River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-10-27
A BRUTE.
\ Horrible Deed Committed in south
ern Illinois and the Murderer Al
lowed 90 Escape.

\ Horrible Deed Committed in south
ern Illinois and the Murderer Al
lowed 10 Escape.
The sheriffof Union county, ILL.,, says:
"a liberal reward will be given by citi-
zens, and doubtless $500 by the govern
or, for the arrest of Samuel HaZen Tor
the murder of Mollie Dalton, child
six years old, on the 3lst day of Aug
ust, 1881"
The Farmer and Fruit Groper, pub
lished at Anna, in the same county,
says: The scene Of this crime was III
that rugged portion of Union county
six miles east of Dongola, at the house
of woman named Nancy Keller. The
parties to the transaction were Woman
by the name of Dalton, mother of the
murdered child, the woman Keller,
William Hazel, brother of the MUIR
derer, and Samuel Hazel, the brute
described above, who is said TO be
former inmate of the penitentiary.
None of the parties mentioned bear the
best of regulations.
VIM. Hazel lived with the Keller wo-
man, and on the nighU of the murder,
August 81, was there with his brother
and the Dalton woman and her child.
After o'clock the two men went to the
premises of a neighbor, widow, and
stole four chickens The woman came
out and objected and was shot at by one
of the men, the ball grazing her face.
They took the chickens to the house
where the women were, and had some
of them prepared for supper. Sar1. Ha-
eel had ordered little Mollie Dalton not
to go to sleep, and she replied: "Me
won't" After supper the child began
to nod and the brute would slap her
face to keep her awake. His rough
treatment at last made the little girl
cry, when he seized a cowhide and COM
menced beating her. This he kept up
for an hour and half, and the effect
on a tender child of six years may well
be imagined. He then sent her out to
gather kindling wood for the fire, ana
after short time shouted; "Mollie,--
you, where are your" The child
out in the dark replied: "Here me-"
Hazel then went into the
yard and commenced kicking
her. He brought her into the house
and kicked her from one side Of the
room 10 the other like a ball. He
stamped the little form until no sign Of
live was apparent, and one of the
women said: "Mollie is gone" EYES,"
replied the lend, "to hell head fore
most" After a while, as if realizing
the enormity Of his crime, he brought
some water and tried to restore the lit
tie one to life. Finding that this failed,
he took burning brand and held it to
her foot, saying with an oath that he
would "see whether she was dead or
not" This brutal experiment also fail
ed to restore consciousness, and about
5 o'clock on Thursday morning, Sept. ],
Mollie Dalton died.
Samual Hazel, the perpertrator of
this, the most cruel and cOwardly muir
der ever committed in southern Iii
nois, was allowed to escape in broad
daylight, a fact which does not speak
well for the citizens of that portion of
the country. Tardy information was
furnished to the officers in this city, and
all they could do vas to strike the trail,
but every effort will be made to cap
ture this demon. VIM. Hazel, the
brother who stood by and the life beat
en- out of the child, is in Jail in this
city.