Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-03-05
A BOLD CRIME.

An Outrage at Windsor, Ill, Riyaling the
Celebrated Emma Bond Casc-.A Young
Lady Taken from Her Fathers Resi-
dence by an Unknown Villain and
Hanged to II Trce-She Is Rescued in
Time to Save Her Life-Her Story of the
Terrible Adventure - Several Theories
Regarding tho Motive for the Crime.
WINDSOR, ILL.,, Feb. 15.-This village and
the surrounding country are wild with eN-
element ovcra bold outrage perpetrated
here Friday night. Miss Georgia AID
ridge, hcdaughter ola prominent and rep
utable physician, was lett at her home dur
ing the evening, her father and mothcrhav-
ing gone visiting some neighbors. About
ten o'clock she stepped to the door of her
residence to look for the return OF her par
ents. The night was quite dark. While
the young lady was standing at the door
she was seized from behind, choked into in
sensibility, dragged into the back yard,
and strung up to a tree with a ropearound
her neck. Her hands and limbs were tied
fast, and weights were attached to her
feet.
A few moments after the preparation OF
the sensational crime Miss A%ldridge's
brother returned. He found his sister sus-
pended and seemingly l~ifeless. He cut her
down, and after awhile she recovered con-
seriousness.
Anote was found in the back yard which
stated that the act wasdonc to ''get even'
with the young lady's father. There is no
clew to the perpetrator OF the deed. The
father declares that to his knowledg e he has
not an enemy on the earth, and there are
rumors that the bold crime was instigated,
if not committed, by a young man whose
offers OF marriage had beon rejected by
Miss Aldridge.
Miss. Aldridge regained consciousness yes
tcrday noon. She had lain in a stupor for
thirty-six hours. She is still in q very pre-
carious condition, being completely ex-
hausted from the excitement and the nerv-
Gus shock. She suffers great pain in her
chest and back, and the attending ply
"sicians do not know how the case will ter
inmate.
She can not yet talk much about the
assault and she has no remembrance of her
assailant except chat he was a large
a AS he spoke to her only in a
whisper, she says, she can not possibly
know whether the voice was that OF
any one she knew or not. After she
had been hanging IL few moments, and
while the man was in the house probably
writing the note he left behind him, the
strings by which she was hanging broke
and she iell to the ground. The man
calne back and strung her up to the
tree for the second time. She has no
idea how long she hung to the tree.
1t seemed to her an age, she says. She
thinks she remembers hearing some one
who was whistling pass by the house, enter
the yard and cut her down. She can give
no clew that will be OF any service in de-
tecting the guilty man.
Many theories arc advanced, but there is
only weak circumstantial evidence to sup
port them. Windsor people are still wild
with indignation over the affair, and would
not hesitate tomob the guiltyman wcrehis
guilt once established. 1t is Il great disap-
pointment to the Infatuated people thatthe
young woman herself can not furnish any
substantial evidence. The village will Of
fer a reward and the county and State will
be asked to add to ii.