The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1902-07-16
TRIED TO KILL FAMILY
WIFE, M0rIlER-IN-LAW AND RI
VAL FALL. VICTIMS.
Father-in-law Ia Wouaded-A. l..
Belding, Bartender, Does a
Fearful Night'a Work With
Revolvera, and Then
Gives Himself Up.
(roRrtANp oRRGoN1AN.)

| nlEnt snot ana kllleu MS Wlle, nj
mother-in-law and Frank Wood
ward, whose attentions to his wife
he resented, and seriously wounded
Lemuel McCroskey, his father-in
law, at whose house on the north
west corner OF Fifth and Flanders
streets the shooting occurred. AZ
ter be had killed, as he supposed
every inmate Of the house save his
little boy, the murderer coolly walk
ed over to Lake Charles saloon, a.
cross the street, invited a man to
take drink with him, and went
out to look for a policeman to arrest
him. He was rolling q cigarette
when Policeman Bailey, who was
attracted by the shooting, met him,
and announcing that he had killed
a family, he surrendered himself.
For the past six months Belden
has been vowing vengeance on the
entire McCroskey family, into which
be married eight years ago. His
wife left him several months ago,
taking Ter little boy to live with
her parents, and Woodward, COM
monty called, "Gyp," was fire.
quent visitor to, if not an actual in
mate of, the same house. Last night
Belding went to the house, and find-
ing his wife at the door, demanded
that she bring him their 7-year-
old child, Eddie. The woman said
that the boy was ia bed, but Beld-
ing told her to dress him which she
did. The father talked to the child
minute, kissed bin goodnight,
and when the little fellow was in
the house, Bedding turned toward
the doorway with two revolvers
drawn. Seeing Woodward on the
threshold, he exclaimed, "You first, J"
and fred.
The bullet sank into the victims
head, and he fell over the rail of the
porch, dying instantly. Running
up the steps, the murderer saw his
wife, who had followed Woodward
10 the door. She turned at the sight
of him, but be again pulled his
deadly trigger and sent a bullet
through her neck, severing the jug
ular vein. She fed to back room
where she was found two hours af-
terward, lying prone and dead.
Mean while Lemuel McCrcskey, the
head Of the family, had started to
come into the hall with gun, but
before he could take o shot at the
bloodthir5ty intruder another bullet
had killed Mrs. McCroskey as she
sat in her chair. Still another |,
wounded McCroskey himself, in the
arm but the old man put up hard
fight, taking several shots at Beld-
ing, and finally engaging with him
in hand-to-hand scuf11e. He re-
ceived another bullet in his breast
for his pains, and was badly beaten
over the head by one of Belongs {
pistols, which refused to discharge.
Leaving the bloody dwelling,
Bedding walked out on the sidewalk,
threw away his guns, and, without
further effort to kill any one, walk
ed quietly over to the saloon.
He was utterly callous when
questioned by Chief McLauchlan at
the police station. Not vestige Of {
violence was left, not a trace of any D.,
regret at his horrible nights work $
save that it had not been more ef- /
fective.- -..s 7
"I ought to have got all Of them" j
he said. "l had chance once be- +
fore when they were in saloon to- !
gether. I am afraid that some of c
them got away. One OF my revolv-
ers wouldn't work, or would have
finished the bunch. That's what 1
ought to have done. I give myself
credit for having got rid of hard
crowd.
f'Kill myself? Never. am too s
brave a man for that. Let some
other guinea kill me. I'll 60 to the
gallows and hang like white man.
My life isn't worth 80 cents to me, !,
and now that I have cleaned out
that crowd, I'll be willing to die.
But wish l had got the boys, and
there's one of the girls, Minnie, I'd
have got, too, if she hadn't been in
=
II have been planning this thing
for long time. The McCroskey
family has been jobbing me for eight
wears, and since my wife left me, I
deliberately set to work to send i
them all into the clear. I have had
a good many chances, but they
didn't look right. Last night I I
started cut fixed to do business, and g
I did it. They tell me that nay )
wife wasn't shot, aud if that's so, t
Pm sorry. She was one Of those l +
aimed to get first. The old man /
NAV live, and Pm sorry for that, s