Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-10-27
| Tale Of "rhe Woman Who Kills" s

iron-gray hair above his forehead-a
GESTURE Characteristic with him when
disturbed or troubled.
should not be pronounced upon your"
anything to say why sentence of death
should not be pronounced upon your"
A ghost-smile fitted an instant over
lips that had pleaded for that death
sentence as If such question were a
mockery, then faded as the lips franz
ed answer, mo, your honor"
A moments pause that seemed eter-
nifty. Then Judge Adams uttered
this most strange sentence:-
Margaret Willoughby, you are con
yicted by your own confession of guilt
in the death Of Elsie McGrew by will
full negligence to prevent that death,
by killing a venomous and obnoxious
reptile. |, therefore, pronounce SEN
tence upon You, that you go forth and
live upon earth whatsoever years God
has appointed for you to bear your
punishment, and because through
Withholding of you and when it should
have slain you have caused the death
! Of one innocent, pure, beloved, each
J day you shall kill something which,
had 1t lived, would have destroyed
some life. Every beast of the field
/ preys upon another, and nothing lives
except by death. Do then your work
and may God have mercy upon your
soul!"
The shudder of the wind without
! blended with that which shivered
from man to man within the court
room Devout Catholics crossed
themselves; ashy lips parted in that
involuntary cry of all earth's human
kind, "My Cod" Even those least
emotional mUmured "Her punish
ment win be greater than she can
bear!" and the learned doctors, who
had decreed Margaret sane, whisper
ed grave doubts of the sanity of Judge
Adams.
Thus ended the trial of Margaret
Willoughby, aged 80. to whom her own
death sentence would have been
kinder one than this life of deaths.
To whom II would have seemed a
little thing, save for the ending plea
| for divine mercy which threw an awe
over the whole. Since there need be
no more than the daily killing of a
| spider or other bloodless thing which
preyed for life-a little thing which
: housewives daily do merely because
the spider is uncleanly.-the tiny
snake repulslve,-why give it farther
thought? Not so with Margaret. She
took up her punishment as such and
never laid 1t down, never complained,
Indeed none were there to complain
/ to
One, indeed, had sought to comfort
her,-when does love fail to strive at
comfort? Strangely enough, It was
Dave McGrew, little Elsie's brother
He had loved Margaret since the days
of their happy childhood. He loved
her now. He knew that pure and
! tender heart had never wished his
sisters dGath-knew she had drawn
the poison with her lips hoping. IN
vain, to save the little life. To him
she was more dear because of what
she suffered, and gladly would the
young teaster have made her his wife
But she sent him away from her.
Apart from all which life held dear,
she must work out her curse. Strange
victims found she. Now a snake, with
some half paralized bird or toad al
most within its grasp; anon. a fox
about to spring upon a rabbit, or a
weasel, stealing after young bird.
| Once ii was her one friend and com,
| panion. huge yellow-gray cat who
came to her bearing living mouse in
his mouth. Wherever she found a
creature seeking another's death
there she killed. nor ever counted her
days work done till one such creature
had fallen by her hand. Sometimes
she found her work upon the lonely
mountain side; sometimes in the trav-
e,ed highway; sometimes near to her
own door. and always when she Killed
1t was with a horror of her deed. yet
with sad submission to her punish
ment.
So the years OF two generations
passed away. Children grew up, be-
came parents; grandparents; died.
All those who knew the story of her
life had died. or growing old, remem-
bered but a twisted version of the
matter. Some weird tales had grown
up of the pale old woman who Killed.;
how nothing lived which she looked
long upon; that flowers blighted be,
meath her touch; but these tales had
slight credence. BY most she was
considered just a mad old woman.
Even the legend of her crime and pun
ishment was only hal; believed: yet,
far and wide. those who saw her
whispered with awe, THE Woman
Who Kills"
Yet to bring death was not her only
life work. More than one farmer
failing to gather all his sheep when
the first wild snow Of winter swept
Blare's mountain. had IN the morning
found the lost ones of his flock safe
in the fold and in his heart knew