The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-04-07
BURGLARY AND ASSAULT
The Home Of John W. Allen Is En-
tered and the Owner
Assaulted.
A Hatohet Used With Serious
Effects on the Sleeping
Mans Head.
Tho Thief Secured All the Jewelry That
Was In Sight. but Overlooked
the silver.

tho 1hlek Secured All the JeWelry That
Was In Sight. but Overlooked
the silver.
John W. Allen. the assistant melter at
the United States assny Office. IL lying NJ
his home. 80 Broadway. with a serious
wound In his head, while his wife 10 out
several articles of jewelry. all of which il
laid to the operations Of a burglar. who
visited them at an early hour yesterday
morning. Tho assault on MI. Allen ap-
pears to have been without motive. - he
had not been awakened by the movements
Of the intruder and knew nothing Of the
robbery until after the burglar had hit him
In the head with the butt end of a heavy
hatchet and made his escape. Mrs. Alien,
who was awakened by the buraler dropping
the hatchet on the bed after he had as
sailed Mr.. Allen. says she caught only an
indistinot view of the man a. he ran stoop.
ing from the bedroom. DR.. j. j. Lesser,
who attended Mr.. Allen, found an
indentation in the right side
of the head a little above and behind the
ear. The bone was depressed and the scalp
cut. The injuries. the doctor thinks, will
not result in anything moro serious than
confinement to bed for some time. The
burglar secured q ladies' gold watch and
chain, a silver fob chain and pendant, q
ring set with moonstones and emeralds, q
bracelet and an engagement ring set with
diamonds and pearls; also a plush coat and
. small sum of money. He overlooked a
lot of silverwnre in the cupboard. though it
10 possible he may have meant to continue
his search, but was forced to fee for fear
Mrs. Allen would give the alarm after he
had awakened her.
The affair happened somewhere about
i've O'clock yesterday morning. The house
II a neat brick cottage. corner Broadway
and shiland street. The Allen family do
not use the second floor at all, az the lower
door is sufficient for them. From the
porch, which occupies the west half Of ths
front of the house. entrance is had to the
hall. To the left OF the hall Is the parlor.
and in the rear of that ia the dining room.
On the right of tho dining room is the bed
room occupied by Mr.. and Mrs. Allen and
the baby. To the rear of the dining room
is the kitchen, and on the right of that il a
bedroom occupied by the two larger chill
dren. The burglar entered the house from
the rear door OF the kitchen. Some think
he caught the butt end of the key with a
pair of nippers and thus unlocked the
kitchen door. As the key was found on the
kitchen floor several feet from the door.
the most plausible theory is that the man
fooled with tho key from the outside
until he got it In the proper position and
then pushed it out and used one Of his own
to unlock tho door by. TIL trausom over
the kitchen door was also open, as II an
entrance had been attempted in that way.
From the kitchen the idea is that the visitor
snonnl tNt1 khn liufro ~ n@I khnpNn
into the sleeping room OF Mr.. and Mrs.
Allen. II had been up with the baby about
five O'clock" says Mrs. Allen. "lhe child
had been restless during the night, and
when l went back to bed again l was tired
out that ] fell asleep. The gas had been
was kind of d'owsing when it seemed as if
some one was leaning over me. 1t did not
awaken me, however. Suddenly something
fell across my feet and ] awoke and sat up
in bed; AS did so a man suddenly
dropped on all fours near the foot of the
bed and went out of the room in that
position. The superstition IL that he loft
by way of the kitchen. l could only get an
indistinct view Of him. ms the gas had been
turned out and the blinds were drawn
petty we'll down" Mrs. Allen sought to
awake her husband, who sat up in a dazed
sort of way. and feeling a wound in tho
side of his head, exclaimed that he had
been shot Seeing the Ratchet lying
across the foot of the bed. Mrs. Allen con
j~ectured that her husband had been struck
had been done by the man she had seen In
the room. Mr.. Allen, still somewhat dazed.
ran out to the front porch and gave the
alarm. by this time the man had made
good his escape by way OF the kitchen and
the back fence.
bureau drawers had been riled and the
light articles Of jewelry carr led off. A
closet in the room had also been entered
n Mrs. Aliens plush coat stolen, That
none of the silverware In the dining room
was taken is accounted for on the theory
when no aroused Mrs. Allen. The Ratchet
with which the assault was committed wal
one belonging in the house. 1t had been
left standing in a corner OF the kitchen.
The superstition of Mrs. Allen is that the
burglar took that along with him to use as
awake. She thinks the man. having COM
pletod his search of the bureau drawers
n having rifled MIR. Aliens trousers OF
all the small change in tho pockets. came
around to her side of the bed in order to
see II some jewelry or money were hidden
under the pillows; that in making the seurch
he disturbed Mr.. Allen. who Is q heavy
sleeper; that Mr.. Allen turned over, and the
man. thinking no was about to awake, hit
him with the butt end OF the hatohet; that,
having done this. the burglar dropped the
this which Mrs. Allen thinks aroused her,
For ought she knows the man may have
been in the house at The time when she was
up with the baby. 1t was about five O'Clock
when Mrs. Allen. was aroused. At that
time ii was daylight. The chances are
that any one on an expedition OF the kind
would have begun earlier in the night, So
1t is extremely likely that the man had
been in the house quite a while before he
found IL necessary to attack Mr.. Allen.
The police were of course notified and nil
outgoing trains were watched yesterday.
Butcher Il BRADLEY. 105 Broadway. have inst
received q large now line of stamped linens.
Crockery and glassware can be honrht at Thu