The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1871-10-12
From the Nashville Banner, of Sept. IS.
A DEED OF HORROR.
Violation and Murder Of a Respect
able Married Lady Near Madison
Station.
The Throat Of the Unfortunate Vic
tim Cut from Ear to Ear.
Her Body Not Found Until Twelve
Hours After the Tragedy.

road, Blk miles from TINS city, were lnllll
ed with horror late Tuesday night, by
the discovery that one Of the most re-
spectacle married ladies of the locality
had been ravished and brutally murder
ed to prevent the identity OF the fend
ish perpetrator from. being discovered
| Early yesterday morning vague reports
in connection with the outrage and
murder had reached the city, and every
one was eager to learn the particulars
A reporter for the Banner left for Madi,
son at an early hour, to learn everything
in connection with the terrible affair
and gathered the following facts:
About two o'clock Tuesday, Mrs. Sa.
rah Hamblin left her home on horseback
to go by the road leading from thC
DickersOn Pike to the Gallatin Pike, to
neighbors house, in order to have
some carpet-wenving done. Within an
hour afterward, Wash Blithe, colored
man, who was hauling sand over the
same road, discovered the horse running
loose with the saddle on, and as he knew
the animal, mounted and rode it home
Mr.. John Hamblin, husband OF the lady
and the other members Of the household
thought it very strange that the horse
should be loose in that way, and imme-
diately set out to look for Mrs. Hambli
They knew the horse to be perfectly
gentle, and that Mrs Hamblin always
rode slowly, but they did not ut once
suspect the terrible fact which was sub
sequently developed.
After looking for the missing lady
along Tie road and ut nll the neighbors
houses for several hours, the horrible
suspicion Of the fact that she had been
foully dealt with began to dawn upon
them, and soon strengthened into an ab-
solute conviction throughout the COM
munity. Every one turned out to search
the thickets and covert places, and by y
o'clock lights were rejecting from every
hill and hollow for more than mile
around. The excitement heightened with
every minute, aud after a dense thicket
had been thoroughly secured without
any discovery, every one was at a loss to
know what to do next. 1t was finally
determined to look through the corn
field near where the horse had been
caught, but only meagre hope was en-
tertained Of finding the object of seach,
us the entire field was open to view from
three houses, each of them within three
to four hundred yards Nevertheless,
the field was examined, and about l
o'clock yesterday morning Mr.. Polk
Hamblin, q brother-in-law Of Mrs. Ham
bin, came upon her body, lying some
what ON the right SIDE with the knees
drawn convulsiyely together, and the
throat cut from ear to ear. About twelve
feet distant from the body was found q
common shoe-maker's knife with the
blade caked with gore, which made it
evident that this was the instrument
used i'll the murder. Not more than
thirty feet from the body was found the
bonnet the unfortunate woman had worn,
II checked gingham shaker" lying as
though the wcarer had had the back of
her head on the ground when her throat
was cut. The bonnet was tied and the
murderer had cut through its skirt, in-
flicting two severe cuts, severing the
jugular vein, carotid artery and the
windpipe.
The knife is neither particularly dull
nor sharp, but would require strong
impelling force to have made such cuts.
The ground where the tragedy had
been enacted showed every evidence Of
the violent struggle in which the victim
was resisting with all her might the as
sault of the murderer upon her honor.
There can be no doubt whatever that
she was robbed of that which is dearer
than lite before the fend incarnate kill
ed her.
The Gallatin Pike was only two hun
dred yards from the fatal spot, the Lou
isyille and Nashville Railroad was in full
81 5ht, and three houses were in broad
view. Under all the circumstances so
far developed, it is to be inferred that
the two-fold deed OF horror was not pre-
meditated, but that Mrs. Hamblin was
suddenly torn from her horse, dragged
over the fence into the corn6eld and
there violated. She was undoubtedly
murdered to screen the ravisher.
Miss Lou Allen passed along the road
during the evening, and thought she
heard some one call her, and Archie
Cole (colored, who was working all
dny Tuesday in II neighboring piece OF
woods, remembers that he heard some
one calling out about half-past two
o'clock. Mrs. Hamblin had, however,
been dead ut least four or five hours
when her body was found.
Nothing was left undone that could
lead to the detection Of the perpetrator,
but only some vague points of circum-
stantial evidence had been traced up
when our reporter left Madison last
night.
In the field near where the body lay
were found footprints, some of them n
mans and some of them a woman's, as
though the man had lifted his victim
along the most OF the fifty yards from
the fence.
In following the mans tracks as they
led from where the bonnet was found,
and where Mrs. Hamblip had been viO-
lated and murdered, short way off, the
searchers came across her snutf-box and
the pocket of her dress, which had been
torn off. Further oil were some hands,
full of grass, besmeared with blood, upon
which the fend had wiped his hands.
We do not deem it prudent to pub
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