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A QUADRUPLE MURDER.Reuben Drake, His Wife and Two Little Grandchildren Found Brutally Murdered in Their Lonely Farmhouse Near Kickapoo, Wis.A murder rivaling in atrocity the Antoine Probst murder occurred in Kickapoo, Wis., by which Reuben Drake, his wife and two grandchildren, the children of James Du pee—four persons in all—met their death. Drake urid wife are elderly people, living on a well-cultivated farm four and one-half miles southeast of the little village of Readstown, and about fifteen miles from Viroqua. Their little grandchildren lived but a few miles away, but were temporarily visiting the old folks. One morning h neighbor living about half a mile distant had occasion to go to Drake s on an errand and upon entering the door a fearful sight was presented. Drake and his wife lay near each other upon the floor, face down ward, weltering in great pools of blood, which flowed from gaping gunshot wounds in their heads. Both were dead, and evidently had been for some hours. On the bed in an adjoining room lay the children, aged respectively five and six, with their t hroats cut. One of the little ones was yet alive when discovered, but too far gone to give any account of the terrible tragedy. Before medical aid could be summoned the child died, and no one wasleft to tell of the struggle in the lonely farm house, by which four human beings were sacrificed. The alarm was quickly given, and soon all tire people of the sparsely settled neighborhood were at the scene of the tragedy. The little house had been ransucked and the furniture overturned, showing that the perpetrators had searched lor money and valuables. FreHh footsteps were found leading to and from the house, but they were soon lost in the highway. The nearest neighbor's wife says that about 11 o’clock that night she heard three shots fired in the direction of Drake’s, but thinking that it was some belated sportsman, gave the matter no attention.Another woman met a stranger on the highway just after dusk, who avoided her and hid in the brush. These are the only facts now known outside of the mute evidences found in the farm house of one of the most fearfui crimes ever committed in Wisconsin. It is supposed the murderers sought to rob Mr. Drake of some pension money, which he had secured about a month ago, and it is not yet known whether they secured it or not. Drake and wife were aged about sixty years, and were hardworking and fairly well-to-do and intelligent people. The locality is an out-of-the-way place, sparsely settled and many miles from a railroad. It is thought that the fiendish deed was committed bv somemone living near who knew of the pension money, as it is a section seldom visited bytramps or strangers.
Newspaper Details
Albert Lea Enterprise
Albert Lea, Minnesota, US
Wed, May 30, 1888
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 17 Aug 2020
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