The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-16
COWARDLY CONDUCT.
A Man Gains Admittance to the Girls
Department of the Rock
Island House,
And Attempts to Butcher One of the
Inmates with a Knife..."A
Leap for Life"

WIFI q
Leap for Life."
A MIDNIGHT SCENE.
An affair of q sensational character
occurred at the Rock Island house at 10
o'clock last night, which woke the inmates
from their sleep, and caused the utmost
excitement for short time. A person
passing by the east side Of the house on
Seventeenth street at the hour named,
would have been startled by the screams
of frightened females, and before The
echoes of the cries had floated away on
the midnight air, he would have seen three
ghost like figures leap from a second
story window to the ground below. The
sightswilhin was of more startling ma
ture. In one of the Railways could be
seen rlftlaD-for such We must call him
with long, sharp knife in his hand,
attacking defenseless girl, who was
making frantic efforts 10 escape the blows
aimed at her by her cowardiy assailant.
Finally she escapes to a room, and closes
the door, but before she can lock it,
it is forced open, and the flend
makes desperate downward lunge
with his knife. Moving quickly to
one side, she escapes the blow aimed at
her head, but receives an ugly cash in the
hand, from the effects of which she
swOons aud falls to the floor BY this
time second man appears, and he too,
has knife. Tho men get into an alterca-
ton, and it looks as though more blood
would flow; but they finally separate and
the man who had struck the girl makes
away. lie is afterwards captured by the
police, who march him off to Jail. The
girls who had made the dangerous leap
were assisted into the house, where it was
learned that one of them was quite
seriously injured. The one that had
made the desperate fight for her life had
recovered from the Swoon into which she
had fallen, and they were all given
opiates. which soon put them in sound
sleep, and quiet again reigned throughout
the house.
THE PARTICULARS
An ARGUS representative, in order to
learns the correct particulars had talk
with the participants of the affair at an
early hour this morning. The three girls
who jumped from the window are Rose
Mckay. Susie Russell and Katie VIM
The first named was suffering consdera-
bly, with badly sprained back, but the
Other two were uninjured Mamie Mckay,
who made such heroic fight in the hall
way. says she had been in attendance at
st. Josephs fair, and did not reach the
hotel until about ~ o'clock. After going
TO her room and taking off her wraps, she
went down to the lower hall As she
reached the hall she discovered man,
who had just gained entrance to the
house. Seeing her the fellow started for
her, and before she could get away had
grabbed her. He then drew a long knife,
and threatened TO kill her if she made d
noise. Being strongly built girl, and
full of fight, she broke away from him
and started for up stairs, on the way
grabbing board, with which she dealt the
fellow blow as he came up 10 her again
| By this time she had reached the second
floor, and was near her own room
Here, she hit the fellow again
knocking him down this time. Before be
| could regain his feet she had reached he
room, and closed the door. By this tint
the other girls were thoroughly aroused
and they commenced to scream for help
which brought Henry Tanner, the coloreC
cook, to the scene The girls recognizing
his voice, called TO him, asking if the fel
low had gone. For some unexplained
reason Tanner said there was no one ont
there, whereupon Mamie Mckay opened
the door. and her assailant made anothe
pass at her with the knife, cutting he
hand She fell to the floor in a swoon
and laes not remember anything else tina
occurred. The other three girls thel
jumped out of the window.
Officers Bresnahan and bunker wer
notified, and they instituted search fo
the would be assassin. They at length
found him concealed in the hall, and i'm
mediately took him to the armory. The fe
low gave his name as Albert Crewes, AM
said he lived at Beardstown, being in the
employ of the Chicago, Burlington an
Quincy railroad. He was oily marie,
about six weeks ago. None of the EN-
ployes of the hotel knew him. The girl
say they saw him pass the house abou
half past six o'clock, IN the company O
two other men.
DETERRENT STORY.
Albert Crewes, the young man in ja
for acting so disgraccful at the Rock Isl
and house last night, tells very dlfferen
story from the one given by the girls a
the house. This was naturally to be SUP
posed, and the question now remains
! which is the correct one He is a mic
} appearing young man, and we under
stand his associates on the road speal
, very highly of him. As is too often tn
case, nowadays, he claims that the liquo
he had imbibed, caused him to act as b