Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-06-17
Cantril Murderer's Tale Of His
Awful Crime.
WAS MUCH IN LOVE WITH GIRL
Purchased Many Things for Her In.
Guiding Articles of Wearing Apparel
She Laughed at Him For lt-says
Her Treatment Unbalanced Mind.

Keosauqua, June Backward Hale,
the young farm hand who shot and
Killed Miss Fora Donaho on the streets
OF Cantril May 81, said Just few
hours before he hung himself in the
jail at keosauqua this week, that the
girls treatment of him unbalanced his
mind. Hale made full confession of
the crime to j. w. Rowley, editor of
the keosauqua Republican, which fol-
lows:
My name is Edward Hale. l was
born in Missouri, October IL, 1882.
Game to this county year ago last
May. Worked at various places since
coming here. Worked for Mr.. Don
aho, the father of Fora. Had been
working there for several days before
shot her. Was engaged to Fora
since last winter. She went back on
me and tried to hector over me until
she got my mind unbalanced. 1 got
her lots of things. | loved the girl.
didn't know l shot her that day. I
did not realize 1 had shot her until
they were fetching me to Keosauuua.
Didn't know l had shot myself until
the sheriff told me after / was in iail.
think 1T was the sheriff told me.
and took another drink after / got to
Cantril. What threw me off my mind
Is the way Fora treated me that morn
Ing at Mt. Sterling. She turned to me
at the depot and asked me to take her
10 Cantril. She said if l would get a
round trip ticket for her could take
her. took her to Sheets restaurant,
l think 1t was Sheets and bought her
q soda pop and nickle's worth of can
dy. Going back to the depot she. ask
ed me to buy her an orange She ap-
cared In good spirits towards me at
that time. l then took her to the de.
pot and bought ticket for her. After
bought the orange and she ate it, she
slipped away from and got on the train
with another girl. bought the revol-
yer that morning before she came to
Mt. Sterling. I had arranged to buy
It week before, or about that time as
recollect. intended, when l arrang.
ed to buy it, to go to my brothers in
California.
Fora treating me that way that day
throwed me out of my wit and didn't
know anything more what I was about.
didn't realize enough, to control my
self until got to Keosauqua. loved
Fora and am awful sorry / killed her.
bought her hat last May and a ring
In the winter. Both cost me S7.75.
She made fun Of me after bought her
the hat and said she was lying to me
and wanted to see what kind of a luna
tic was, as she didn't intend to stick
to promises she made to marry me. She
said that to me when was Smelling
corn in the crib in May. Sometime
after that, when she was in a buggy
going home from Mt. Sterling, met
her and she asked me to get in the
buggy and kiss her. I got in the bug
BY and when l went to kiss her. she
3erked her head back and spit in my
face. 1t would take me long time tol
tell you everything and take lots
paper. No, only shot myself OF
I was shot in my breast several years i
ago by a fellow was scuffling with.
If you will give me some paper and
pencil will write all about myself and
sign my name to it and you can pub
lish it. Are you going to publish what
you have written in that book, that I
have been telling you? How long has
1t been since it happened, since kill
ed Fora? don't know what day of
the month this is"