Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1893-07-22
THE ELLIS HORROR.
Appalling Fate Of a Young White
Girl Near Ennis, Tex.

Girl Near Ennis, Tex.
The little town of Ennis, in Ellis
county, Tex, was thrown into terri
BILE state of excitement yesterday
morning, over the fiendish outrage
and brutal murder, committed upon
the person of young and defenseless
white girl, about three miles East OF
Ennis. The victim was barely SIX
teen years of age and the daughter OF
respectable Bohemian farmer, NAM
ed Kari Cervinka, residing with his
family of nine children on the Joe
Boren farm.
Thursday afternoon the girl, whose
name was Franceska, was told by her
parents to take one of the horses to
the creek, nearly mile from the house,
and give him drink. The girl readi-
ly complied, and mounting the animal,
rode away. About an hour later, or
about O'Clock, the horse returned
without rider carrying only scrap
of the dress the girl wore, which was
caught in the saddle.
The road from the house to the
creek winds around lane and through
timbered bottoms as it tnears the creek.
Fearful of what had happened the
father aroused the neighbors in the
community and search for the miss
ing girl was at once begun.
Ceaseless and untiring in their eff
forts, the searching party worked all
night. The father, half frantic with
grief, was no longer able to lend a
helping hand in the search of his
daughter,
One of the other party, however,
noticed two arms sticking out above
the water in the creek, and upon
closer examination found the nude
body of Franceska, with only remnants
of her clothes clinging to her shoul-
ders. The rest of the body was bare
and bore evidence of a personal COM
bat with her ravisher.
The brute evidently overpowered
his victim by strangling her, as finger
marks were found around the neck
which lacerated the flesh by the nails
cutting deep into it. On the back of
the head were three deep gashes made
with batchet.
The shoulders were horribly bruis-
ed and the features distorted. Her
brown hair was torn from her head.
The left ear was half torn of, showing
that the deed was only second to those
perpetrated by Jack the Ripper in the
Whitechapel districts of London.
At 10 o'clock excited men were
seen on the street corners, eagerly
discussing the probable fate of the
murderer and rapist. The feeling
ran high and when some one suggest
ed "the fate of the negro, Henry Smith,
the stake" a party of men then made
a rush for horses and formed them
selves in squads to start in pursuit OF
the murderer or murderers and
avenge the wrong committed upon an
innocent girl.
AT o'clock Thursday afternoon
the Sheriff of Ellis county and his
Deputies arrested Abe House., a negro
living near the scene of the crime and
who is known to have had grudge
against the father of the dead girl
The negro arrested, on suspicion Of
being the perpetrator of the horrible
crime, is a tall mulatto, about five feet
ten inches high, of muscular proper
tions. He seemed very much con
cerned about his safety and asked the
sheriff to protect him from violence
His clothing were stained with BLOOD
and his vest was besmeared with mut
about the region of the stomach. A
blood-stained pistol was found in hi
pocket and his shirt was torn in sew
eral places. lie was seen around th'
Bohemian's farm by several parties
and it is supposed that this, coupled
with the knowledge that he had
spite against Cervinka, caused tn
officers to make the arrest.
A later report from Waxahachie 1
to the effect that the negro, ABB
House, was landed safely in the coun
ty Jail.
L