Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1902-04-11
CUT A MANS THROAT
AT HIS REQUEST.
REMARKABLE STORY OF PART TAKEN IN A
TRAGEDY BYA SALT LAKE LAD.
Clyde Felt, Aged IA, Declares That Man
Who Was Found Dead On a Cave
Wanted to Die and That He Cut
His Throat For Him.

1t is now thought by the officers iu-
vestigating the case that the mystery
surrounding the death OF Samuel Col
y the noun taiDs near Salt Lake City,
With his throat cut, has been solved.
Numerous theories as to the manner q
his death were advanced, but the gen.
sral opinion was that the old man had
been murdered.
Clyde Felt, aged IA. the boy who
accompanied Collins to the mountains
the day be disappeared, broke down on
Thursday ana made confession in
which be declares that Collins suicided
in the cave, and that he Felt hid the
dead mans clothing and walled up the
cave. He said: II carried Mr. Col
Inns valise to the top of Ensign, and he
gave me his watch and 60 cents, which
he said was all the change he had
started down the hill, but he called me
back and told me to wait for him at the
point of the hill below, because he
wanted to go over the hill and hide his
valise. i took the Ratchet with me
and waited about half hour before he
met me. He then told me he was go
ing to kill himself, that he hated to tell
the people he wasn't going to New |
York, and he wanted me to come with |
him and hide his things so no one
would know who he was or what be-
came of him.
81 told him wouldn't have anything
to do with that kind Of a thing, but he
insisted, and he had been such a good
friend to me, | thought it would be
no harm to do what he wanted He
took me to the cave and told me to wall
it up after he killed himself, then said
to go down the gulch and return In
about a half hour, TO hide the things
he left out of the cave. | went down
to the point of the hill, and after
half hour went back / saw his clothes
and, bundling them up, hid them un-
der the rocks. l found the razor il the
mouth of the cave near a pool of blood.
and, after wiping the blood off with my
fingers, threw it upon the cliff. 1
then discovered the bloody towel and
buried it with the clothes.
"Then | walled up the cave. l dis
covered then that l had overlooked the
collar, necktie and suspenders, and |
hid them under the tin can where they
were found. was pretty badly scared
and | hurried to the spring, where |
washed the blood off my hands. /
then went home and afterwards went I
to town" a
On Friday young Felt made another il
in which he said that the s
Did man begged him to take the razor Il
md cut his throat for him and that he v
lid so. In the confession the story b
vas the same up TO the point where C
>ollins informed the boy he intended t,
o kill himself. After some persua- h
ion the boy tied the old man hand IL
md foot and cut his throat with the 81
azor, afterwards walling up the cave.
Later young Felt declared that an
Their boy, Henry Potts, was with ~,
hem, and that Potts did the cutting. r.
'oung Potts has.been lodged in jail, NJ
nut strenuously denies any knowledge o.
{ the matter. 90
That charge of murder in the Sec nc
nd degree may be lodged against n,
lyde Felt is regarded as entirely prob de
BILE. When asked in regard to the st
latter, County Attorney Christensen vi
nd that in a technical sense the boy ,v
smmitted murder $50 far as the 70
tets now show" Mr.. Christensen said hv
there was a lack OF malice on the
art of the boy. Yet depravity is
'own as well as malignity, and the
cts in the case, even as they now NJ
and, will probably justify the issu-
ice of a complaint charging young
lit with murder in the second degree, de-
at least manslaughter Just when -.
e complaint will be drawn up has A''
It yet been decided upon, and prob tet
'ly will not be until the case has tn,
en thoroughly investigated. sar
The parents of young Felt are al Nh.
ost Frustrated. and attribute the act s''
their son to the fact that the old ior
An, Collins, had great influence ais
err the boy, and also that he had been prc
aiding dime novels.
HN1A DISCRIMINATION