The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-08-02

heard q scream on the bridge about $40
Saturday night, about 80 or 40 yards
distance. Ran as fast as possible to
where the scream issued, and heard
splash in the river; met a man about Is
or 90 yards from the end of the bridge
who said woman had jumped into the
river | asked him if he knew her, he
said not; the woman then came to the
surface of the water and called for help.
| called to James Cazatte. engineer on
the bridge, to lower the boat as woman
was overheard; he lowered the boat and
started for the woman. but did not reach
her as she
E. SANK OUT OF SIGHT.
The woman rose twice after the first
time she called for help: the third time
she attempted to call, but we could not
understand what she said The night
was dark and | could not see her; could
only tell where she was by her screams.
| Think the woman went overheard 90 or
25 yards from the south end of the bridge.
After the man said he did not know the
woman, two men who did not know
| came from towards the Davenport end,
and told me had better hold the man
The man was very anxious to get away
and go towards Rock Island told him
he would have to wait until it was in.
vestigated, took him to the guard
house at the south end of the bridge. On
the way to the guard house | asked him
what kind of woman she was, and he
said she was big, stout woman. After
he got into the guard house he said there
was no use going any further; she
WAS MY WIFE,
but haven't lived with her for over a
year He said he was working in Mus
catine. and he got letter from Daven>
port that she was going to Chicago with
another man, so he came to Davenport
and about the first woman he met was
her lie spoke to her and told her what
he had heard, and she said it was so; be
| told her then come over to Rock Island
and we will get divorce" She said
"sll right. will 90 with ycu;" she came
along onto the bridge toward Rock ISL
and, they got within 80 or 40 yards from
the guard house at the south end, when
she asked him to go over and see If that
young soldier was on post there; he told
her to go herself; she said mo, you &c"
He started to 60 and had gone only a
short distance. when he heard a
scream and turned around and
saw that she had jumped over.
board into the river. | met the man
on the west side of the bridge and sup>
posed the woman jumped over on that
side. | heard only one scream, which
was on the bridge, as | ran about eight
yards after | heard the scream before
heard the splash in the water. When l
got to the man he was perfectly cool;
after consulting with Cazatte, conclud-
ed to take the man to the guard house at
| the main entrance to the island. He said
| he would not 90 into a dark room;
told him he would have to go where be
was put; he said well | won't co." |
then took him by force to the guard
| house. Nelson. the foreman, went along
with me. | turned him over to c. B.
Knox. the guard there, and went back to
nv post. The two men We met on the
| bridge remained al my guard house until
Nelson and returned from the main en-
trance. Cazatte took their names. The
scream on the bridge was
| sHRILL SCREAM.
The man was perfectly calm during all
the excitement. This occurred nearer the
south end of the bridge than the boiler
house on the draw | don't know
whether they could see me at the guard
house from where they were on the
bridge Those two men came up to me
before she came up the second time, so
that they must have been near. asked
him why he gave no alarm. and he made
no reply.
DR.. Samuel C. Plummer being duly
sworn, said: Il examined the body of
the deceased, said to be Della Boettger,
and found no external marks of violence
on her body except there were two little
scratches on left side of neck, little be-
low left ear; these were recent scratches.
There was nothing about the appearance
of the body to indicate that death came
from any other cause than drowning. 1t
is possible that the scratches could have
been made by finger nails. nothing exist
ed to indicate choking.
Chas. n Lewis, of Davenport, being
duly sworn, said he knew the deceased
during her life time. She was married
woman; her husband had left her; she
worked for my mother last fall her child,
aged ID months, died last August. She
said that her relations with her husband
were not agreeable, that
HE ABUSED HER
and she could not live with him; was a
very bright woman; was Is years old
when she was married. | last saw her
alone last Wednesday at my mothers,
Her reputation for chastity so far as l
know was good.
August Peterson, fisherman of Daven-
port, being sworn, said: II found the
body of deceased; did not know her