Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-06-24
WRITER OF BLACK
HAND LETTERS IS
A SINGLE WOMAN
Placed Under Arrest and Aol.
mits She Might Have Made
Threats While Insane.

Algona, la. June 24-Sarah Larson,
an unmarried woman of about 81 years,
was arrested yesterday afternoon by
a. f. Bernard. general manager of the
Bernard Secret Service agency of Des
Moines, charged With the authorship of
the Black Hand letter., OF which Mrs.
Charles Stewart, a widow of this city,
has been in receipt at various times
during the past six months.
The last of the letters was mailed at
the Algona postofflce on June .. and,
like all others it was written with a
pencil IN rude print on common wrap
ping paper and demanded that Mrs.
Stewart leave the sum of 81 900 at 10
o'clock at night on the steps of the
central school building in Algona. in
DEFAULT of which she and her attorney,
j. l., Bonar. would be killed. All let4
tiers We're signed. by order of (tlgure
OF BLACK Hand) society" The first let
ter Was received last winter, and all
have come through the mails Mrs
stewart turned them over as fast as
received to her attorney. A quiet search
lor the author has been going on ever
Since the first letter was received. but
no decisive clues We're uncarthed until
the case was turned over to MIR Ber-
nard Tlle latter sent two of his de
tectiNes. man and a woman. here two
cate suspicion. Several clues We're run
10 earth without result. Suspicion final
~ fell upon Miss Larson. who lives
IN the same block With Mrs Stewart.
and with whom the latter has been on
pau Terms Tor some time because of Il
siiit which Miss Larson brought last
fall before d local justice of the peace
for services as nurse to the late Mr.
Stewart.
Detective Gets Her.
The detectives asccrtained that Miss
Larson. who has lived alone since the
death of her father last fall. was some
what of recluse. and that ii was sus
peeted by her near ncighbors that she
was mentally unbalanced They there
fore visited her under pretense of de-
string her to attend to some secret cor
respondence for them and secured
samples of her work, which correspond
ed IN every particular with the Black
Hand letters which Mrs. Stewart had
received. The next step was to secure
the woman's confession. hut this was
difficult of performances. MIR. Bernard
finally decided to attend to the wind UP
OF the case himself, and arrived here
saturday for that purpose. Having
visited Miss Larson he made an ar
rangement to take her driving yester-
day afternoon. When he called at her
residence she was not there, and he
had to make search for her. finally
finding her at the home of a neighbor.
He mad warrant with him. and ar
rested her on the spot. She was taken
TO the county Jail, and there. after be
ing subjected to the sweat box process
for an hour, admitted that at times
averaging several hours i'm duration
ana occurring two or three times a
week. she was insane. She also admit
ted that she might have written the
letters in question during her fits OF in
sanity. She is still confined in the Jail.
II Is now expected that IA hearing Will
be had tomorrow afternoon before the
local commissioners of insanity and
that SHE may be committed To the
hospital for the insane at Cherokee
The woman has no relatives here. but
she has two brothers. one located
somewhere in the East the other in the
Nest