The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-04-06
A DEADLY PERIL.
!. Woman's story of Her Treatment by
Two Robbers.

TWO EODDerss
Recently was published the story of
the express robbery in Missouri and of
the manner in which the robbers bound,
gagged and carried woman who had
become cognizant of their crimes over
the bridge at st. Louis; OF how, in q
moment of supreme agony, when about
to be hurled over into the Mississippi
river, with an iron weight attached to
her, she displaced the gag from her
mouth and raised an alarming cry that
caused the villains to leave their victim
and seek safety for themselves in fight.
The st. Louis Repubhca an adds this Sc
quel to the story: lHelt
Edward Deal, alias Wilson, one of the
North Missouri express robbers, arrived
from Cincinnati, in charge of an officer
Deal is mere youth, TALL rather light
build and of nota pleasant countenance.
About eleven o'clock the colored woman
whom the robbers tried to murder, be-
cause of her knowledge of their crime,
was brought to the court. Deal was led
before her, and at the first glimpse of
him she burst out in furious and most
unmistakable identification. "That's
him. That's the villain who put therub-
Der ball into my mouth Oh, let me at
him Oh, you rascal! !" and at him she
would have dashed then and there had
she not been restrained by detective
Deal, before being led in, pulled his
slouch hat down over his eyes and hung
MS head in the most ablect manner, but
said never a word. He was sent back to
his cell, and the woman then begun to
relate in more detail than she had for
merly given the events of that terrible
Sunday when she for hours heard plans
for her murder deliberately discussed.
Her description was mostvivid of how,
when she opened the door of the room
and came upon the men dividing their
spoils, they hastily covered the money
with blanket, pounced on her, locked
the door and gagged her; then, after q
few moments consultation, they strip
ped her entirely naked, and bound her
hand and foot, leaving her lying on the
floor. Then came the frightful discus
sion as to whether they should shoot
her, cut her throat, or drown her, it be-
ing an agreed fact that either course
must be pursued. She was particularly
vindictive toward Deal, because he was
up to that time total stranger to her,
and yet he was the moskabusive to her,
and insisted on putting pistol in her
mouth and blowing her brains out, and
then leaving her in the room. She says
he would occasionally come up to where
she was lying and kick her in the ide OF
head by way of a joke, making some
jovial remark meanwhile. Once he
measured the coal box to see whether
her body could be slowed in it, and then
walking up to her he measured off her
body, showing that it would be neces-
sary to cut her into three pieces, the last
cut coming just where her head joined
her neck. When he reached this point
he drew his finger nail across her neck,
scratching mark to cut her by, as he
told her. They threw her ou to the
bed, then rolled her off on to the floor
and applied chloroform several times,
evidently desiring to stupefy her by
bruises, without drawing blood. Deal
at one time paced up and down the floor,
with hands behind him, giving his ideas
as to how the murder had best be done,
and every time he came to where she was
lying he gave her kick. as though it
facilitated his reasoning. Once he
stopped down, took lot Of her hair off
and threw it into the stove, laughing at
the way it burned. Then, seeming to
like that sort of joke, he held her
mouth open while he took out her set of
false teeth, which he also threw into the
stove, relnarking diabolically that he
"never knew a nigger's teeth would
crackle like that" After the men tired
out of this, they relieved each other
while they went to dinner, and finally,
just after dark, one of them put her on
his back, they having dressed her in
mems clothes, and carried her down to
the buggy to take her to the bridge for
drowning purposes.