The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-10-03
Tells OF Staying I:
CHILD YEARS AGO
MONEY LOSS WORRIED ROBERT HICKS
MORE THAN DAUGHTERS MURDER.

kansas City, MOTOR Is years
Robert Hicks carried a secret in his
breast, the secret that with his own
hands and q short piece of heavy
Irvine he strangled to death his
daughter Luellen, 10 years old. And
never once in all that % years did
the ghost of his murdered daughter
return to haunt him, to follow him,
to keep him awake.
lit was on a lonesome part of the
Hicks farm in Hickory county, Mis-
souri,, the afternoon of December Z,
1896, that the daughter, in a fit of
NJ rage, threatened to shoot him. He
had told her mother the young wOm-
an had spent an afternoon buggy rid
ing with the hotelkeeper of Urbanl,
and the mother chastised the daugh-
ter as a result.
Hicks, old and feeble, his body
wasted by age, his shoulders bent by
toll, recounted his story as he sat in
car on the Frisco train with j. l..
McCaslin, Sheriff of Hickory county,
who is taking Hicks from Chehalis
Wash, to Hickory county for trial
Hicks is IS years old.
Il was afraid she would do as she
threatened" he said, speaking calm
Nv i'm a low voice. Il was mad.
seized her by the throat with my
fingers and squeezed She didn
call out. She didn't fight. Her eyes
rolled up and looked at me just like
the eyes of a dog when you lick him.
Then I took a piece of heavy grass
Irvine from my pocket had been
using it to tie gunny sacks-Wrapped
it about her throat, pulled it tight.
and she dropped on the ground,
dead. | left her there"
A brother, going to look at traps,
found the body of his sister wher=
Hicks had left it. The authorities
were notified, of course, the girl bur-
led in the little cemetery adjacent
to the chapel, the neighbors talked,
but soon it all was forgotten. Hicks
was suspected, but never arrestet.
Hicks sold his place and moved to
Washington to farm, leaving the
grave of his daughter and an lrtant
son in Hickory county. A SON. in
law was living in another city and
he desired the old folks with him.
did your conscience ever bother
you, did you ever see the fa:9 or
your daughter in your dreams, did
you never awake during the night
and live over the scene when your
uuSSIS "SIS SlAhlhS 1lIIO viz ''O- :
flesh of your daughters necI?'
Hicks was asked.
me? No. he answered. Il ain'5
never seen her since the day of the
funeral. She was just dead, that's
all. You see, l amt never had no
book learning, and things like that
never bothered me. l was bound
out when my folks died and l was
~ years old, and had to WOrt all
the time: that was down in TAney
county on the White river, and l.
didn't never have no chan.2. SO
things like that didn't bother me-
But didn't you ever desire 10 tel
anyone that you murdered your own
daughter?'' he was asked.
mo, 4 never wanted to tell Any
body" he said, speaking in the same
low voice. Il didn't miss h"r no
more'n if she'd just died. Of course,
her ma missed her some for awhile,
but she didn't know [ did il, and
T never felt called on to tell her.
Il raised Z other children, four
boys and the rest girls, and that kept
me pretty busy working on the farm
all the time. and my health being
not so good That did1 bother me
nearly so much as my other troubles.
You see, ! sold my properly and
give it to my son-in-laW, and ne
promised to keep me and ma the rest
of our lives. 1t was all done IN
Writin'. and then he wanted t0 get
rid of me- That's wha. bothered me.
Neither me or ma ain got long
to live, you know. Ma Las fits, and
I'm sick in my stomach and chest
and head. and the doc ;lrs told us
Nl,T1N "a ~
day. So l fixed up the properly So
we could die in peace and then got
beat out of it.
my son-in-law said I owed some
money i'm Missouri, and wrote the
banker at Urbana and had the po-
lice come after me, just to get rid
of me- But me, I don't owe nobody.
He just wanted to get rid of me at
ter he got the $1,000"
How did you happen to confess
ii this late i'm life, when you knew
YOU probably would die and no one
could find it out?' he was asked.
Hicks is slightly deaf and the
questions were asked in a loud
voice, attracting the passengers in
the chair car. They craned their
necks, looking with surprise at the
little old man who SO calmly was
telling about numbering his daugh-
ter.
They can't do much to me now"
he said. I'm likely to die any time
r Just thought as they was taking me
back to Missouri I'd tell 'em about
it, Nothin told me to. | just
thought 1 might as we'll give 'em
real reason to take me back
Don't you know they may hang
you or send you to the penitentiary
for life for killing your girl?' he was
asked.
Eyes, they might, but I'll die pref
ty soon anyway" he answered. ''Of
course, if I had my say, I'd rather
go to the old folks home and die,
but T guess they won't let me-"
And he looked out the window as
the train began to move. His eyes
were open, but he didn't appear to
see the passing cars as the train
rolled slowly out of the station.