The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-18
UNDER A SERIOUS CHARGE.
w. WATKINS HELD FOR ATTEMPT
ED CRIMINAL ASSAULT.

Fourteen-Hear-OId Annie MOseIIe
white Alleged TO BE His Victim.
watkins Run Down ny n Crowd OF
CoIored People in Field south of
the Cfty-They Heard the Girls
Screams and Went TO Her Assist
ance.
William Watkins is confined I'm the bar
racks on what appears TO be = very seri-
Gus charge. He is charged with attempt
ing a criminal assault upon Annie Moselie
White a 14-year-old white girl
About ] o'clock yesterday afternoon a
negro named Isaac Fuller. who was work
ing his field south of Twelfth street
heard screams as Of some one crying Tor
help. He ran in the direction Of the out
cry. and saw a little white girl struggling
with a man. Being an old man, Filler
did not feel physically able to interfere
but ran to the house of Hager Bond, near
BY. and asked her TO call the police, that
a white man was assaulting white girl
There was no policeman in sight, and
Filler. accompanied by Hector Coffee, ran
back 10 where the man and the girl We're
They found the man leading the girl
through the tall weeds. The girl was bare
footed and her dress was torn.
Sissy. whats the matter with you, don't
you want to go with that man?' Filler
asked.
NO. I want to go home" replied the
girl.
well, come on then" said Filler.
When he said this the girl broke away
from the stranger and ran off through the
weeds to the Bond woman's house. The
stranger cursed, and said he would kill
Hvsf.. a 20. fa1r
the girl away from him. lie drew pistol
or knife and drove the two men back
He then started off through the fields
There are a number OF negroes living in
this vicinity and the story told by Hagar
and the girl soon gathered a crowd, which
started in pursuit. The crowd was COM
posed of both men and women. They fol-
lowed the man back and forth through the
fields for probably an hour, and finally
caught him between Estill avenue and the
Isle of Hope road Policeman Brantley,
who had heard something of the affair,
came up and the man was turned over to
him. If he had a pistol when the pursuit
started, he had thrown it away. He was
sent to the barracks in the patrol wagon
and the Bond and Coffee woman were
brought in as witnesses. They told their
story to Chief McDermott, who gave the
matter his attention at once.
The Bond woman who appeared to
be very respectable and intelligent, gave
a full account of the affair as she saw il.
When the girl came running to her, she
said, her dress was loosened and the up
per part of her clothing was nearly torn
of. She was barefooted and was crying,
and seemed very much frightened. She
did not appear, Hagar thought, to be
more than u years old. Hagar asked the
girl what her name was and what she
was doing with the man. She re-
piled that her name was Emma and that
she lived on Orange street She said
the man got her to take ride on the
street car, and then made her get off
when they got out south of the city, Ha-
gar thought the best thing to 40 was
to send her home, and so got the con-
ductor of the Belt line car to take charge
of her. The woman seemed much eXer-
cised over the affair, and indignant at
the attempted outrage.
Chief McDermott was pleased with the
spirit shown by the negroes in running
down the would be assailant and placing
him under arrest. The Bond woman did
not know the name of the conductor in
whose charge she placed the girl, and the
chief had her 20 out to the Electric rail-
way Office and find out The first thing
TO do, of course was to ind the girl. 1t
was found that the conductor had turned
her over TO her mother, who lives on
Lincoln street, near Bay. The chief went
there and had a talk with the mother and
daughter. lie found that the girls name
was Anna Moselle White. Her statement
OF the affair tailed with that given by the
negroes. She said she got on the car to
go to her aunts house on Orange street,
and that she met the man Watkins on the
car. He began talking to her and per-
him. When south of Twelfth street she
said he compelled her to get off and go
with him into field, where he attempted
an assault upon her. Her screams at
tracted the attention of the negroes. She
was taken TO the barracks and confront
ed Watkins, whom She Immediately iden-
titled as her assailant. He pretended not
to know her.
Watkins was drunk when he arrived at
the barracks, but not too drunk to know
what hewas doing. He told very lame
story when questioned by the chief. He
said he met the girl on the car and that
she began begging him for a quarter
When they got in the southeastern SUI
burbs she solicited him. he said, to get
off there with her. The girl had reached
in his pocket, he claimed, and gotten S1.35
He got OFF with her and tried to make her
give him back the money. She refused
TO do so and he attempted to take ii away
from her. 1t was then that her screams
attracted the attention of the negroes.
When asked why ii was that he ran
away from the negroes if his story were
true he could give no satisfactory expla-
Watkins said he had lived in Savannah
about sixteen months, coming here from
Wilmington, n. c., and that he boarded
on Broughton street. He was formerly
employed as a carpenter on the river
dredges. He was in trouble in the police
court several months ago for some diff
Guilty he had with a woman.
The case has a very ugly look, but for
tunately for Watkins and unfortunately
for the girl, she is known to be a very
bad child. She has been a street waif
for years. Nearly two years ago some
charitable gentlemen, being attracted by
the bright appearance of the little waif.
offered to place her in a home, but the
mother refused to give her up, claiming
that she needed her assistance at home
1t was shortly after this that the mother
reported that her daughter had been
assaulted by a man who had been living
at their house, a sailor, and that she
had contracted a loathsome disease. An
effort was made to capture the man by
the police, but he is said to have left
the city. The detective did not take much
interest in the matter on account of the
character of the people.