Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-04-08
BOY CONFESSES MURDER
Strange Story Told Of Killing Of an
Old Man in the Noun
tains.
OIDlrAr AGED MANS URGENT REQUEST
Clyde Felt, a Fifteen-Year-Old BOY,
of Salt Lake City, Held for a Re-
Believed He Has Not Told the
Whole Story.

Salt Lake City. April Clyde Felt,
o boy Of barely Is years. has confessed
to the police that 1t was he who cut
the throat Of Samuel Collins, the aged
Waterman Of the .Wasatka mineral
springs, whose body was found last
Sunday in 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 liv-.
ing. After cutting Collins throat, Felt
says, he took the old mans clothes
and hid them under pile OF bowl
ders, walled up the entrance to the
cave as best he could, wiped the blood
off the razor and his fingers, then went
down the hill and washed his hands in
the stream. Collins, he said, had given
him a little money for killing him.
The Confession.
Young Felt told the police Thursday
that Collins had committed suicide
after arranging with him to wall up
the entrance to the cave so that his
body could not be found. Early Friday
morning, in company with two police
men, the boy went out among the hills
to locate Collins valise, which he
claimed he had carried for the old man
the day of his death. After several
hours search Felt broke down. BE
said:
1T killed the old man, but could not help
Il. He made me do It. We did not go up
Ensign Peak at all, and did not have any
valise to carry. The old man told me to
tell that story II his body was found. When
dressing. I asked him what he was doing
that for, and he said he was going to COM
nit suicide said oh, don't do that
while am up here Then he said: I want
you to kill me. Here are some stakes and
some rope. You tie me down and then
cut my throat did not like to do 1t: but
he begged SO hard that l just could not
stand it. He took the rope and wrapped
1t around his legs and got me to tie his
arms to his side. Then I took the razor.
He kept on begging. and finally just 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. Invent
and got the pile and carried them away
down the gully and buried them. Then
went back and the old man was dead.
took some rocks and built wall in front
| of the cave for about foot But got
scared and did not finish It, SO I came back
the next day and finished walling up the
hole. ! could not help doing It, The ole
man could make me do anything he want
ed to-
Felt insists that he was alone with
Collins when the murder was commit.
ted. Nevertheless the police believe
that the boy has not told all OF his
| story, and are working on the theory
that others were implicated. BEHIND
the crime is a story of moral degen
eracy that has few parallels. Collins
according to the police, had a number
of the boys in the neighborhood com
pletely under his influence, and ex
press the belief that his death was tn,
elimination of q plot on the part o
the boys to kill the old man and thu
rid themselves of maiign influence
Young Felt, it is claimed by the police
was reader of dime novels. It il
stated by the county attorney that |
charge of murder in the second de
0ree will be made against the boy.