Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-10-17
THE GIRL IN WHITE.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF LIZ zlE CLARK TWENTY YEARS AGO.

ANYWAYS Arxayed An white town
 Fully 20 years have passed since Liz zie Clark, an orphan with heritage, disappeared from hotel in Dallas City, Ills. as completely as if the earth had swallowed her up. Ill all that western country there has never been a stranger case than tho disappearancoo of that girl, and there has never been a greater ghost mystery than has been and still is occa- stoned by the evidently disembodied spirit of the girl
 The story of Lizzie Clark has been county history. She was an orphan and had some property and money. 4 guard ian had been appointed. and Lizzie. being ambitious to add to her little store. set about to work in hotel hard by the river 8 edge Through the dining room of this hotel runs the line between Hancock and Henderson counties, so that often a guest reached from Han cock into Henderson county when after butter. A country swain and his lass. if seated opposite each other at this board, are in different counties Many a man wanted for some offense in Han cock county has sat at this table in Hen derson county and grinned at the sheriff of Hancock county.
 1t was one afternoon about 90 years ago that Lizzie Clark, who had been washing dishes in the kitchen, stepped out into the yard of the hotel. She was seen to leave the kitchen by several working around the house, who paid no attention to the girl, but that was the last ever seen of her. Those who saw her step out into the yard heard no scream. no stified moan, no struggling, but there are people yet living who be- ieve that the girl was suddenly seized, strangled. concealed in the house until dark and then cast into the dark river. Be that as 1t may. the murderers. If they remained in the same locality long. have been amply tormented since.
 1t Is said that the murderers did not leave the locality for some time there after. and yet. again, others say the girl was never murdered, but drowned herself. and that her ghost Is not one of murdered person g. but one of 8 sui. eide All one can gain from the differ ent stories and theories Is that the girl was dealt with foully in some manner. and that her ghost still haunts the To- oality. Of course every effort was made to ferret out the mystery. Detectives hunted high and low, money was spent to no purpose. and finally the guardian of the girl 8 estate turned her money and property over to the county authori- ties, in whose hand it remains to this day because there is no kith or kin to claim 1t.
 The girl 8 ghost was first seen in De- cember, 1887. when & party of duck hunters were returning to Dallas City from the islands. An excursion steamer had become disabled late in the season and was lying on the bank of the island across the bay. She was in rather bad fix. It was expected to leave her there during the winter. As the hunters neared the craft form in white was seen to run out upon the upper deck. It was B young girls figure, and she was evidently being pursued, for from across the water came screams, and then the following words: Leave me alone, leave me alone, or l will drown my selfp' With that the specter flung itself into the river. There was splash, and the cold waters closed over the white body. Several times during that winter the ghost of Lizzie Clark was seen at night and at early candle light around the disabled steamer. When the steamer was taken away the next spring, work men and steamboatmen heard pitiful screams from the willows on shore as the boat moved away. The spirit did not leave the island, and it Is believed now that she was buried on the island after the murder.
 Of later years, however, the girls ghost has been seen i'll 8 skiff at night, and is was oniy few evenings ago that one of the St. Louis and St. Paul fast steamers ran into the spectral thing The pilot did not see the ghostly craft until too late. He says he saw a boat of white that looked more like floating fleece than anything else In the boat was young girl in white raiment. but there were blood ciots on the white dress. "She was rowing swiftly. When the prow of the steamer struck this fraii craft, 1t cut through it like mist. The ghostly occupant only laughed sort of uncanny laugh--a half scream--and when we had passed l saw the spectral craft dancing on the waves behind. doubt if an ordinary skiR could have lived in the waves of our steamer. right under the paddles. Thus spoke the pilot, and he is man of few words and sterling integrity.
 Have you seen Lizzie Clark boat?" is now tho question that goes from one mouth to another during the summer season The question Is not asked so of ten in winter from the fact that the poor girls spirit does not seem to roam so much. Hunters have come into Dal- las shaking with fright and calling for 8 dram to brace their nerves, saying that while coming down from the is- lands above on the foe they had met Liz- zie Clark walking rapidly toward them. She always wears that white dress. and the blood stains on tho neck are plain. The girl s eyes are always staring wide open as if she were being suffocated. Her spirit has been known to step out from behind clump of dead trees at the head of the island and face passers- by She will give them a terrible look