Lincoln County record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1900-1905, 1903-01-16
HANCOCK
C0NFtSSES.
How Engslke and sdmiston We're Slain

Tire following confession of John
Hancock is taken for the Los Angeles
Tines:
To-day Hancock pleaded guilty to
charge Of burglary and was sen,
fenced to ten years Imprisonment.
The woman who was implicated with
him in the lesser crime was not ar
rested, and hot resentment arose
in him because of her immunity The
Sheriff of Orange county brought
Hancock and Knox, fellow-thieves,
shakled to Los Angeles to night, and
waited at the Arcade depot several
hours for the train that was to take
them to San Quentin. In corner
of the waiting.room, under the eyes
of hundred persons and barely out
of earshot of the crowd, Hancock
told to City Editor Kelly of the
Times. coolly and with little show
of feeling as if he were describing a
trivial incident, his story of the
murder on the desert.
eve killed those men just where
that woman said we did, but she was
the one who proposed it," be said.
"She asked me to kill them and told
me how easy it would be, but said
| would not do it. There's two of
them, | said, and don't propose
to take any chances. She said it
would be easy to get them into a
game of cards and take them off
their guard, but l didn't want to do
it.
"Then she said she'd do it herself
and she did. She killed the big
man, Edmiston. She went behind
him to get some wood for the fire,
and knocked him over the head with
the poll of an axe. The other one
jumped up and grabbed for his rifle
that was leaning against his wagon.
and | shot him in the left side of
the head; then she took the axe and
knocked him on the head, too"
"Why did you kill the menp" was
asked.
"To get their horses. One of our
horses had played out that day and
couldn't go any farther, and she was
afraid we'd be left there on the
desert. She asked them to put their
lead horse, the racing colt, into our
wagon, and they wouldn't do it.
They said the horse never worked in
harness, and they wouldn't put him
in. wouldn't have asked them for
their horse, but she did. She said
sue proposed to kill them to get
their team. We had missed the
springs on the road and had only
the water that we hauled, and that
was most gone. We didn't know
how far it was to the next water, and
she wns about crazy i III" idsl
of being left thrre on the
desert.
"What did you do with the
bodtes?"
"Why, we hauled them off the
road just as she says, and laid them
Oh the ground. Then we burned
our wagons right by the road, and
took their wagon and went on driv-
ing tbeir work horses and leading
our horse and their colt. She traded
off the colt to a man in norman
settlement near Mountain Meadow,
and We sold the wagon to man in
Milford. The two bull dogs, an
old one and a pup, we sold at differ
ent places, and the other stuff we
got rid of as we could along the
route. If she kept any of the things
didn't know it. That silk handker
chief she said was Engelke's was
mine. / bought it myself That
Bible got in Riverside when | was
in the Salvation Army. 1t never
was Engelke's at all. /"
"Did the men have any money?
"Only few dollars. We didn't
kill them far their money, because
we didn't think they had any. 1t
was just to get their team"
"Now, Hancoca, is it true that
the women killed Edmiston?"
"It is just as / say She hit him
on the head and he never moved any
more. He laid still, anyway"
"Was he dead when you dumped
him out of the wagon?"
"Yes, he surely was.'
"And you killed Engelke?"
Eyes, I shot him in the head as
he jumped up, and then she hit him
with an ak. Ii ] was to be hanged
the next minute. I'd toll the truth Just