Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1888 — FACED DEATH BRAVELY. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FACED DEATH BRAVELY.

Henry Schmidt, the Youthful lowa Murderer, Hanged Without Flinching. A Confession Made on the Scaffold Involving Ellison T. Smith in His Crime. * - Henry Schmidt, the second man to die at tho hands of the hangman in lowa in the last twenty years, was hanged at West Union on Friday, the 13th inst, for the murder of Lucretia Peek. He was also charged with having murdered Abram, the husband of Lucretia Peek, and with having shot and attempted to kill Abram Leonard at the same time. Schmidt was taken to West Union from the Penitentiary at Asamosa on Tuesday, the 10th

inst., and from that time up to the hour of his execution he occupied himself in conversing freely and pleasantly with acquaintances, reading the newspapers, and smoking cigarettes. He looked calnuy upon his impending doom and declared he would die bravely. He displayed a strong aversion to newspaper men, for the reason that he believed

they had misrepresented him. The only press representative that he consented to receive was an acquaintance of his in West Union. To him he related uolhing particularly new. He told over again his connection with the crime, declaring that he was hired for SSOO by El lison T. Smith to murder Leonard; that he would not have killed Mrs. Peek had she not got in his way, and that Ellison T. Smith killed Mr. Peek by beating him to death with a club near the gate. He said SSOO was too strong a temptation for him. He declared himself willing to die for the murder of Mrs. Peek, but he thought Ellison T. Smith should also be hanged for killing her husband. Schmidt was only 20 years old. About forty persons witnessed the hanging. Schmidt was escorted to the scaffold by Bher-

iff O’Neil and addressed a low remarks to the crowd before him. Ho repeated his confession before made, reiterating the charge against Bmith. His voice was clear and rang out upon the frosty air with remarkable distinctness. His face did not betray the least emotion, and only once when

he recognized the three sons of the murdered woman m the crowd before him did hie voice falter. He assisted the Sheriff in adjusting the noose, and when the cap was drawn over his eyes, shutting out the light of earth forever, he awaited the end without tho tremor of a muscle. Exactly at 10:86 the dbop fell, and hie body shot through the drop. In three minutes his heart ceased lie a ting. Hie neck was broken by the fall, and death camo to him almost without pain. There were no convulsions of the body until tho final moment of dissolution, when the muscles of his face contracted slightly and then instantly relaxed

—then all was over. The gallows was the same used in the execution of Chester Bellows at Charles City last month, and was an exact model of those used in the execution of the Chicago anarchists. THE BTOBY OF THE CEIME. The story of Schmidt’s crime, as brought out at the trial, is as follows: Mr. and Mts. Peek lived on a farm near West Union and Abram Leonard resided with them. All were aged people. Mr. Peek was 75 years old and Mrs. Peek wafc 66. On Sunday, Jan. 5, 1887, as the day dawned. Leonard, halfdressed, dazed, and bleeding, aroused a neighbor, and announced that Peek had been murdered, his wife badly wounded, and that he {Leonard) had two bullets in his side. Neighbors went at once to the Peek house.

and found Mr. Peek lying dead near his gate, with his head and face terribly mutilated. A fence board, with which evidently he had been beaten to death, lay near. Mrs. Peek was found on her bed, suffering from gunshot wounds. Suspicion fell at once upon Henry Schmidt, a Bavarian then but 19 years old, who had recently come to this country, and had been

employed by Mr. Peek. He and Peek had disagreed about the amount due from Peek to him, and a lawsuit between them was pending. Schmidt was arrested and identified as her asssailant by Mrs. Peek, who lived until Sept 25. Schmidt was tried, and, on Oct. 29, convicted of murder, and sentenced to be hanged. The evidence brought out in the trial of Schmidt showed that the murderer entered

the Peek house some time in the night, carrying some straw, to which he immediately set fire. He then began shooting into the room,, where there were two beds, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Peek and by Leonard. The latter was shot first, and Mrs. Peek made an attempt to jump from the win-

dow, when she was shot from the outside. She said: “Henry, why would you hurt me?” and the assassin said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mrs. Peek.” Later a desperate struggle was had near the gate whore Schmidt brained Peek. Eleven days after the trial Schmidt made a confession in which he made the charges against Ellison T. Smith, reiterated on the scaffold. Schmidt was at the time in the employ of Smith. The latter’s wife would inherit property from Leonard upon hi» and this was the implied motive of the alleged instigation. Smith was arrested and tried, but there was so little evidence against him that he was acquitted. AUTOPSY. An autopsy was held on the remains. Tha bra n weighed forty-four ounces, and the top of the head was quite noticeably flattened, making the transverse diameter greater than normal The liver was very much enlarged and showed a slight scar, but the cause of it could not be ascertained. The body was placed in the town-hall, where all who wished were allowed to view it

HENRY SCHMIDT.

LUCRETIA PEEK.

THE SCENE OF SCHMIDT'S CRIME.

ABRAM LEONARD.

ABRAM PEEK.