The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1907-05-31
PARENTS FIND SON DEAD
STURDY FATHER FALLS IN FAINT
AT AWFUL SIGHT.
MURDER MOTIVE A MYSTERY
Rumored Minor Trouble Between the
Brothers-Trouble over Hay Land
over Horse Cut In Wire, over
Dog Fight--Wives Quarreled.

over a Horse Cut In Wire, over a
Dog Fght-Wives ouarreled.
Hosldus, Neb, May 2S. - From n
stan correspondent: with only def.
mite motive lacking to make the
course of the Hoskins double tragedy
an open story, neither the coroner and
his jury nor the Wayne county attor.
noy could dig out OF the peaceful hills
or the Kneis neighborhood to the north
of Hoskins the prompting that lay
back of the strange act of Henry
Kncis, who yesterday morning sudden.
ly drove forth from his fields to slay
his brother and himself
| The Coroner's Verdict.
The coroner's jury after investigat.
Ing the facts open to scrutiny and ex-
amining local witnesses, including
Henry Amends, who saw the tragedy,
and the widows OF the two brothers,
| reached the evident verdict that
George Kneis came to his death mt
the hands of his brother, Henry Knels
Or "Kness," the German spelling
still adhered To by the Russian-Ger-
man family concerned In the shooting
The Tragic Story RetoId.
The coroner's inquest, held ycstcr-
day afternoon brought up for another
telling the strange story of the morn
ing. 1t was told how Henry Kncis, cv.
identity intent on the murder of his
brother, had driven &c the Amends
farm where he knew his brother to be,
how Amends experimenting trouble
from the words and appearance of
Henry had warned George back into
the house from which he had come in
response to Honry's loud calls for his
| appearance, how George in response
to his neighbours warning had stepped
| back into the doorway of the house.
how Henry had fired three shots at his
brother dragged the dead body out
into the yard, reloaded his revolver
and turned ii on himself
Children Shrink From Bullets.
The staggering body of the murder.
or and suicide, Amends had seen over
| his shoulder as he hurried to spread
the word of the murder at his door
| step. In back room with locked door
a mother and seven little children
waited the return of the frightened
| head of the Amends household. Mean
while Henry had fallen near the body
Of the dead brother, he himself soon
10 succumb to the fatal and self in
| llicted wounds. Examination by the
coroner showed that two bullets had
taken effect in each body. one of the
shots fired at George had crashed
through the walls of the Amends home
threatening the family Of little chill.
drcn.
The bare duh yard of the Amends
home, a yard bare even Of blade
of grass, was set aside Monday after
noon for a scene of dramatic intensity.
The covered body Of George lay
through the day by the door step
awaiting the coming of the county cor
oner Awe stricken children peered
at it from the window and in the yard
groups of men from the neighborhood
and from llosldns stirred about
Father and Mother Find Tragedy
TO this place Conrad Kneis and
their two sons. Driving from their
home north of Hoskins to the Amends
farm the old couple came on the strick-
en- figure of their son. Standing over
the cold body of George they learned
the details of the mornings madness.
A strong specimen of Russian German
manhood the old father fell backward
in fni Mt of h., T. t,1
second son lay dead a mile away.
Two other sons of Conrad Kneis and
his wife are said to live in California.
DR., Williams, coroner, Grant Mears,
county sheriff, and George Wilbur,
county attorney, arrived from Wayne
late in the afternoon to hold the in
quest in the open air William Wealth.
erholt, Frank Benser, Peter Kautz,
August Reinhlou. l.. Zeimer and d. f.
Nellor made up the coroners jury and
the course of the inquest ran through
the early evening
Trouble Over Hay, Horse, Dog, Wives
There had been trouble between
the two families living on the ada.
cent farms, that was shown early in |
the evidence. Trouble over hay land, |
trouble over a horse cut on a wire |
fence, trouble over a dog fight, and. |
perhaps more serious, trouble between |
the wives of the brothers, was men
toned during the afternoon. None, |
however, spoke of recent differences |
or of the sudden decision that took |
Henry from his bayfield, to Stay his |
brother in cold blood and to indct |
murderer's punishment upon himself. |
The widow of Henry on the witness
stand told nothing new of the tragedy |
and would not admit noticing anything
unusual in her husbands earlier acts
of the morning.
Among the neighbors, George Kneis
bore apparently the best of reputa-
tons. Henry was said to have kept
more to himself. Georges residence
in the rolling country to the north
IaN xl I,,N 80 l.