two blows from the axe to kill the woman, while
one was sufficient for the man. He then ransacked the house, and,
between some blankets underneath the straw-bed upon which the old folks
were sleeping, he found a small bag, which contained some gold,
silver and paper money, amounting to over one thousand dollars. In a
cold-blooded manner he further stated (and as I pen his words my blood
nearly freezes in my veins), in order to search the bed upon which his
victims were lying, it became necessary for him to remove the bodies;
so he lifted them up one at a time, and placed them upon the floor, face
downward, for the reason, as he said, that their eyes bulged out and
seemed to stare at him.

After securing the money he fled and returned to the farm where he
worked. He slept in the barn, as is very often the case with farm
laborers during the summer season. Entering the barn he procured an old
bucket, places his money in it, covers the top with a piece of board,
and buries it in the earth east of the barn. He also buried the axe near
the bucket. He said there were clots of blood and hair on the axe, and
he thought best to put it out of sight. He then returned to the barn,
and, strange to say, soon fell asleep and slept sweetly until morning.
He went to work the next day as usual, and his mind was taken up more by
thinking of what a good time he would have after a little, spending that
money, than in worrying over the terrible crime he had committed. He
reasoned that the money would do the old people no good, but that he
could use it to advantage.

The discovery of the murder was made the next day about noon. The alarm
was given. The whole country was aroused and excited over the commission
of such a horrible crime two innocent, helpless and highly-respected old
people murdered for their money. A couple of tramps had passed through
the neighborhood the day before, and, of course, everybody thought it
must have been the tramps that committed the murder. The object now was
to find them. They were overtaken the next day and brought back to
the scene of the murder. They both stoutly denied any knowledge of
the crime. They were separated, and each was told that the other had
confessed. This was done that a confession might be forced from them.
They continued in their affirmation of innocence. They were then taken
to the woods near by and each hung up until life was almost extinct, but
they still denied the commission of the cri