Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-01-09
A HORRIBLE OUTRAGE.
Cruel Robbery or a Widow.
She Fights Three Men Half An
Hour.

Hour.
Four Hundred and Eighteen Dollars
Stolen.
We have the painful duty this morning
Of recording one of the most horrible and
6endish and by far the meanest transactions
down in the annals of crime. 1t occurred
early last Friday morning in the house Of
Mrs. saxton, a widow woman sixty years of
age, living from three to four miles from the
center of Lagrange, Lorain county. The
intelligence was communicated to Marshal
Schmitt N the following day, but not in
time to dispatch a man to the place the
same day. Officer Lawrence took the
freight train on Sunday morning, went to
the lady's house, and gives us the following
thrilling facts in the case:
Mrs. Saxton lives on a country road some
quarter or half a mile from the nearest
neighbor, having no companion except her
boy thirteen or fourteen years of age. About
half past two o'clock Friday morning she
was awakened by voices of men at the
door. She demanded their business, and
received the reply that their vehicle had
broken down in the road, and they wanted
a lantern that they might see to repair the
damage. She hesitated 8 long time, but
finally one of them assured her that she
need have no fears. She arose, dressed,
struck a light and indiscreetly unlocked
the door, when two of them entered and
said in a defiant, "~chivalric" tone, it is not
a lantern we want, but your money, and
Immediately commanded her to produce it.
She told them that her money was in the
Oberlin bank. They gave her the lie, and
one said, "You nave 3 thousand dollars in
the house, we were told SO to-day" The
other interrupted him by saying, mo, it is
only five hundred. and we are bound to
have it" drawing their revolvers and pre-
senting them to her breast and head, and
threatening To kill her instantly if she did
not comply. She seized the poker and put
herself in the attitude ofself-defense, plucky
woman. When they saw what spirit ami
mated the woman, the men called to a third
party out Of doors, Captain, what shall we
do with erl"- "Cut her DID throat" was
the heroic reply, and he came in and
brandished a knife, declaring he would cut
her throat if she did not tell where the
money was. Still refusing, he cut a surface
cash three inches long in her neck, but she
still fought them as pest she could. Another
clip of the knife blade under her ear, and
still another IN the cheek, causing her to
bleed frightfully, but she held out resolutely,
and called for her boy to run to the neighbors.
They told her the boy was in the next room
with his throat cut, as hers would soon be.
She had every reason to believe their story,
and sank, exhausted, to the floor, after a
half hours conflict, and, to rid herself of
the villains who evidently meant to kill her
if she refused to discover the money, told
them where to find it. Eighteen dollars
in money were in her walletin the pocket OF
a dress lying on the bed, and four hundred
dollars in 7-3O bonds were rolled uPin a
mass of rags in a cupboard near the bed.
We give the number of the bonds as an
advertisement to bankers and police, OF the
robbery. There were four 7~one-hundred
bonds bearing, respectively, the numbers'
4,75s; 74,759; "a, z6Oj 29s,247.
After making sure of the coveted treasure
the fends again turned to the defenseless
woman and inflicted still further injuries
upon her, and then left. The little boy
came in, terrified, but it was too late to
rouse the neighbors, and pursuit at that
hour would have been Ruthless. The men
were dressed in soldiers clothes, one wear
ing the regular blue oyercoat with cape,
another an overcoat and cape dyed black,
and the third, a blouse with the accustomed
belt Their faces were smeared with some
black preparation, and there were other
tokens of a disguise having been assumed.
Conductor TYLER of the Toledo road in
forms Marshal Schmitt that this party
came down as far as Monroeville, from To-
ledo, on his train, last Thursday, and there
left for Crestline. A burglars Jimmy" had
fallen out of one of their pockets, which was
On the seat as 4 witnea- q fhs character
aad aYocation of the men. There is no
doubt as to the identity of the two gangs,
and the Marshal is confident that they hail
from Milwaukee. Chicago, Milwaukee and
Wisconsin papers will confer a favor by
noting the leading facts in this case.
No words of ours can give a deeper sense
of the enormity and diabolical character of
the crime than our readers will catch at
first flush. The simple act does more than
a thousand abstract controversial sermons
or theological t~reatises to wiring reluctant
assent to the dogma of the "total ~depravity"
of the human heart. We sincerely trust
that these fends may be arrested and
hanged to the nearest tree.