Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-05-13
A CALIFORNIA SENSATION.
Attempted Assassination of Miss
Belle Cook, the Equestrienne.


st. Paul Pioneer Press.l
Yesterday afternoon Col. King re-
ceived letters from a friend at San
francisco containing particulars of a
murderous assault upon Mrs. John M.
Paul, the equestrienne, announced to
run a twenty-mile race with Miss
Jewett, at Minneapolis fair grounds
during the first week in September.
Mrs. Paul is better
KNOWN AS MISS BELLE COOK"
her maiden name, which she retained
whenever she appeared before the pub
lie. The story of the assault is told
in a special telegram from San Jose to
the San Francisco Chronicle, under
date of April 18th, and will be read
with special interest by the people of
Minnesota, The telegram is as fol-
lows:
"On Saturday evening, about s
o'clock, a dastardly attemptwas made
to take the life of Mrs. John NJ. Paul.
who resides in an isolated place about
a quarter Of mile below Mount View
station. 1t appears that Mrs. Paul
was sitting in the kitchen alone, her
children having gone to bed and Mr..
Paul having gone to town to attend a
lodge meeting. She heard a hard
knock at the door, and upon opening
it was confronted b a man, his face
being covered by leather mask. The
man Immediately stepped into the
house and closed the door. He adj
dressed her in Spanish, but Mrs. Paul
informed him that she did not under
stand the language. He then said in
English, L have come to kill you: YOU
know too much about our plans. How
much did old man Martin Murphy
give you for the information you gave
him last year? We intended then to
follow and kill you. | have come now
to kill you Mrs. Paul then fell upop
her knees and begged for life, saving
that she had four children. The ruff
fan replied; 1t is no use, | have
come to kill you Mrs. Paul there.
upon arose, and as she did so the man
FIRED TWO SHOTS AT HER
in rapid succession. One ball passed
through the feshy part of her left
thigh, inficting a painful but not
dangerous wound, and the other bull
let passed through her armpit. caus.
ing an abrasion of the skin. Mrs.
Paul in a moment recovered herself,
and taking a pistol from her pocket.
fired at the assassin but missed. The
scoundrel took the pistol from Mrs.
Pau, who had become exhausted. and
struck her several times over the
head. He then left her. supposinc
she was dead. As soon as Mrs. Paul
recovered consciousness she dragged
herself to the bedside Of her children,
and sent one of them for Mrs. Bah
cock, the nearest reighbor. Mr..
Paul was Immediately hunted IN by
Mrs. Babcock, and when they, ac.
companied by others reached the
place, Mrs. Paul was found insensible,
and apparently dead. DR.. Bradbury,
OF Redwood City, was summoned and
rendered medical aid. The wounds
on the head, inflicted by the blows
from the pistol, are considered serious.
Mrs. Paul
RECOGNIZED THE woULD-BE MUIR
DERER
AS one Of the men who robbed her
house some time ago. 1t was not
customary for Mrs. Paul to carry a
pistol. 1t was usually placed on a
high table, and early on Saturday
evening she was astonished to find it
in the hands of one of the children
Being busy at the table she placed it
in her pocket and thought no more
about it until the attempted murder.
Mrs. Paul is the lady who accidently
discovered the bold scheme to abduct
ex-senator r, w. Murphy. AChron.
icle reporter tonight interviewed
William Paul, the father-in-law of
Mrs. Paul, and cleaned the statement
above given, Mr., Paul says the whole
thing is so strange as to make it hard
for him to credit the statement of
Mrs. Paul, and he is utterly at a loss
to conceive Of any reason for such a
murderous assault. Mrs. Paul is the
Miss Cook whose challenge to female
riders has made such a ripple in east
ern sporting circles, and induced the
Minneapolis trOtting association to
offer a $1,000 prize for an equestrian
contest between Miss Cook and the
eastern luminary.