Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1895-01-18
MisCtllauenns.
THE GIRL In WHITE.

Fully twenty years have passed since
Lizzie Clark. an orphan with heritage,
disappeared from hotel in Dali City,
ILL.,, as completely as if the earth had
swallowed her up. In all that western
country there has never been stranger
case than the disappearance 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. A guar
diaa had been appointed, and Lizzie,
being ambitious to add to her little
store, set about to work in hotel hard
by the rivers edge, Through the dining
room of the hotel runs the line between
Hancock aud 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 offenss 10 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 twenty
years ago thai Lizzie Clark, who had
been washing dishes in the kitchen,
stepped out into the yard of the hotel.
She was seen to leave tho 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 stif1ed moan, no strug-
Cling, but there are people yet living
who believe that the girl was suddenly
seized, strangled, concealed in the house
until dark and then cast into the dark
river. Be that as it may, the murder
ers, if they remained in the same local
ity 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 her
self, and that her ghost is not one of a
murdered persons, but one of a suicide
All one can gain from the different stories
and theories is that the girl was dealt
with foulIy 10 some manner, and that
her ghost still hauuts the locality 49,
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 girls estate turned her money
and property over to the county author
tiles, in whose hand it remains to this
day because there is no kith or kin to
claim il.
The girls ghost was first seen in De-
ccmber, 1887, when party of duck
hunters were returning to Dallas City
from the islands An excursion steamer
had become disabled late in tho season
and was lying on the bank of the island
across the bay She was in a rathe
bad fix 1t was expected TO leave her
there during the winter AS the hun
ters neared the craft form in white was
seen to run out on the deck. It was a
young girls figure, and she was evil
IDENTIFY being pursued, for from across
the water came screams, and the follow
ing words: LEAVE me alone, leave me
alone, or | will drown myselfP With
that the spccter flung itself into the
river. There was splash, and the cold
waters closed over the white body. Sew
eral times daring 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, workmen and
stsamboatmen 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 sh,
was buried on the island after the muir
der.
Of later years, however, the girl,
ghost has been seen in n skif at night
and it was only few evenings ago tn a
one of the st. Louis and St. Paul fas
steamers ran into the spectral thing
The pilot did not see the ghostly eraf
until too late lie says he saw a boa
Of white that looked more like floa tin
fleece than anything else In the boa
was young girl in white raiment, bu
there were blood clots on the whit
dress. "She was rowing swiftly. Whe
the PROV Of the steamer struck this frli
craft, it cut through it like mist TIL
ghostly occupant Snly laughed a sort q