The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-04-11
STRANGE CONFESSION
SALT LAKE BOY STATES THAT
HE CUT THE THROAT or
AN OLD MAN.
WAS TIRED OF LIVING

Clyde Felt Claims Samuel Collins Had
stronq Influence Over Him and Re.
peatedIy Begged Him to Perform the
Deed-Bound the Old Man in Cave
and Afterwards Closed the Entrance
With Stones.
Salt Lake City, April 5.-Clyde Felt
a boy OF barely Is years, has confessed
to the police that it was he who cut
the throat of Samuel Collins, the aged
watchman of the Wasetka Mineral
springs whose body was found last
Sunday in a small cave in the hillside
above Warm springs. The deed was
done, the boy claims, only after re-
peated urging by the old man, who
told the boy that he intended to kill
himself, anyway, as he was tired OF
living. After cutting Collins throat,
Felt says he took the old mans clothes
and hid them under a pile Of boulders,
walled UP the entrance to the cave as
best he could, wiped the blood of the
razor and his fingers, then went down
the hill and washed his hands in the
stream. Collins, he said, had given
him little money for killing him.
! Young Felt had previously told the
police that Collins had committed sui
eide after ranging with him to wall
( up the entl ance to the cave so that
/ his body could not be found. In COM
pany with two policemen the boy went
/ out among ne hills to locate Collins
valise, which he claimed he had car
ried for the old man the day OF his
4 death. Aft n several hours search
! Felt broke Gown
81 killed tle old man." he said, but
| could not help it. He made me do 1T,
\ We didn't % to Ensign peak at ali
and l didn't have any Valise to carry.
The old man told me to tell that story
| If his body was found. When we got
up to the little cave he began undress,
ing. I asked him what he was doing
that for and he said he was going to
commit suicide. l said oh, don't dc
that while I am up here Then he
said, 4 want you to kill me. Here are
some stakes and some rope. You tie
me down and then cut my throat.
| didn't like to don't; but he begged SC
hard that just could not stand it. He
took some rope and wrapped it around
his legs and got me to tie his arms tc
his side. Then l took the razor. He
kept on begging and finally l took
the razor and gave
One Slash Across His Throat
and jumped out of the hole and ran
He had told me to bury his clothes.
went and got the pile and carried
them down the gully and buried them
Then l went back and the old man was
dead. I took some rocks and built g
wall in front of the cave for about 6
foot. But l got scared and didn't i'm
fish it, so came back the next day an(
finished walling up the hole. l coult
not help doing it. The old man coul(
make me do anything he wanted to.
Felt insists that he was alone will
!, Collins when the murder was commit
ted. Nevertheless the police believ'
, that the boy has not told all of hi
, story and are working on the theor.
, that others were implicated. Behin'
: the crime is story of moral degeneI
| acy that has few parallels. Collins
! according to the police, had humble
!, of boys in the neighborhood completed.
, under his influence and express tn
belief that his death was the culmina
tion of a plot on the part of the boy
to kill the old man and thus rid them
selves of malign influence.
Young Felt, it is claimed by the pc
l lice, was reader of dime novels.
is stated by the county attorney tina
charge of murder in the second dc
gree will be made against the boy.