Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-07-23

>ANAAS3
OF Leonard Gockstetter, one mile out
Bogg's Run, was the scene of an at
tempted robbery and a dastardly as
sault on Mrs. Gockstetter, an old lady,
aged sixty-fve years. The deed was
evidently perpetrated by amateur
cracksmen. There were two robbers.
Their original purpose was evidently
robbery, and the mere fact that the
robbers knew exactly where to look for
the money seems to fix the guilt on
some one familiar with the family and
the interior of the house.
After the men had gained entrance
to the room, they either saw or heard
Mrs. Gockstetter sit up in bed and
they knew that they were discovered.
1t was then that Mrs. Gockstetter was
assaulted and in the struggle that fol-
lowed, she was pretty badly used up.
A Register reporter called at the
house yesterday and Mrs. Gockstetter
told the story of the whole affair. She
is very small in stature, and will not
weigh over one hundred pounds. When
her size is considered the struggle she
went through at the hands of the bur-
ly ruffians is marvellous.
The family, composed of Mr.. and
Mrs. Gockstetter and one daughter,
and Fred, young man tWenty-one
years of age, live in frame house one
mile east on the Bogg's Run road,
from where the Benwood line of the
street railway company crosses the
run on Marshall street in Benwood.
I<te location of the house is rather Sc
questered. There is only one house in
sight 1t is Occupied by the family of
the older son, who is employed in the
lower Benwood steel works. 1t is,
however, perhaps two hundred yards
down the run.
Mr.. and Mrs Gockstetter sleep in one
of the downstairs rooms, fronting to-
wards the road. In this room Is gen
orally kept everything Of value in the
house. Mr.. Gockstetter is florist and
gardner, and has stand in the Sec
ond ward market in this city.
The story of the affair, as told by
the old lady herself, is as follows: She
had gotten up about l a. m. and pre-
pared breakfast for her husband ana
daughter, who left at 2:30 for market.
After their departure she laid down
again, wholly dressed, on the bed. Her
son Fritz was asleep in his room IN
the second story. Shortly afterward
she thought she heard the window
raise slightly and sat up in bed to
ascertain. 1t was very dark and,
thinking everything all right, she laid
down again, but did not fall asleep.
About half an hour later she was
startled by the window sash being
thrown up as far as it would go. She
raised up in bed just in time to see
the form of a man, whose head and
shoulders were enveloped IN black
bag like covering, come through the
curtains. Upon seeing her sitting UP IN
bed, the robber sprang ON the bed and,
covering her head with the bed cloth
ing, endeavored to smother her. She
struggled desperately with the man and
finally succeeded in removing the COW
ering from her head. Her assailant
choked her with one hand and struck
her repeated blows in the face with the
other fist She heard some one say,
why don't you kill herr" Looking in
the direction of the sound, she saw the
form of another man, smaller than
her assailant.
Finally both herself and the man
rolled from the bed to the floor. She
called out to her son, Fritz, for assist
ance. With an effort she broke away
from the man and ran to the window.
AS she jumped out one of the men
caught her by the hair and demanded
to know where the key to the locked
drawer in the bureau was, but got no
answer from her.
At this juncture Fred, who had final
ly been awakened by the scuffiing, ran
donw stairs and into the room. When
he saw his mother held by one of the
men, suspended by the hair, he became
frightened and ran to his brothers
house for help.
The robbers were startled by Fred's
appearance and released Mrs. Cock
stetter, who also ran toward her elder
sons house.
The robbers ran through the house
and out the back way, just as the elder
son arrived. One of the men threw
club at him as he entered the yard
behind the house. The robbers contin-
ued over the hill and made their es-
cape.
In her struggle with the men Mrs.
Gockstetter's face was badly bruised
about the eyes and her nose was cut.
Her clothes also were torn from her.
She was taken in the house, and aside.
from a severe nervous shock her injur-
les were not serious.
The room in which the scuffle ensued
was in an awful condition. Everything
was on the floor. The contents of the
two drawers which were rummaged
through by the second robber in hasty
search for money, were very
much disarranged. Under a pile
of clothing in one of them
was found an old 44-calibre Smith
& Wesson revolver with the five cham
bers loaded. 1t is the superstition that
the robber dropped it there in his hur-
ried search. The upper drawer which
was locked and which contained s57 in
Scr. Tn,