The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-10-20

!
by killing the children in Pensacola
when he ran out of funds. All the
children and the mother were in
sured. Mr.. Stokes carried his point
Mother
Bascom described how his mother,
who was cooking breakfast, suddenly
was taken sick and threw herself
moaning across her bed. The father
| was in the kitchen. When the faith
er, the prisoner, came into her room,
Bascom said his mother cried out,
ooh, Lige, don't come in here and
scare me!n
The mother died of poison-suicide
according to the coroner's verdict.
Some time before, the boy was un-
able to say how long, his father had
received some insurance for some
horses and barn of his that were
destroyed by fire one night. On the
cross examination he said that his
father had saved one team and a
couple of wagons.
Fire Insurance.
The morning of Tuesday, June 27,
| Bascom said, the father prepared
breakfast-coffee, fried corn, bread
and syrup. He and the father and
Tennie ate breakfast Ethel not.
Ethel, he said, had been sick for sew
eral days, and was lying down on
the fathers bed.
| Sent On ErTands.
Early in the morning (the time as
later established was before 6 o'clock
of the tragedy, Bascom said his faith
er sent him to Raj Herrington's, about
five blocks away, to sell brace and
a plane. He sold the plane for Is
cents and went back home When
he got back Fudge sent the boy back
to get some milk from Mrs. Her
| rington, whom the children called
Aunt Eta. He was unable to gel
the milk he said, and came back and
went back into the kitchen and put
] the bucket on the table. The father
| then got his hat and coat, and he
and Bascom went out. When they
reached the front gate the father told
the boy to go down the road and he
would go and lock the dog up. Bias
com said he walked down the road
and that the father went down the
east side of the house, the side of the
house on which the room is situated
when the dead children were found
and later on joined Bascom down the
road.
Bascom stated and reiterated tina
it was the first time the father haI
ever gone back to lock up the dog
and added that their yard had a dog
proof fence, and that the gates wer.
strong.
I Mystery of the Locked Door.
i Bascom was positive that the faith
er closed the door, but did not loci
it, when he came out of the house
This door was on the front of tn.
, house, but led out of the room OF
, the west side. The other door open
ing on the front gallery, leading from
out the room on the east side of tn,
house 1.-THE fathers room) was al
II ways hCpt 4OChCd- DdSSOHl lCSblIiCs
!, that when he and the father returned
in the afternoon, the father finall,
put him through a window to open :
door and let him in, and that he open
ed, not the door the father left un
locked, because that was locked, blu
: the door which was usually locked
!. which on this occasion was unlocked
Does Not Hunt Work.
Going downtown with his father
who, he said, had his unloaded auto
matte pistol in his pocket, Bascon
> told how they had first visited serv
ice club where his father received
note telling him to report for work
? which he did not do, how his fathe
sold a plane for Is cents, and late
on how he helped land shark q
Palafox wharf.
!. When they went away in the morn
ing Bascom said, the two girls wer
lying in their fathers bed.
, Bascom and his father returned a
about 8 o'clock that afternoon. Oh
other occasions, said the boy, whel
: the father returned and did not Sc
the girls, he went into the house an
. prepared supper. The father indee
seems to have been in the habit 0
preparing the supper.
The boy testified that the fathe
sat down on the steps and told Bias
com to go over to Aunt Etta's to sc
if the girls were there. The ma
did not attempt TO enter the house
did not call the children, did not at
tempt to look for them, said Baseon
Bascom played around at Aunt Eta
and came back and found his fathe
still sitting on the steps. The fathe
sent him to Bayview to look for tn
children. He played around som
more, and it was about 6 o'clock whe
he got back, and he said the fathe
e was still sitting on the steps.