The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-06

"Oh, yes,'' he said, but heard my
father say he had been killed"
I professed some surprise, and asked
the boy who had told his father of the
death Of Higgins.
Father said some hunters had told
I him. was the answer.
When did your father tell you this2"
Last Sunday morning ut breakfast
father said he had met some hunters
in the woods and they had told him
somebody had Killed Kean Higgins
BY this time we had reached the
Higgins home, and, after paying the
lad for his services, L sent him back
home
Mrs. Higgins" I asked on entering
the house, can you recall the persons
who called here after your husbands
death and who attended the funeral
and the wake2"
The widow made as good an effort as
possible but did not claim to be able
to recount all the names. L then adopt
81 another plan.
was William swigert at the wake?''
1 asked.
He was not"
Did he call here at all after your
! husbands body was found?'
NO; he never came near us"
WAS he at the funeral2"
Ct don't recollect seeing him there,
and 1 believe he was not present"
care the relations between the fam
I flies pleasant"
Yes; there never was any trouble.
| Swigert lived on our land"
/ why did not Swigert attend the
wake or come to the house?'
! "I don't know. AS I think of II now
! it was only natural that he should,
/ but he didn't. He might have been
| too busy"
Did his wife show any interest in
/ the matter?"
Mrs. swigert's mind is not strong
/ and It would not be strange for heI
to stay away from US. She goes no.
where"
Up to this time the original discov-
/ erer of Higgins mutilated body seemed
! to have been the farmer, Mcfarland
! The place of the murder was unfre-
4 quented, however, and there was nc
/ unusual significance in the fact that
the body had not been found for near
Iy twelve hours after the murder. This
| might have happened, but. IL it had
! how came It that a party of hunters
had told William Swigert of the crime
early enough on Sunday morning to en-
| able Swigert to recount the story al
his breakfast table the same morning
Swigert's boy, In his innocent, childish
! way, undoubtedly had told the truti
! concerning that which his father hat
1 said on the morning of the murder
| If a party OF hunters had told Swiger
Of finding Higgins body, why had thel
not told others and given genera
alarm? II they had told Swigert only
why had he not notified the Higgin!
family? And, IF Swigert had not heard
the news from the hunters, as he tol'
I his family, where had he gained hi
/ Information and why had he kept j
within his own family circle? Thes'
questions had suggested themselves I'm
mediately Swigert's boy told me of tn
breakfast table narrative. Then. again
why had Swigert not manifested an
neighborly interest in the senSationa
death OF Higgins? Why did he not at
tend the wake?
Seeking in my own mind for an
swers to these and other questions,
! walked slowly back through the wood
toward the Swigert place. J kney
Swigert was at his work for the ia,
and would not be at home until meal
| time I did not wish to encounter him
for there had been forming in my mini
a most interesting theory, and wante
to test its sounduess thoroughly befor
! approaching the man who was the cen
I trail figure in Il. AS 1 neared the Swi
CERT house / determined 10 seek an in
terview with Mrs Swigert and to tax
survey of the premises. The womal
| had been represented to me as on
whose mind had been somewhat weak
ened by continued illness. and she wa
reputed throughout the neighborhoo
TO be dull witted, although perfectl
competent to perform her household
duties.
1 approached the house from the sid
/ in which there was no window ana too
d hssty hook around me. At the corne
of the house under a rain water pip
stood a tub containing c1ethes in sOa
for future washing Not being seer
took the liberty TO poke around in tn
2 tub with a stick. and just under tn
surface OF the water and some othe
1 clothes found a pair OF overalls, O
the lower part OF the legs OF the gar
ment were dark red stains A
lpunched them with the stick bloc