About six years ago there lived at Avery's Portage near Boiestown a family named Greer composed of a widow, Mrs. Henry GREER, her two sons, William GREER and John GREER and a little adopted daughter. William was a widower of about 30 summers and weighed about 200 pounds, while John was about 24 years old and unmarried. The house in which they lived was a log cabin, the inside walls of which were covered with tar paper and over that again a covering of ordinary wall paper. A few blackened ruins now mark the place where the hosue stood and the same ruins mark the resting place of Mrs. Greer and her adopted daughter and until now it was generally supposed that here also was to be found the resting place of William. The destruction of this log cabin by fire about six years ago and the burning to death at the same time of Mrs. Greer and her adopted daughter and also the supposed cremation of her son William are still fresh in the minds of many readers. After the fire, Dr. Moore of Stanley empanelled a jury and held an inquest. The principal witness was John Greer. ... A verdict was given in accordance with these facts. But suspicion was aroused from the fact that only the remains of two persons could be found in the ruins, while John affirmed that three were burned. In the course of time, however, the occurrence blew over and probably would have been forgotten had not some startling information come to hand a day or two ago. About a year after this calamity John Greer went west where he has been living ever since. A short time ago he got into an altercation with a man there and stabbed him. Death ensued. Greer was put on trial for murder, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. On the gallows he made a confession. He related the occurrence of the burning of his home on the Portage and said that the crime was his. According to the story received he and his brother, William, had just returned from the woods on the night of the fire, having been cutting cedar logs. On their way home they called into a house to get some liquor. After drinking they resumed their journey and had not gone very far when they quarrelled and the result was that John killed his brother William and buried the body in a swamp not far from home. To cover up the crime he resolved to go home and set fire to the house, burn his mother and adopted sister, throw in his own outer clothiong into the flames and then give the alarm that the house was destroyed by fire; that his mother, brother and adopted sister were burned to death and that he himself had all he could do to escape in his night clothing. (see original)