The age-herald., 1900-06-25
HAVING MAN|AC'S
 HORRIBLE DEED Killed One Man and Fatally
 Injured Others THEN ENDED HIS OWN LIE Attacked a Woman With an Axe,
 Breaking Her Arm. HER HUSBAND TRIED TO SAVE HER But Was Grained With the Heavy
HER HUSBAND TRIED TO SAVE HER
But Was Grained With the Heavy Weapon-Th Lunatic Grabbed Revolver and Rushed Out
 and Shot Himself

Cedar Rapids, la, June 24.-Charles Mef- ford, a maniac, at o'clock this morning killed James Fitzsimmons fatally injured Joseph Drake, seriously and possibly fa- tally injured Mrs. James Fitzsimmons, slightly injured Kate Fitzsimmons and years of age and had been insane for a number of years. Two years ago he was in the Independence asylum for short time, but escaped and was never returned. He was not generally considered danger ous.
 Saturday night about 10 o'clock while clad in nothing but a shirt he darted out of his home, a raN4ng maniac. He was seen two or three times between then and midnight, but the police failed to find him. Shortly before o'clock this morning Reginald Andrews the janitor at the Old Ladies' Home, was awakened by crashing glass. The next moment Mefford stood by him. stark naked, swinging a neck yoke.
 Your time has come,' shouted Mefford.
 What time do you mean?" asked An- drews.
 'I have murdered one whole family to- night, and I am going to kill you next and then everybody in the home," replied Mefford.
 Mefford swung the neck yoke and tried to brain Andrews. The latter lodged and grabbed the weapon, threw Melford on the bed and choked him until he begged for mercy. Then Andrews agreed to give him a bath, a suit of clothes and some break fast which apparently satisfied him.
 Rushing through the house, Andrews locked the twelve fourteen old ladies in their rooms, notified the police by tell ephone, and then ran across the street to the home of Joseph Drake for assistance.
 Mefford Used an Axe
 As they did so Mefford, carrying an ax, was seen to plunge through a window in the house of James Fitzsimmons, about one hundred and fifty yards away. As he entered the room Mrs. Fitzsimmons ut tered a scream Mefford swung the ax and brought it down toward her head. Her up- lifted arm saved her life; the arm was broken in two places and she sustained a serious scalp wound.
 MT. FitZsimmons, hearing the scream, dashed into the room and grappled with the maniac. Mefford shook him off and sent the ax crashing into his skull, splitting his head wide open. Then, dashing upstairs, Mefford attacked Miss Kate Fitzsmmons, inficting a number of severe scalp wounds.
 When he came down stairs, Drake had just entered the house. Drake dropped to his knee to shoot. Three times he attempt ed to shoot Mefford, but there were four empty chambers in the revolver, and each time the hammer came down on one of them. Then Mefford struck him on the head with the ax. second and third blow followed and Drake fell over. Andrews es- capped the maniac again.
 Mefford took Drake's revolver and ran out of the house After running several blocks he put bullet into his breast just below the heart. Running on two or three blocks farther he sat down on the curbstone Placing the revolver to the center of his forehead he fired again. He continued to wave the revolver above his head. But just as one of the officers grabbed the revolver from behind, Mefford fell over into the gutter dead.