Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1860-05-09
TAE RAFTsMAN's JOURNAL.
pRNNsYLvANIA ITEMS

PENNSYLVANIA ITEMS.
| PREPARED FOR THE ssRAFTsMAN's JOURNAL
/ CHESTER CoUNrY.-A most diabolicaI ont
| rage was committed recently on the person OF
! Mrs. Riday, a resident of Oxford borough.
| On the night of the 18th April, the house OF
| J. S. Riday, the lady's husband, was entered
| in his absence, by two men, doubtless for the
purpose of committing robbery, which how
ever was prevented by Mrs. r. giving the
alarm and bringing to her aid some of the
neighbors. On the Sunday night following,
about 8 O'Clock, while part of the family
were at church, the same party 1T is supposed,
rode to the house, hitched their horses, and
raped at the door. Mrs. Riday thinking that
| some neighbor was making friendly cal, ,bade
| them sscome in'' when stranger entered and
asked her if she knew him. She said No, but
Immediately recognized him as being one of
the men who had been in the house few
| nights previous. Becoming alarmed, she ran,
halloed and ATTEMPTED to escape, but the ruff
fan caught her ,and in the struggle she tore off
his shirt collar. This enraged the demon so
| much that he kicked her in the side, and
threatened to kill her. He demanded the
candle they had left behind them on the first
night, remarking that it was worth gold to
him. He told her he wouldn't kill her now, but
if she talked the way she did the other time,
he would. He and his companion then tied
her to a chair, cut off a lock of her hair, and
fourishng the knife before her declared .sBy
Protestant b-!'' He found bottle of tur--
pentine, with which he saturated her elothe S
and attempted to set them on fire, but being
wooden they would not burn readily. He also
placed hot iron plate on her breast, which
was burned to crisp. He fastened her on the
chair with her feet in the stove, and telling
his comrade to s'build fire and burn the d-d
thing up," left her in this position until her
feet were roasted. A signal from his comrade
induced the ruffian to leave the house, when
two small children came down stairs and re-
lieved their mother. The screams and cries
of the children upstairs had alarmed the
neighbors, who rushed to the house, broke
open the doors, which remained locked and
entering found Mrs. Riday had tainted. Med
ical aid was called to her relief Int she is still
in very precarious condition. The only
cause for this horrible treatment Of the woman
seems to be that she had prevented the vii
lains carrying away her husbands property
They said they were not afraid of being de-
tected.
CAMBRIA CoUNTY.-A little daughter OF
Joseph Hildebrand of Jackson township, aged
about six years, was burned so badly OH Fri
day the 9th ult, under the following circum-
stances, as to cause her death the next morn
ing: She, together with other children of the
family, was out in the field with her father
during the afternoon, where he was engaged
in burning brush and other rubbish, prepara-
tory to farming, and when he started home in
the evening she remained behind with an ell
der brother, about II years old. Presently the
fire caught in the stubbes near where the
children were, and completely surrounded
them before they could make their escape.
The little girls clothes took fire from the |
flames, and were entirely consumed, and her
person horribly and, as it ultimately proved |
fatally burned, with no one near to render as |
sistance but her little brother. He managed |
to carry her home, where she fingered in ter
rible agony until morning when death granted |
her kindly relief from her sufferings. The |
boy was not much injured by the flames.
MIFFLIN CoUNTY.-An inquest was held on |
the I'd inst, by Coroner Miller ,on the remains |
of female child found on a field. on Henry
Ort's farm in Derry township, which it is sup |
posed was brought there from the ridge by |
dog belonging to the tenant. Both legs and |
one arm had been torn off. 1t was large and |
healthy looking babe, and was no doubt secre- |
ted on the ridge-perhaps alive ,perhaps dead |
perhaps murdered-by some inhuman being |
who had better be in the place of the dead |
than living. A man named Adam Brought, |
lately an inmate Of the Poor House, from |
which he escaped and taken up and COM
mitted to Jail, hung himself on Thursday |
night, 26th April, with strip of muslin which |
he had attached to clothes pin in the wall |
and then fastened it around his neck.
CRAWFORD CouNTY.-On Saturday, the 2lst |
ult., during thunderstorm at Meadville, a |
Miss Taylor, sister-in-law of DR.. Thompson,
was struck by lightning, while sitting at her
chamber window. She was using a pair of |
scissors, and had her hands near together,
when she received stroke in her hands which |
quite paralyzed them. At the same time the
scissors were illuminated with electricity
The finger on the LEFT hand, which had two
rings on, was blistered under the rings. She
received no permanent injury from the stroke.
CLINTON CoUNTY.-On Monday morning A
pril 29th, by the name of Henry Hun
ter was found dead in the privy attached to
the Clinton House, in Lock Haven. Upon an
examination it was proved that the dead man
had been addicted to the use of intoxicating /
liquors, and that he resided somewhere mp /
the river. 1t also appeared that he had been
in this place for several days in state of in
toxication, and had not been seen since the
evening previous.
BUTLER CoUNTY.-A prominent member of
the bar, John NJ. Nipple, Esq, eloped recent
ly from the town of Butler, leaving wife and
two children, and taking with him his eldest
child and young woman named Maria ].
Brinker. Nipple is young lawyer, of the
firm of Thompson & Nipple, was doing good
business, and on the road to wealth. He car
ried away from $4,000 to 5000 OF money that
was not his own.
The SLANG OF THE PRIZE RING.-A detailed
a mt nf E<xbk lot,o II