When he did come he had
nothing that / could see. He appeared TO
be Disguised and regretted what he had
done. He told me that he did not get as
much as he had expected. ! climbed the
fence ana we separated he going toward
Castle Rock. He said that II would not
be best for us both to so back together;
that II one Of us went In one direction
and the other IN another it would be
harder 70 track us than II we both went
away together.
1T was ] o'clock in the night before I
got back TO where my scow was lying,
neaT the slaughter house on the Colum-
bin. / went 70 bed and about / o'clock
the next day Pierce came down the river
with five sacks of flour and sack of APP
pies In boat, which he gave to me. The
Fa W. i ia off of or
me They searched my place and found
the apples and flour and this led them
10 suspect that ! did the Killing for they
had found out that Pierce bought them"
The foregoing story is almost verbatim
the account OF the Knapp and Shankiin
tragedy as taken down In shorthand from
Stickeis' lips.
The man Is apparently incapable Of
realizing the enormitv Of his offenses.
70. instance. he says that he has known
Mr. Knapp since he was years old.
When he was child and In his early
youth Stickels family owned a farm
about four miles from the farm of Knapp.
Knapp. he saws. had never done him the
slightest injury and he Knapp was al
ways friendly and kind to him, so far as
he was ever able to discern. He tells the
story Of the crimes without any bravado.
nor, on the other hand, does he evince the
slightest contrition or regret for what he
has done He talked of the matter in an
indifferent manner and from time to time
smiled or laughed at some of the remarks
made.
Stickels says he was born in Iowa and
came across the plains with party cor
SfSting OF his fathers family his grand
father and some others when he was but
u months old. The party drove herd OF
cattle across the plains Since that time
Stiekels has been In Washington, and for
some years past has apparently been iiv-
Ing semi-aauatic existence making his
home IN scows and drifting about on the
towittz, coweman and Columbia rivers.