The herald., 1895-06-03
HATTIE WOO[STEEN WEDS
An Eight-Year-Old Tragedy Is
Recalled
THE FATE OF "D0C" HARLAN
News From a Letter Received Few
Days Ago
Few Weeks Ago-Minnie Is
With Her Sister
Hattie woolsteen is married.

Hattie Woolsteen is married.
To those who were residents of the
city some eight years ago this intelli-
gence will recall a tragedy which has
never been equaled in the criminal his
tory of this end of the state.
Hattie Woosteen and her sister Minnie
we're two girls, intelligent, vivacious,
and although in the summer of 1887 no
longer young, neither of them were past
the age Of frivolity. To be more precise,
Hattie was at the time mentioned 26, and
Minnie, her siste, about % years old.
Doc Harlan was in those days a
sporting man. He was married and had
been educated as a dentist. Gambling
compelled him to neglect his legitimate
profession until dentistry had become to
him lost art.
Harlan met the two Woolsteen girls and
became upon more or less intimate terms
with both of the sisters. Hattie was
however. his fayorite and the end OF this
chapter in the story was that the gam
bler-dentist overpowered the girl one
night in a Court street resort and Grim
inallY assaulted her. This was the Wool
steen girls story told to jury, and it
acquitted her of a charge of murder.
A barn at Compton was early one
lhOlllillS puIHtd W lne SIOQIQ. anu III
the debris was found the charred remains
of a human being. The supposition was
that a tramp had crawled into the place.
ligh ted a cigarette or pipe, and having
thoughtlessly thrown his discarded match
into pile OF straw, had with everything
in sight, gone out by the crematory route.
Three or four days after the Compton
fire, Mrs. Harlan notified the authorizes
that her husband had not been home
for several nights and she wanted police
assistance in locating him. Patrick
Darcy was then chief and after short
Investigation, he arrested both OF the
Woolsteen girls upon suspicion OF having
made away with Mrs. Harlan's S husband.
Minnie Woolsteen easily proved an alioi
and was after few days released. Hattie
was kept in Darcy's private Office for
over two weeks and not reporter could
get near her to obtain statement.
She was finally landed in :he county jail
upon a writ OF habeas corpus. The
police had in the interim found some
OF Doc" Harlan's valusbles buried in
close proximity to the scene Of the
Compton barn tle. Hattie Woolsteen
did not deny that the chaIred remains
of the Compton fire victim we're those
of Harlan. Neither diu she admit it.
She refused absolutely to make any state
ment whatever upon the subject.
The peculiar police methods in pursu-
won for the accused girl the friendship OF
some OF the church people OF the city.
These provided her with counsel (she had
Tor lawyers q. Wiley Wells and c. c.
Stephens, Esq, deceased), and her trial
in the superior court upon a charge of
murder resulted IN her acquittal. Her
own story, told upon the witness stand.
acquitted her. 1t was to the effect that
Harlan had never informed her that he
was married man, and believing him
single and his intentions honorable, she
had become engaged to him. He bad one
night in the pack room OF saloon,
drugged her liquor and seduced her. HIS
refusal to marry her had goaded her, and
one day during the ride to Compton,
she had threatened to commit suicide.
He took the pistol which she had from
her and during the scuffling the weapon
was accidentally discharged and Harlan
died instantly as the result uf the wound
inflicted Afraid of the consequences and
that her story might not be believed, she
had dragged the body from the buggy in
which they both were, and after deposit
ing it in the barn, had set fire to the out
house and fled from the scene.
The Woolsteen girls after the acquittal
OF Hattie went from here to San Fran
ciscco. Later they returned to Peoria
Sunday William Holland, San Fran
cisco sporting man who is spending a
few days in this city, received letter
dated Lafayette Ind, May 25. 1895 and
signed ''ycur friend Hattie Woosteen
Austin. a copy of which is here given
'Old Friend Will Il am married and
there is peace for me at last. Mr. Aus
tin, whose wife | became on the I'd OF
this month. is an engineer on the c. C.
G. and /. railroad. Minnie is here with
me and sends love. We are all well and
happy"
Holland met the two Woolsteen girls
through Doc" Harlan. the former then
being located here. He befriended Hat
tie after her trial, when she and her sis
ter needed assistance to reach friends at
Peoria. The girl has written him, he
says, since then about once a year and he
had not failed to reply to her letters.
An interesting circum stance in connec-
tion with the whole story is that Doc
Harlan and his wife halled originally
from Lafayette. Ind. They came from
that place to this city andwhenMrs. Harlan
left Los Angeles sne returned to Lafay.
ette. Whether or not the two women
may; be thrown together socially or
as ne ghb bors is conjecture not alto
gether pleasant to think about.