Huntsville Gazette

ANOTHER LONG ISLAND TRAGEDY.

A Farmer Murderously Assaulted and Left for Dead by a Negro, who then Attacked the Farmer's Wife and Robbed the House—The Villain Captured.

Hicksville, L. I., Jan. 25.

At about half past six o'clock this morning Seiah Sprague, a well-to-do farmer of East Meadow, went as usual to the barn to milk his cows and feed his horses. He had just reached the barn when a mulatto attacked him with a fish-plate used as a coupling for railroad tracks and, striking him several murderous blows on the head, left him for dead and made his way to the house. Here he saw Mrs. Sprague in the kitchen, struck her one blow, secured what money he could and left. Some neighbors hearing Mrs. Sprague's cries, hurried to the spot and found Sprague lying in a pool of blood near the barn. A general alarm was sounded, and the farmers of Hicksville, Hempstead, Westbury and Farmingdale hitched up their horses and started in all directions, scouring the country for the assassin. The man is supposed to be the same who attempted the burglary at South Oyster Bay Wednesday night.

The barn presented the appearance of a slaughter-house. The body of Sprague lay against a bag filled with grain. The bag was bloody on one side. Sprague is not dead. He seemed to recognize the voices of the men, though he could not speak. There was blood everywhere. Near the double door there was a great pool of blood frozen into ice. Sprague lost so much blood in this spot it ran over the door jamb and discolored the ground outside. There was blood on the tub under the wagon and on the right hand wheel of the wagon. Sprague was covered with blood.

There is great excitement all through Queens County, in consequence of the third and similar outrage following so quickly upon the Maybee and Townsend affairs. Mr. Sprague and wife were about fifty years of age. Physicians give no hopes of the recovery of Sprague. While terrible wounds on the head of Sprague were being dressed, he suddenly rose up and vomited a full pint and a half of blood. The doctors said they were glad of it, but still have little or no hopes of his recovery.

Mrs. Sprague in her statement says: As I stepped into the kitchen a dog barked (it is a very small dog), and but for that strange thing I might not have noticed the man so promptly. He said: 'I want money.' I supposed my husband was in the barn, and my first impulse was to scream. I did so. I tried to rush by the colored man into the yard, and got as far as the stoop when he laid hold of me. He clutched me by the hair and pulled a handful out by the roots. I struggled, but it was no use. He dealt me a blow in the mouth with his fist, which loosened my teeth and I saw fire. This brought us back into the kitchen. He was a powerful colored man, not tall, but very stout. He said again, 'Give me the money or I'll murder you.' I replied, 'You can have all the money in the house, but tell me, have you hurt my husband?' 'No,' he replied. 'I have not seen him.' I thought it strange my husband had not been attracted by the incessant barking of the dog. I went into the sitting-room and took my purse from the bureau drawer and handed it to the man. The purse contained $38. When the man was gone away I ran out to summon help and fell on the ice. I hurt my side badly.

The negro, whose name is Chas. A. Smith or Chas. H. Rugg, was subsequently captured and fully identified by Mrs. Sprague. He resided at Poverty Hollow, Oyster Bay. He was captured at a store where he had purchased a complete new suit of clothes and had called for some crackers and cheese. The excited farmers would have hung him immediately but for the determined stand taken by the officers of the law. It is almost certain he was the assailant of Mr. and Mrs. Townsend of Oyster Bay. The officers had much trouble in getting their prisoner aboard the train to take him to jail. There were between 300 and 400 men with torches and ropes howling and shouting, 'Let us get at him!' 'Let us hang the murderer!' He was finally locked in a freight car. At Westbury the train was boarded by 200 men with ropes and lanterns, who demanded to know where the man was. They did not give up the search until the train started, some even remaining on board and swearing that they would hang him. The same scene was enacted at Mineola. The prisoner was finally landed safely in the county jail.