The Deadly Vengeance of a Rancher’s Wife
A Big Bend rancher who murdered his wife dies in jail after she allegedly poisoned him before her death.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Sheriff Valentine reported the death of John Dougherty, the Big Bend rancher who murdered his wife. Dougherty died in the Waterville jail Friday night. He died from the effects of rat poison administered to him by his wife. The old man was in a weak and nervous condition when arrested. Dougherty had obtained his wife through a matrimonial advertisement, and they lived a 'cat and dog life.' She had frequently threatened to poison him. On the day of the murder, Dougherty suspected he had been poisoned and took an emetic of salt and water. As he was vomiting, she laughed at him and said, 'You old Irish, I’ve got you now. I'll sit on your grave before a week.' Dougherty then grasped a butcher knife and chased her out into the lot, stabbing her to death. He later left a note admitting the killing and explaining the poison. His stomach was examined after his death, confirming the presence of poison.
“You old Irish, I’ve got you now. I'll sit on your grave before a week.”
Domestic violence records and matrimonial advertisements often mask the desperation of frontier lives. While the 'cat and dog' framing was typical of the era's sensationalist crime reporting, this story captures the brutal, intimate conflicts of isolation in the Washington territory.
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