The Benton weekly record., 1882-12-14
| FIGHtE NTRS. CROSBY WON.
A Woman Beats off a Burglar in
tIidnight sc1ln1e.
Ese pea by ser Little Som 10 Defend
Eer House AsCap Picked Up Leaas
to tHe Arrest ef Private ALIENS
US. a., oa Fort Schuyler.


charge Of burglary ard felonious assault.
The warrant was issued on the affil!ayit Of
Ms. NJ. A. Crosby, wife Of II. B, Crosby,
who lives on the old Stiwell homestead,
Fhrogg's Neck.
Mis-. Crosby told San reporter yester-
lag that she was awakened at 1l54 on Fri
lay night last by tIle house dogs barking,
and got up to see what was the matter.
Her i've children, the Oldest 10 years old,
were asleep. Going down stairs, she found
he dog running around the front rooms Of
the house. Just thea the door bell rang.
.'Wh0's thore?' She asked. There was no
distinct reply. She repeated the question,
and then mans voice said: Il want to
come in; want to see the MASTER"
"You cans see him. she replied;
S'what do you Want?"
~~ He retorted tha5 she would repent it if
she did notlet hin in. With that he went
around to a side door and tried it, Then
he went 70 the conservatory at the back Of
5he house, broke glass il the door, and,
reaching in, unlocked the door.
Mrs. Crosby, meantime, had opened an
upper window and was ringing large
hand belland calling for the gardener and
the hostler, who live in cottages about two
hunIred feet back of the house. Looking
up at her the man said as he went into the
conservatory: "I'll John and Tom you,
I'll kill you if you don't keep STILL"
John and Tom are the names Of the SER
wants she was trying to arouse. In the
conservatory he jumped on a table and
opened a large w:4aav through which he
could stepto the STANDING Of the stair
way. AS he did this the dog, a monstrous
but oVerpetted Siberian, jumped on him,
knocking him down. The children III the
nursery atave were calling for the dog,
and tie man was left alone. He came up
the stairs with q croquet set Ill his hand
that he had picked up in the conservatory.
He was met at the head Of the stairs by
the nurse, Maria. She struck him, she
says, under the left ear with . asmooth,
heavy cane. The blow broke the cane.
Then she ran into the nursery and locked
the door.
Mrs. Crosby had picked up q gun that
wasstanding in q bedroom. She supposed
it was loaded until she snapped it at the
man as he was kicking il the lower panels
Of the nursery door. Seeing that the man
had kicked in the door panels, and meant
to crawl through, she ran around through
another room and into the nursery. As
the man got his shoulders through the
door she dubbed the gun, and struck him
on the shoulder, breaking the stock Of the
gun short off. Then, thinking the gun
useless for a weapon, she dropped it.
AS the man arose she caught him by the
neck aud shoulder, and hit him blow in
the right eye with her fist. lie seized her
BY the face, his thumb il one corner Of her
mouth ana his fingers spread from her
right ear down under the jaw. Then he
threw her across the foot OF a bed. She
wrenched his hand from her face, rolled
him off, and, catching him by the collar,
showed him through the door and sent him
zumbing down the stairs.
During this struggle, Willie, alad Of
seven yeats, manfllly helped his mother
by kicking, pounding, biting the man, and
pulltng his hair vigorously, saying as he did
50: "Oh, mamma, he'll kill you, he'll kill
you! but I'll help YOU" 1Lrs. Crosby is
positive the boy scratched the man on one
side Of lis nose.
When she had sent the man rolling
,town the stairs she thought Of a pair Of
pistols in a case In the front room. She
found the case locked, but pried it open
with a knife. As she got to the head of
the stairs with the pistols the man saw her
an ran. He reached the conservatory
door, near the foot Of the stairs, and pull
ed the door knob off IN q effort to get out.
Then he ran up TO the stair landing and
jumped out where he had come in.
ALI through the fight the nurse and the
children had screamed continually, but
unsuccessfully, for John and Tom. They
had also kept the dogin 4 side bedroom,
% that he was notable to help Mrs. Crosby.
After the man had got away from the
house the two servants woke up, but
could not find him.
The next day, Saturday, Mrs. ECrosby
went before Justice Bible at Vest Chester
and swore out a warrant. She described
the man as tall and slender, with light
moustache and light, smallside whiskers.
He was dressed indark clothes. Constable
Bradley arresteda 4 yi1Iager, but Mrs. Cros
bT said he was not the man. In the course
oftile day the dog was found playing will
j soldiers cap III the yard. Constable
Bradley, having been notified of the find
Went. Il Fort Schuyler Sunday afternoon
and laid tie case before Major Jackson
who Is in command. on soldiers hae
been out Of the fort On a spree Friday nigh
| George Allen was one ofthem. He cam
back without his eap, and With ablack eye