The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-24
MAN WITH A MASK.
He Attacks a Young
Woman on a Lonely
Sterling Road.
OFFICERS HUNTING MISCREANT.
His Description Sent Broad
cast and One Arrest
Made.
OFFICERS HUNTING MISCREANT.

town are intensely excited because of
a criminal assault upon Miss Mary
Baldwin, Is years old. an unusually at
tractive young woman, by an unknown
man who wore mask.
The crime was perpetrated between
and O'clock this morning, on the high
way between Sterling and Pratt's
Function.
Before noon the alarm had been CIV
en- to the police Of all the surrounding
towns by Charles E. Phelps, the chief
constable of the town, who was not in
formed of the crime until nearly three
hours after it had been committed.
Constable Phelps is acting with great
promptness and dispatch.
Miss Baldwin says that she tainted
when the rufian seized her, and that
when she recovered consciousness, some
minutes later-she does not know how
many, there was no one within sight
or hearing.
Parties of citizens are securing the
neighborhood in search of Miss Bald
wins assailant. But the search seems
hopeless tonight. There is very little
ILdI lLS Stu IHOT1LlGS can WOrk upon.
One man has been arrested on Sus-
picion, but has been released. He was
tramp, but he gave an excellent ac-
count Of himself. He was brought
where Miss Baldwin could see him. She
declared that he was not the man. In
deed her assailant seems to have been
well or at least comfortably dressed,
and not, judging by the girls descrip-
ton of his clothing, man Of the wan
dering class.
Miss Baldwin is the daughter Of Mrs.
Kate III. Baldwin. Mrs. Baldwin is
widow. She is employed as a house
keeper by Mrs. R. M. Fitch, who lives
in the village, close to the town hall,
Miss Baldwin had been home on a visit,
She is generally respected here, and is
considered an unusually pretty and
bright young woman. She has spent
most of her life in town, but in October
she secured a position in Leominster
where her home now is.
Below is the story as told to a repre-
sentative of The Spy, this afternoon, by
Miss Baldwin herself. She is girl of
unusual nerve, and is doing her best to
aid in the capture Of her assailant.
Miss Baldwin said: 'This morning I
got up early and put on an old bicycle
skirt and jacket, with the intention of
calling on my aunt, who is the wife of
j. c. Stewart. My aunt lives on the
main road between here and Pratts
Junction, about half way between the
two places. did not eat any breakfast
but got an early start, SO as to take
breakfast with my aunt
i think it must have been between 6
and o'clock when started. 1t was
nearer than and probably after g.
Il am fast walker. 1 think it took
me 25 minutes to get to the culvert.
which is on the road, and about quar-
ter of mile below my aunt's home. AS
I neared the culvert began looking for
four-leaved clover.
4 bent over to pick a stem of the
clover, and as looked up, saw over my
shoulder man beside the road, five or
six feet away from me.
y saw that he wore a dark. soft hat
something like the hats that the men
wear with crease in the middle, and a
dark suit of clothes.
Il noted the hat, and that his hair
was light before 1 saw that he wore a
mask. His face was covered down to
his mouth with a dark cloth. It may
nave peen a handkerchief with holes
cut in 1t for his eyes. am sure about
the color of his hair, because his hat was
on the back of his head, and the hair
showed between the hat and the top
or the mask, over his forehead.
His hair was almost the color of
TOW. l noticed his clothing, too. 1
cannot tell whether it was blue or black.
put 1t was good clothing, and seemed to
De Well kept. His coat was buttoned. 7
am sure 1 observed that
BEFORE l. realized that he meant me
narin ne sprang forward and seized me-
l must have tainted I think, from the
fright, for 1 do not think that 1 re-
ceived any blow on the head. AS soon
as l regained consciousness I started
Tor my aunt's house. 1t was after Z
O'Clock when I got there. The train had
passed the junction"
The description given in this story is
much more complete than that sent to
the police of Clinton, Leominster
f1tchburg, Worcester and Marlboro at
dinner time. The description SO sent calls
Tor the arrest of a rather large man.
with light hair and dark clothes. and
wearing dark, soft hat
Mrs. Stewart accompanied Miss Rald-
win to Sterling village, and the young
woman told her story to Constable
Charles E. Phelps.
constable Phelps is the same officer
VINO was concerned so prominently in
the effort to solve the mystery of the
body found in the Sterling swamp. He
acted with the promptness of a keen
and experienced officer. After hearing
the girls story and obtaining as good a
he communicated with the police in
every town and village for miles around.
He took especial pains to notify Dep
uty Sheriff G. A. Bartlett of Clinton.
who was also engaged in the solution of
the swamp mystery.
After communicating with Sheriff
Bartlett he notified ]. A. Towle, the
station agent at Pratt's Junction. Mr..
Towle is a special officer for the town
of Sterling, solely for the purpose of
protecting the property of the railroad.
He does not usually take a hand in the
police business of the town, but this
case was so grave that he determined
to begin an investigation from his end.
The place where Miss Baldwin was
attacked is something less than a mile
distant from Pratt's Junction. The
house Of j. G. Stewart is an eighth Of a
mile nearer. About half way between
the junction and the Stewart house Mr..
Towls found a black hat. 1t was an old
soft hat, very much the worse for wear.
1t lay beside the road as if it had lust
been thrown there. The hat had appar-
emily not seen the storm Of the night
before. 1t was not beaten into the
earth, nor at all muddy, but was firm
OF texture and dry.
Two Jagged rents had been worn or
torn INTO the crown. They seemed
rather to have been torn.
There is no evidence that the hat had
anything to do with the crime. But If
Miss Baldwin's assailant had sought
the woods on the left of the road and
had desired to pass to the right, in the
direction Of the railroad the place
where the hat lay was as convenient as
any, except that there are two houses
in the neighborhood. One house is oc-
cupied by c. +. Cookin and the other
by II. ]. Barnes. Mrs. Mary Mcdonald,
who is one of the occupants of the
CoolHin house, heard the dogs barking,
as II stranger was crossing in the
fields back of the house. A 16-year-oId