The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-04-16
GIRL is ATTACKED
BY UNKNOWN man
SEVENTH BRUTAL ASSAULT ON
WOMEN STiRs oTTuMWA.
CHILD FRIGHrFULLY INJURED
Children Were Gathering Flowers in
Lonely spot--A Reign Of Ter
ror Exists In the Town.


0ttumwa, Ia, April 11--One of the
most brutal assaults ever perpetrated
in Ottumwa was committed by an I'M
known white man about $50 o'clock
yesterday afternoon, when he assault
ed little Hattie Hall, the 12-year-old
daughter of William Hall, merchant.
The little girl, with her two smaller
brothers and three or four playmates,
was gathering flowers along the bank
of the water works drain at the foot
of Wapello street when the man ap-
peared, grabbed the little girl and
frightened the other children away.
He then attacked the girl. The place
is seldom frequented, and no one saw
the man after he frightened the girls
playmates away.
The man offered to give the child
his watch If she would promise not
to tell what he done. The little girl,
her face. and clothes covered with
blood, ran home crying piteously.
The police were notified and a drag
net thrown out for the man. Up to
noon today no arrests had been made.
Series of Assaults.
Last nights assault makes he
seventh attack ON women and little
girls in the past year. Just about a
year ago Mrs. Grace Mcbride was at
tackled by a negro, whom she sue
ceeded in frightening away. Miss
Mary Mahoney, a prominent Ottum-
wa woman, was criminally assaulted
on Sept. 2S by Oscar Hogan, negro.
Hogan was sentenced to the peniten-
tiary for life for the crime at lne last
term of the district court. Miss Ma
honey died about two months ago as
a result of the brutal treatment.
Shortly after the Mahoney attack,
Mrs. Rem Oatman was stopped by a
negro, but her screams frightened
him away.
Miss jeanette Yates, a telephone
girl, was attacked one night last Oc-
tober w, d. Stevens, a negro, was
Indicted on a charge of attempting
criminal assault, but jury in the
district court found him not guilty.
One afternoon early in January the
eleven-year-old daughter of c. G. Pc
terson. prominent grocer, was at
tackled In the toilet on the second
floor of the Adams school building by
an unknown white man who, brighten
ed by the girls screams, ran away
just as the teachers in the building
rushed out into the Railways. The
case was not reported to the police
until half an hour after the man left
the building and though several ar,
rests were made, no one was identi-
fed.
Reign of Terror.
On the night Of January "a Mrs.
Clara Erwin was criminally assaulted
by negro who caught her near the
foot of Vine street in the east end OF
the city and dragged her to the rail.
road track, wnere the assault oc.
Cured. Leroy Edwards, a negro,
was arrested charged with the crime
and was indicted by the Wapello
county grand jury on Feb. % on the
charge of rape. Shortly after Ed,
wards was arrested talk of lynching
was heard on all sides. On Saturday
night, Jan. rs, mob of two hundred
men gathered at the county jail, but
Edwards had been taken to Abba
for safe keeping. where he is still
confined. His trial will come up dur
ing the present term of the district
court.
Numerous other attacks on women
have been reported to the police in
the past year. In some cases inyesti-
cation has shown that there was little
ground to the report, but often the
women attacked refused to allow their
names to be made public or refused to
prosecute after arrests had been
made. 5- %.