The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-14
wild. and she would not live if I did
| not go with her.

4
would change. and go into society ant
go with young men and be happy. Anc
1 begged her to do that. But she made
| her visits more frequent and became
| more daring and more persistent. Sh'
| began threatening to kill herself on my
porch and all such horrible things
| Threatened to kill my wife. Threatened
| TO kill herself in my house time anc
| time again.
Il was at my wits end to know what
| to do. was afraid when 1 was late get
| ting home, lest 1 should find her or my
wife dead there. / suffered untold
misery, and it kept me busy deceivins
my wife about the noises about the
house.
My wife slept in one bedroom and ]
in another, and Miss Sapp would
scratch on my screen until I'd go to the
window and usually 1 would have to &c
she would go or allow me to go in, all
this time telling me what dreadful
things she would do if 1 did not leave
my family and go with her. 1 tried
every way I could think of to prevent
anything that would cast sorrow on
her folks and mine, and repeated the
awfulness of it to her until 1 despaired.
Dreaded to Tell Her Parents.
Il sometimes thought I'd go to her
parents and tell them, but dreaded the
task and put it off, hoping she would
change and let me alone. She would
leave her house after her parents were
asleep and climb down the front porch
post and return by climbing up the
well curb and onto the south porch
and enter at a window.
my wife often asked me about
certain sounds and if 1 were out of
the house, and 1 could not tell her the
truth for fear that she would watch
for her and see who it was and tell
her folks. When she heard 1 was
about to sell the dray she came down
and said if I undertook to leave she
would kill herself, for unless she saw
me every day on that wagon she would
not live. She said that if for a single
day I left that wagon she would come
and rub her blood on everything we
had.
"Oh, these awful things made my
heart sick and for eight months L
have lived in a horrible fear. tried
to act at home and at work as if moth
ing was wrong, but when alone 1
prayed for deliverance.
lone rainy night she kept me stand
ing out by the house until after mid
night, and I took that severe rheuma-
tism the next morning. If I would
try to go in she would say she would
go nand kill herself and 1 could not
persuade her to leave. She would say
that she could not stay at home and
sleep a wink and that she was going
to stay right there till morning. No
pleading would avail anything.
When His Son Saw Her.
1.-THE evening that she heard I was
going to sell out she stayed long
time and in vain 1 tried to get her to
go. 1 finally went into bed and pre-
tended to sleep. She kept knocking
and scratching at my window until
she awakened my boy and 1 was beg
ging her to go when he woke and ask
ed me who I was talking to- I tried
to quiet him by telling him that he
was dreaming but he still cried and
said that I was telling her to go away
and he wanted me to make her go.
He got up and looked at her, he could
see her cape, but did not see her face.
I told him not to tell his mamma, be-
cause she was so nervous, and she
would be afraid. He looked so sad
next day and cried some.
after he had seen her there she
went away from the window and 1 fell
asleep but Hollidge did not, and after
a while she returned and pounded
against the screen and he was so
scared that he sprang up and hol-
lowed go away and I woke up and
went out and told her to please go. I
said Hollidge has seen you and he
care and that she did it on purpose.
but said she would go now, but if she
did not see me the next day she
would be back. She always said that
she would be back every night and
every night.
$50 on the Tuesday evening that
had given up the dray. I was tremb-
ling with fear. and got my wife and
children off to bed and I was afraid to
go to bed I stepped out on the
kitchen porch and out on the steps
to see IL I really heard anyone and
as I stepped off the porch there was
Miss Sapp fiourishing a razor desper- |
ately. She declared that she had |
come to do what she said she would |
-I,1
uttered awful threats and as I tried
to speak she slashed me across the |
hand. I went to DR.. DeLong the |
next morning and had it dressed. In !
order to shield the real cause I told
that I cut it on q, scythe. She went !
through a lot of tantruns as she had |
many times before. only more desper- |
ately this time. She would pound the |
ground with the razor and flash it !
drea dfullv close to nv face and once |
she hacked her own throat till it bIed |
a little. She would pull her hair and |
pound herself on the head
n Visit at Midnight.
"All my begging and pleading was |
in vain. I went off to the wood pile bv |
the allev and sat down and prayed and |
for she would walk back and |
forth about the yard by the house, |
sometimes pretending to start In. |
About midnight she came out where |
was and sat down. I did not speak and |
there we sat for long time. I finally |
started out into the allev and she came |
after me and began telling her inten- |
tions of killing herself. I pleaded with |
her as I had a hundred times I pre- |
sumo to give it all up that she could |
have anything she wanted at home and |
that she could get plenty of good. nice |
men that would be glad to pet her. |
But alas. she would scoff the idea and |
said. as always before, that she never
would care for anyone else and that |
she wished she was dead.
This kind OF talk continued I try |
Ing to persuade her to go. and she |
would not. 1t was bright moonlight |
and her animated talk attracted the |
attention of Mr.. and Mrs. Rees, who |