Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-09-12
CASE OF INFANTICIDE,
An Infants Body Discovered In Pine
Thicket.
The corpse Carried off by n Strange Wo-
man.


man.
Yesterday afternoon about ten minutes pas
five o'clock, Martha Steel, we'll known habi
tree of the demi-monde, arrived IN breathles
haste at police headquarters and made state
ment to the effect that she had seen tne BODY o.
a newly born infant lying in the thicket beyond
Gray Cemetery, to the left of the Jacksboro
pike, and requested that an officer should &C
company her to the scene.
After questioning her closely, and being
SATISFIED OF THE TRUTH
of her story, officers Cole ard Ryan, accompa-
MED by CHRONICLE reporter, repaired to the
spot designated, and found considera hle num-
Der of people present, chiefly colored women
and children, in the livelest state of excitement
The statement of Miss Martha was to the effect
that about half past four o'clock P. NJ, while
taking stroll through the pines, she discovered
a pile of clothing under bush, which attracted
her attention, and proceeding thither was horri.
fed on lifting piece of wearing apparel to find
the
DEAD BODY OF A CHILD,
apparently but few hours old, with cord
tied tightly around its neck. She called to a
companion, who told her to pick it up and take
it away. But she was averse to doing so, and
instead went to the house of a colOred woman
named Mary Burns, and told her of the fact,
and ran as fast as possible to inform the authori-
ties of the fact, as before stated.
Arriving on the ground, the police were
chagrined to learn that during the short absence
of the messenger from the spot, a woman had
suddenly appeared and
CARRIED THE CORPSE OFF,
There being only children watching it at the
time, though several women were in sight and
witnessed the abduction. She, however, had
not removed anything else, and where the child
was lying were seen a mans shirt and drawers,
woman nlght-gown, of coarse material, an
envelope filled with letter paper written on, a
package of Ayers pills and loose box of the
same, a bottle of hair oil, an empty bottle and
several bottles of liquors and bitters, a vial of
indelible ink, package of lead pencils, per-
fumes, soap, matches, several boxes of caps, and
articlces looking like the spoils
of drug store. The police took charge of the
articles, and Mr. Ryan mounted horse, which
he borrowed from one of the spectators, and
STARTED IN PURSUIT,
accompanied by officer Cole on foot, in different
directions. Three persons saw the body, Mar
tina Steele white, Nancv Alexander and So
phronia Jones, colored, who all testified to hav-
ing seen the string around the infants neck and
expressed their belief that it had been murdered
by an unnatural parent. The woman who ap-
peared so suddenly and mysteriously and made
off with the body was described by the children
as being good looking with long black hair"
but they had never seen her before and of course
did not know who she was.
THE MYSTERY UNEXPLAINED.
After long and fatiguing hunt, the officers
were compelled to abandon the search as fruit
less. and returned to the city. Who the un-
natural mother is cannot even be conjectared,
but from the quantity of druggists supplies
found, it is probable that she was attended in
her sylvan accouchment by a lover as depraved
as she was, Who perhaps tied the fatal moose that
hur<ied a soul to eternity which, living would
nave been a source of shame to them.