Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-10-21
By James Mcdowell.

my wife, my interest in life ceased
| do not reproach myself now lot
ending my wife's sufferings in the way
did took the hardest part, for the
memory of her passing away IS always
with me. Now that l am barring my
soul to the world, l may perhaps ma
peace. I have tried everything else,
and have yet to find it.
Fanny was my child-wife. She was
the daughter of my best friend, and
had watched her and loved her from
her cradle days, and when L married
her | combined the love for a child
with the love for a wife.
At the time of our tragedy we were
about 12O miles from Calgary, the
nearest inhabited place, and were ap-
preaching the widest section of our
journey. We had been riding for four
hours without break, because | want
ed to complete our trip as soon as
possible. Fanny was a few feet ahead
Of me, and the pack-mule brought up
the rear
We were both browsing in the SADDLE
more or less overcome with fatigue
and the intense heat from which the
heavy woods afforded US little protec-
ton, when suddenly | was aroused by
a cry and, looking up, saw Fanny's
mule rearing on his hind legs. L
thought that he had ben stung by
hornet, and hurried toward him. Be
fore l had advanced yard, the brute
toppled over the edge of the precipice
which yawned, and disappeared.
l came upon the dead mule first. A
few feet away | found the shapeless
form of my wife-every bone in her
body broken Her head and face were
not badly injured. She had fallen
1000 feet. I pressed my canteen to
her lips, and the brandy and water it
contained brought her back to con-
seriousness.
"Jim," she moaned, eff you love me,
end my agony!"
put my head in my hands and
groaned. 1 knew that it would take
me ten days to bring help from Cal
gary, and l believed that poor Fanny
could not survive as many hours. L
heard the bowling Of the wolves, and
the horrible truth that If | left her to
summon help the beasts would make
short work of her came to me so clear
ly that | at once banished the idea.
| stood by and watched the woman [
loved better than anything else in the
world suffering the tortures OF the
damned with not a single chance Of
recovery.
Every now and again, Fanny would
| lapse into Inconsistencies, and dur
! ing these periods / would walk up and
down, wondering what course to pur-
sue Should I kill my wife? l felt
! that to accede to her request would
! be murder in the eyes of men. But
| that did not worry me. I was willing
| to commit murder to end her terrible
| sufferings. But was there the faint
est chance of saving her? That was
| the great point upon which the whole
thing hinged.
| Again she opened her eyes. "You
are coward, JIM" she said, cor you
would kill me- You know I haven't
a chance to live and I may suffer this
| torture for many hours"
But, Fanny" I groaned, 81 can't
| kill you. Some one may come along
and we could get you to help"
TITS ten days to Calgary. What
| days?'' she asked. IT can't live, any
way. I am all broken inside of me.
| You are a coward" ............
For five hours this went On. Alter
nately there were spells of conscious
| ness in which my wife moaned and
| shrieked with pain and reviled me as
a coward, and then came unconscious
| ness, during which I saw that pain
still persisted.
At the sixth hour I could endure it
no longer. I kissed her good-by. 1
took my pistol and pressed the muz-
zle Of it against her head. She closed
her eyes and said fire" but I had not
strength enough to press the trigger,
and my arm dropped to my side
ooh. you coward, you coward" she
cried.
| walked away that | might think it
out all over again. The same prob
lens presented themselves to me. and
I could see only the one answer. Death
alone could end my wifes tortures.
| Natural death might be DELAYED for
hours, perhaps even days. There was
nothing at hand to relieve the pain.
If l fell asleep, as | was bound to
sooner or later, we would fall ready
victims to the wild beasts. The wolves
were already closing in on us.
For three hours I debated the cues
ton, and again | decided to kill nv
wife. And again I faltered at the last
moment. And so it went on until the
tenth hour.
NV wifes agony seemed to increase.
Finally, knelt by her side. We prayed
together for the repose of her soul
and for forgiveness for my act.
Then l killed her!
covered my wife's remains with
stones and rocks and grass, and re-