Nebraska advertiser., 1863-06-04
A Most Horrible Crime and Murder
Af a LITTLE Girl.

$500 play and murder that has eve
reva. ~ our knowledge has recently been
de,sfIE " the city of Rock iseland The
a. II. sonieh are as follows~
VI 'he 18th doy of july. 1891
ty- two months AGO. betwsa 20 wen
four o'clock little girl, sovap anu 70
age, named LORNA Roe. daughter IF =
widow roma who lived at the Ameri-
aan House in Rock Island, came 70 her
mother and asked eer to be dressed, as
she wanted to 60 down the street a little
way, to The wagon shop-that a man
there had promised to give her ten cents
to get some candy. Her mother asked
what man it was, and the little girl said
it was the man at the wagon shop. Of
cource she thought no harm, and to gra-
tify her little pet, she dressed her and
let her 60, She went out and go! upon
the dray that belonged to the house, and
rode down the street toward the ferry
landing, and got off near Front street
That was the last time she was ever seen
alive by her mother. The most rigid
search was made for her, but without
avail, and the almost DISTRACTED and
broken-hearted mother was forced to the
conclusion that her little one had fallen
into the river and drowned, else. some
evel-disposed person had abducted her
from the city.
On the left hand of the street that
leads from the ferry landing into the
city, and two doors from the corner, is a
wagon shop, formerly occupied by one
A. j. thomson, a Swede. He is a man
some forty years old, and said to be a
suspicious appearing character 1t was
just in that vicinity that the girl was
last seen on the evening mentioned.
On Saturday evening last, about half.
past five-which was several months
after the shop had been vacated by John
son-a number of gentlemen were stand
ing about the shop, when an old geu-
tleman, name Samuel Turner, add whose
sones now hade a shop uerr py, came
who came DOW from the sacond story
of the vacated premises, and in an ex-
citedmauner told the bystBnders that he
wanted them to come up stairs-he had
founn comething there that he wanted
them to see. He had been up there
looking after a wegon hub, and while
smelled' a very offensive odor. He had
smelled it before, but never made any
investigation. On this occasisa-he went
back under the caves where some timers
tools we're piled up around a large sheet
iron box. He removed the tools, and
out of curiosity opend the box, and dis
coverd the decomposed body of what ap.
Ueared TO be a child with some chill
dren's clothing. The box is four,feet long,
two feet wide and two feet deep, and
was Used by timers to set their portable
furnaces in to 1uard against accident by
fire. The gentlemen went and saw it
and the old story OF The lost child flashed
upon their minds at once. The Coroner
was sent for, and a large crowd collected
Immediately, and. in an excited ann
the story of the horrible discovery spread
through the city. A jnry was called, and
an examination was had at once.
While the crowd was collecting, this
same Johnson was noticed coming
down the street, on the opposite side
He stoppted araWoltman's saloon, then
same out the doorand looked towards the
river, appearantly taking no notice of
vast crowd tina. was collected across the
street. He was closley watched by those
in the crowd: Soon he started back the
way he came, saying nothing to any one.
A shadow was put upon his track, who
watched him TO his home in the back
part of the city, and saw ahat he spoke
TO no one on the road.
Meanwhile the inquest was progress
ing. The bones .,,decomposed matter, and
the clothing were taken from the box
Mrs. Biddison was requested to 60 to the
American. where Mrs. Roe still lived,
and break to her the auful intelligence.
She went to the house-met the mother.
but so much had her FEELINGS overcome
her that she could not tell her. Mrs. R.
asked her the occasion Of the crowd at
the wagon shop, but got no answer
Suddenly as thought the awful truth
flashed upon the mind Of the bereaved
mother, and she exclaimed in agony,
"Oh, God, LORNA is found !" She was
in an extreme state of agitation, but
finally calmed herself, proceeded to the
shop, in a moment identified the clothing
found about the bones in the chest as
that worn BY her daughter when she
went out to get the promised dime,
twenty-five months before. On examina-
ton, it was found that the persons of the
child had been savagely mutilated, and
that an inhuman brute had ravished
her. So the medical faculty decided
On e%xarninatinn of the skull, the marks
of two severe blows were found, which
droke the skCll in. One indention
seemed to have been made with the
back, or claw, and the other with the
face of a hammer.
1t was shone in evidence that Johnson
had been in the habit of offering little
girls money TO come to his shop, and
that while there he had attempted to
ravish them. Some six or eight lnsian-
ces of the kind are distinctly known. i;
was further shown that Johnson refused
tc let any one 60 into the upper story
of the shop while he occupied it. That
persons who had been there and about
there had noticed very bad smells, bat it
was always attrlbutedItO come from poi
soned rats.
An officer was sent 10 bring Johnson to