The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-02-20
A TERRIBLE CRIME.

Young Lady Set Upon BY Vindictlv@
Ruf1ain at windsor, ILL, and Bound,
Gagged and Hanged to a Cherry Tree
Timely Rescue BY a Brother of the VIC
tiIn--The Young Lady In "a Precarious
Condition.
WINDSOR, Ill.,, Feb. l4.-Miss Georgia
Aldrdge, daughter of H. H. Aldridge, of
this village, had narrow escape Friday
evening from being hung by an unknown
villain. She was left at home alone, her
father and mother having gone to church.
About nine O'Clock, hearing disturbance
at the barn, she stepped outside to see
about it. She was seized by the scoundrel
in waiting. His evident object was to-
outrage her. A fierce struggle ensued in
which the lady tainted from sheer eX-
haustion. Her aSsailant then gagged her
by thrusting corn cob down her throat
and binding it to its place with vail.
Her hands were pinoned and heavy
bricks tied to them. Her apron was torn
! into strips, and with the strips used with
| the strings as a halter, she was hung up
to limb of cherry tree, her
| feet being three inches from the
| ground. In this condition she was
| left hanging to the tree. She must
have been hanging there some twenty or
| thirty minutes when her condition was
accidentally discovered by her brother,
who was on his way to his own home,
block further on. Hearing noise as OF
some one in distress, he entered his faith
er's yard. He was Mortified to find hang
ing to the tree the apparently lifeless
body of his sister. 1t was quickly cut
down by him and carried indoors. HeI
body was cold, but the presence of very
feeble pulse assured him that life was not
yet extinct. Physicians were quickly
called, and active restorativeS applied.
After two hours rubbing and applications
| of hot irons she began to show
signs of reviving. In the moments of
reviying she would shrek: ooh,
that man! That man! III die first! God
help met" All day she laid in stupor
betwiXt life and death. Her nervous sys-
TEN had received such shock that it may
be days and weeks before she will regain
her right mind and be able to give q clear
account of her trials. She must have
been hanging by the neck for several min.
uteS. On the floor of the room which she
occupied was found a note evidently writ
ten by the would-be raviSher after he had
hung her to the tree and before her
brother discovered her. The letter is
addressed to her father, and with the foul
words erased, of which there were many,
reads as follows:
Old DR.. Aldridge. your daughter is dead. /
believe / did not xiii her. l said would be
even with you and watch my chance a long
time and now think lam mignty nigh even
with you Maybe you think mat every
body is afraid Of you aud your upstart son.
lam not afraid of the dev himself / did
not go to scare her to death. When
lifted her up she was dead. She was scared
to death. did not kill her, but let her go,
DR. Aldridge, look out! SOM men are dan.
gerous. Good.by. You can not find me.
will be TAR off, so remember me. | Will lay
for you and some other folks in this town.
No name was signed to the letter. The
object of writing it is almost ineXplicable.
1t must have been done by the tiend in
the moments of excitement following the
killing. No arrests have been made.
: Strong suspicious are directed against a
: Windsor man. The evidence, while
strong, is purely of Il circumstantial
nature. 1t is important to hear
the young lady's account that
she may give when her mind is
: restored. In this particular, the present
| case resembles the Emma Bond affair.
She can only give detached circumstances
l connected with the assault. Windsor has
fairly famed with indignation because of
/ the outrage. There is an Anti-H orse-Thief
4 Association, which is kind of vigilance
\ committee, A meeting was called for last
=. night to take the outrage into considera.
t ton.
e Miss Aldridge is a young lady, aged
n twenty-four, and is highly respected
o She is of retiring disposition and sell
: dom goes out in society. Tuesday night
/ she chose to remain at home and read to
!, going to the church festival that attracted
e her parents. Being at home alone and
5 unprotected made her an easy prey. The
: house in which the outrage took place is
S in Il thickly settled part OF the town, and
h it is mystery that the scene could have
taken place without alarming the neigh
It bors
d At ten O'Clock last night Miss Aldridge's
5 condition was very much worse than II
n was in the morning. She lies abed in q
r. semi-comatoSe condition, and grave fears
= are entertained that she will not recover
l. from the shock. She no longer has hel
1t intervals of returning consciousness
.e She no longer recognizes her friends al
,r the bedside. Knots of men stand on the
d street talking over the remarkable case.
st Considering the length OF time the vic
d tim hung to the limb of the cherry tree in
s. the nights cold air, it is indeed wonder
ful if not miraculous that she still lives
70 Perhaps 1t is only explainable on the
# ground that her body swung against the
; tree. which does not stand quite vertical
ic and that il partially supported the weight
Al of her body, that would otherwise have
i hanged entirely on her neck.