The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-07-09
A HORRIBLE STORY.
A Little Girls Account Of the
Suffering She Endured While
Among the Gypsies.
Taken from an Infrmary and for Five
Years Subjected to Terrible.
Treatment.
Her Escape.


burg, Darke county, o., were horritied
by story told them by a waif calling
herself Cora Dobbins, writes a Shelby
Vile correspondent of The Cincinnati
was so horrible as to create the Wild
est Indignation, and but for the fact
that she would tell some her name was
Cora Dobbns and others Cora Green,
this letter would have been written in
Ohio, with a detailed account of the
manner in which the girls tormentor
was mObbed.
An exceedingly pleasant drive of
some seven miles, going east on the
Michigan road from this place, brings
you to the elegant, not to say palatal,
farm residence of Mr.. Leonard Powell.
This gentleman'S home is surrounded
with all the wealth and luxury that a
successful life brings to the industrious
farmer 1t is Just such a home as all
wish for, but few ever secure. The
beautiful dwelling, the elegant lawn,
the walks, which are bOrdered with the
sweetest flowers, the spacious outbuild-
ings, the herds of fine, sleek kline, with
great fields of Sweet-8cented clover in
full bloom, the fields of waving wheat,
the songs of the birds-make the scene
one worthy of the artists best endeav-
ors. To this elegant home your CORE
Bpondent, this morning, wended his
way, and there heard one of the sad
dest, most shocking, and heartrending
tales that ever fell from the lips of
mortal.
In this beautiful home, taken there
through the act of pure philanthropy,
is now Cora DOolittle, child only IA
years old, who has suffered all the tor
lures ever inflicted on the bravest hero
of the days of the inquisition. As she
stood before me this morning it was
hard 10 believe that her story could
possibly be true, and were it not for the
scars that cover her body, from her
very toes to the crown of her head,
any person would be justified in dsbe-
lieying her. The child is bright in the
ways of the world, but thoroughly ig-
norant as to books. She is not hand
some. neither is she homely, her bright,
sparkling gray eyes being so quick to
see everything that she is rendered at
tractive. Her hair is blonde, complex
ion fair and ruddy, and her build is
strong and elastic. In conversation
she is adroit, and shows the cunning
of the people she has lived with so long
Dressed in a neat, light lawn dress,
with pale blue ribbon at the throat,
the child was neat, and were it not for
a horrible scar across the left cheek and
a bullet wound in the forehead she
would be considered by some as hand
some. This child's mother was Susan
Doolittle, poor, unbefriended woman,
who found her way to the county
asylum, four miles south of here, be-
fore the child was born.
When the little unfortunate babe was
ushered into the world, Mr. Hugh Dob
bins was then superintendent of the in
stitution, and he christened the babe
Cora, and as she grew up the inmates
generally called her Cora Dobbins. 1t
was this fact that made her give the
name Cs Cora Dobbins at Gettysburg.
One evening in 1881, when Henry
Spellman was acting as superintendent
of the asylum, man and woman
walked up to the front door of the
place, and, inquiring for Spellman,
asked him If they had little girl they
could get TO raise. The stranger gave
his real name, that of John EoberIy,
and claimed that the woman was his
wife.
Cora was brought down stairs, and,
her mother now being dead, she was
turned over to Moberly and the woman.
They walked but short distance when
they arrived at place where they had
left covered wagon, and into this they
PET the child and made Off From that
date TO this the girl has been wander
ing over the country with this man in
bands OF gypsies, her travels including
all Of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. The
leader of the gypsies was Sugar
Stanley. brother Of the gypsy queen,
who was buried at Dayton, o., a few
years ago with such great pomp and
eclat
AS soon as the pair who had Cora in
charge were out of harms way, then
gave her to understand that the man
should be called John McVey and the
woman Mary O'Connel In order to
make her more fully appreciate this
command, McVey took small club
and beat her over the head and arms
till she was covered with welts and her
clothing soaked with blood This mode
Of punishment was inflicted so often
that the child's back Is now so covered
with ugly scars that it is impossible to
lay the hand down without covering
one or more Of them. At the least
provocation. and without any cause,
McVey would beat her, and asrthe
child was forced to beg along the road
the more horrible they could make her
appear the greater her ersuccess, so this