The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-17
BLOOD STAINED
HbIGBEI FOUND
Borden Mystery May Yet Be
Cleared Up
WOMAN IN WOOD SHED
Breaks Through Floor and
Finds the Weapon


hatchet has been found WHICH ma,
show that Mr.. and Mrs. Andrew J. Bor
den were murdered by man. The muir
der occurred on Aug. 4. 1882
Lizzie Borden, the daughter of the muir
dered man, was acquitted by jury o.
capable men. She could never have sur
mounted the obstacles between her home
and the hiding place Of this newly dis
covered hatchet without delay which
would have involved inevitable discov'
cry.
The distance was only hundred yards
but only a man could have accomplished
the journey
Scared and broken by a murderer
blows, two gray old skulls have lain side
by side in a darkened room in Fall River
Mass. for ten years
They are the skulls of Mr.. an Mrs. An
drew ]. Borden, who were done TO death
by an unknown person on the morning
OF Aug. 1, 1892.
And now, after ten years, and within
q hundred yards of the scene OF the muir
der, an old Ratchet has been discovered
stained with blood and rust and wrapped
in hlood-marked newspapers.
Is this the hatchet that killed Andrew
J. Borden and wife? Let the dead past
rest" say the friends Of the Bordens.
But the police although set in their
opinions as to the identity of the criminal,
are still willing to take UP any trail which
promises a clearing up OF the murder.
The fatal blow out Of the ten inflicted
on the temple and forhead of Andrew
]. Borden took in the entire width Of the
Ratchet blade, which was S1k inches. The
width of the blade OF the blood-stained
Ratchet recently found near the scene CT
the murder is exactly 31z inches.
It was discovered in an old shed di-
rectly on the route which would naturally
have been taken by murderer familiar
with the surroundings IN escaping from
the scene of his crime.
The woman who found. IL, the persons
who saw the Ratchet Immediately after
1t was found and others familiar with
the circumstances attending the crime
believe that at last the weapon with
which the great Borden murders were
committed has come to light.
In recounting the story Of this strange
discovery it is necessary to refer briefly
20 the story Of the crime.
The Bordens were among the wealthiest
and best known people in Fall River.
Andrew Bor,en the father of the family,
was worth fully 500, 900, and was known
as a hard-fisted. close bargaining bust
ness man, fond of money to the degree
OF being accounted penurious.
ri nj IN
his grasping unrelenting way Of doing
business had made quite the number OF
enemies which such men usually raise.
There were many men who had their
moments OF hating him, although none
Of these petty hates seems to have de-
veloped during the time Immediately pre-
ceding the tragedy.
In the Borden home, No. 80 Second
street, at the time of the murder there
lived four persons-Andrew ]. Borden,
Abby D. Borden, his second wife; Emma
/. Borden and Lizzie D. Borden, his
daughters by his first wife, who had been
dead for twenty years
Emma Borden was absent in New Bed
ford on visit and hence was eliminated
from all consideration in the discussion
of the crime she is the older of the two
sisters.
Borden was not niggardly to his own
family They had enough TO eat, the
girls had good clothes, the house was
comfortably furnished. The girls also
had about $500 each in the bank.
As to the exact state of affairs in the
house there has always been a conflict
of evidence, but that Lizzie and her step
mother did not get along well together
there is no question. Frequently hot
words passed between them
on the other hand Lizzie and her father
were sometimes even affectionate. The
house was a cold and cherries one under
the most favorable circumstances, with
the atmosphere of severe economy all
prevailing and all things moving in mar
row, sordid grooves.
In addition TO the family there was
Bridget Sullivan. q phlegmatic Irish girl,
who had worked for the family for three
years.
on the morning Of the murder there
were four persons known to have been in
the house-Lizzie D. Borden, her father.
her mother, the servant and Bridget
Sullivan. John V Morse, 4 brother of
S. u
but was absent on the morning Of
Aug. 4.
At about 10 o'clock in the morning Mr..
Borden went down town to the post
Office and TO the Union Savings Bank.
of which he was president, and there
talked with the cashier.
In a few minutes he started for his
home He passed Bridget Sullivan. who
was washing the front windows. This
was exactly 1880. according to Bridget's
testimony.
A few minutes after that Mr.. Borden
went into the dining-room. got q key
and went upstairs by the back way. Ho
came down shortly afterward and sat
down in the sitting-room. When he did
this Bridget says she did not know where
Lizzie was.
The next she saw Of Lizzie was a few
minutes afterward, when Lizzie came
through the sit,ng-room with an ironing
board IN her hands. It was then some
where between 1890 and 1885 o'clock.
Bridget then went upstairs TO lie down.
The house was quiet. The streets slept
I'm the August sunshine. The family cat
dozed on the hearth. Yet st this moment
Mrs. Borden was lying dead IN her room
upstairs, chopped with a Ratchet almost
beyond recognition. Mr.. Borden was ~
ing still unframed in another upstairs
room on an old hair-cloth sofa with his
head near the door.
Quiet stin prevailed the house and its
surroundings. There was no sound OF
life. no turult OF strife In about fifteen
minutes there came 10 Bridget Sullivan.