The times., 1899-08-24
SANDERS STRANGE Tale
Eighth Precinct Police Have an
Evening of Excitement.
The Reserve. Re-enforced by Cit
izens, search the Country Around
the Soldiers Home for Alleged
Highwaymen - Conflicting stories
Result in Abandoning the Hunt.

Lucien H. Sanders. twenty three years
DID, provided an exciting evenings en-
tertainment for the police Of the Eighth
precinct last night. According to his rep
reservations, he and a female companion
were assaulted by two coiored men near
the First Street gate of the Soldiers Hol e
grounds. The alleged assault was com
minutes Lieutenant Kenney, with all the
available men OF the precinct, together
with over a hundred citizens, were scour-
ing the neighborhood for the perpetrators
of the alleged crime. Only two colored
men We're found in the neighborhood. and
these were arrested.
They gave their names as John Merritt
and George Grady. Merritt answered a
description given by Sanders, but San
ders failed to identify the man. He stated
that he did not think he wosld be able to
identify either OF his assailan.s. and added
that he did not care to and was anxious TO
let the matter drop. The police discredit
the story OF the assault as given by Sanders
because of the mans many conflicting
released from custody
The alleged assault. according to one Of
the stories told by Sanders, was COM
mitted on the large field facing First
Street near Michigan Avenue. and Just
south OF the Soldiers Home. He in COM
pany with young woman, whose name he
positively refused to reveal had, he
claimed. left their bicycles in the road
and were sitting in the field when they
were suddenly surprised by two men who
attacked them, he thinks, for the purpose
of robbery. One man took hold of San
ders and threw him ato the ground, while
the other took hold of the woman. A
struggle followed between Sanders and his
assailant. during which the young man
alleges the coiored man struck him with
a stone. He exhibited q slight abrasion
in evidence when relating his story. San
ders claims that called for help and then
succeeded in getting away from the man
who was holding him. He admits that he
was frightened and thought TO save him
self. He accordingly ran and left the wo-
man. He does not know what happened
TO her, but claims she later told him she
broke from her assailant and ran home
She was not injured except for slight
sprain Of the ankle sustained by fall.
When Sanders ran from the scene of the
alleged assault he headed for the Soldiers
Home gate, where he told his story to r.
G. Ivers, the gate keeper. Ivers was lock-
ing the gates at the time, and he heard
the cry for help. He Immediately called
to C. F. Rea, who was at the gate, and
arming him with a shotgun gave Sanders
a revolver and started them of to search
for the woman and her supposed captors.
Sanders appeared to be greatly alarmed
for the safety of the young woman, but
took care to stop and empty his pockets of
all valuables before going in search OF her.
In the mean time Ivers had stopped sever
al bicyclists and despatched them to No
station for the police
While Sanders and Rea were searching
the field Bicycle Policemen Foley and Rout
arrived and soon after them came Lieu
tenant Kenney and the reserves from the
station. This force was soon augmented
by number OF citizens. and within few
minutes the entire neighborhood for ra-
dius OF half mile was guarded and every
inch of ground searched. Sanders hat and
coat, which he had left behind in his flight.
were nowhere to be found. nor was there
any trace of the woman or the negroes.
Two bicycles which belonged to Sanders
and the woman were found where they
had been left when they sat down in the
field. AS there was nothing to substan-
tiate the story of Sanders except the two
bicycles Lieutenant Kenney questioned the
man closely to get at the bottom of the at
fair.
Sanders pointed to the blood on his coll
lar, showed the abrasion OF his head, and
then proceeded to throw as much of a
mystery about the affair as possible He
told first one story and then another, un-
til it was impossible to know what had
happened. Finally the police abandoned
all hope of learning anything from the
man. and went to work on their own
theory. The result was that two co'ored
men, Brady and Merritt, were locked up
and held for Identification, with the result
as already stated.
Later, when Sanders appeared at the sta
ton, he asked Lieutenant Kenney to let the
matter drop. He said he had seen the
woman and she was safe. He claimed that
he was paying her clandestine attention
and that IL he revealed her name it would
mean that her parents would learn of the
affair and that, he said, would cause
trouble. Sanders was sure the woman could
not identify the colored men, and was not
inclined to do so himself. He admitted
that the name Louis Sanders, which he gave
at first. was not correct, but assured the Of
ficers that he lived at 1909 L Street.