The San Francisco call., 1896-02-10
WILL METE OUT JUSTICE.
If the Law Fails They Propose
to Take the Case in Their
Own Hands.
NEW CLEWs ARE DISCOVERED.
Lulu May Hollingsworth Burns an
Impor ant Letter in the Pres
ence of Officers.

GREENCASTLE, IND, Feb. 9-There
was much excitement here to-day when it
became known that the headless trunk of
Pearl Bryan had been brought from Gin
cinnati al late hour last night and de-
posted in the vault at the cemetery near
the town. During the day large crowds
went to the cemetery and viewed the
casket through the iron gratings of the
vault door. Among those were many who
knew the murdered girl from infancy and
strong men shed tears of sympathy when
the father, mother, brother and sisters ar
rived at the cemetery and entered the
vault. Mr.. and Mrs. Bryan were almost
prostrated and the cries of the brother and
sisters could be heard on the outside of the
vault. Many present were those who had
been the younger associates OF Pearl
Bryan, and as the terrible affair was dis
cussed the excitement became as intense
as on yesterday when William Wood fed
from the town to avoid summary ven-
geance at the hands OF the exasperated
populace.
While the parents were in the vault,
there was separation of the older from
the younger class of men, and there was a
whispered conversation, whose import was
kept from the others who had assembled
at the cemetery. 1t was learned later in
the day that twenty-seven of the young
and middle-aged men of the city had
pledged themselves by solemn promise
to avenge Pearl Bryan's death by their
own hands if the law failed to mete out
death to the murderers. The organization
formed to-day is but the nucleus of one
that is to be organized for the purpose of
avenging the crime.
CINCINNATI, ONO, Feb. 9.-The only
new development in the Fort Thomas
murder case to-day was the finding of
hat and bloody handkerchief, which have
been identified as the property of the dead
girl. The detectives, however, are impene-
trably silent as to where or how these ar
ticles were found.
Unlike all their former ciews they are
wonderfully mysterious over the new find.
It is thought the articles have furnished
an i'm portant clew, which the officers will
jealously guard until run down.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND, Feb. 9. = City
Marshal Starr of Greencastle early this
r" stating that Lulu May Hollingsworth
vi tlllS CIby AdQ hLOWlSQRc VI tlS uluTQST
OF Pearl Bryan that would be valuable to
the State, and to see her at once. The
letter was so candid that it impressed the
official, and he came at once to this city,
and with the aid of the police located the
Hollingsworth girl at Henry street.
As Starr and the detective entered the
room the girl seemed to divine the cause
OF their coming. and, walking to an open
CRATE, she threw letter into the fire. 1t
burned in an instant, and it is believed
that valuable evidence was thus destroyed.
The girl was then closely questioned,
and after much hesitation SAID that she
was at the Union Station on January %
and there met Pearl Bryan, who had just
come in from Greencastle. The meeting
was accidental, she said, but she had
known Pearl at Coates College. Pearl told
her of her trouble ana the two went to sew
eral drugstores, where they procured some
medicine.
She declared that the meeting with the
Bryan girl was accidental, but confessed
under pressure that there was an ''affair"
between her and Jackson and the MUIR
dered girl, The latter, she said. took the
medicine. She believed the girl took the
medicine, and that Jackson went to his
room and found her dead and then cut off
her head to conceal the crime.
The police now believe that Wood came
here and arranged for the Hollingsworth
girl to meet Pearl Bryan at the depot and
procure the medicine for her. When
shown the initials to the letter that Starr
had received she said the writer was Hal
&. Ratcliffe, q travelling salesman of Bos-
ton. Radcliffe left here this morning.
Lulu Hollingsworth Is a daughter of j.
Fl. Hollingsworth. ex-Treasurer of Knox
County, and fled from Coates College some
three years ago, causing much alarm
among her friends. She was afterward
found in this city, where she had taken
service as domestic.
It is believed that the letter destroyed as
the police entered the house was from
yoo1