The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-02-11
ATTEMPTED ASSAULT
Marion County Men Hunting for a
Negro Who Attacked Little
White Girl

Yesterday afternoon about half
past four o'clock, great excitement
was caused in town by the report that
a little white girl had been assaulted
by a negro. The little girls home Is
ABOUT two and half miles southwest
of town, and the news was telefoned in
from house near that of her mother
II was not many minutes after when
at least fifty cars and two or three
hundred armed men were traversing
every road and combing the woods
near the scene of the assault, while
the sheriff and city marshal were try
ing to obtain description from the
frightened child.
The little girl was going home from
school with her brother. They went
out thru the southern part of town
across the Seaboard and into the
woods, and then, as children often
will, separated, neither having thought
of danger. The girl says she was
going across an old field opening out
from Lemon avenue, and something
over a hundred yards from the Sea-
board track when the negro appeared
coming up from behind. She happen
ed to look back, saw him and ran, but
was soon caught and thrown to the
ground, where she struggled and
screamed with all her might. She
fought so vigorously that the man let
her go and she ran, sobbing and with
tears streaming down her face. for
home.
Armed neighbors were soon on the
spot, and in few minutes were heav-
lily reinforced from town. Every man
who had an, auto that could be used,
rushed it to the scene of trouble,
bringing with him two to six friends,
all armed. The place where the girl
said the struggle took place was
marked with trampling footprints, but
there was no track leading away from
it to guide the seekers, who would
have been the avengers if they had
caught the culprit. The sheriff sent
parties in every direction, but when
they, after securing the country for
several miles in every direction, re-
turned and reported no success, he led
them back to town to prepare for a
more organized search.
The girl says she thinks the man
who attacked her was black, about
twenty-five years old, had on black
hat, dirty blue shirt and gray
pants-a description that would fit y
good many negroes. He carried coat
on his arm Men working on the Sea-
board saw a man answering to this
description pass them some twenty
minutes after the girl and her brother
had passed on their way home. He
could not have caught up with her
if they had not fingered along the
road to play, and finally take separate
paths.
SEARCH HAS BEEN STEADY
The sheriff and his deputies and
many volunteers hunted all over the
county last night, and will continue
the search until they have looked in
every corner where such criminal
could have hidden himself.
At the time the man was seen. he
was walking down the Seaboard track.
The old field where the girl was play
ing is in view from the railroad. 1t
it partly grown up, but there are
many open spaces, thru which anyone
on the railroad track, or Lemon avenue
alongside, can see couple of hundred
yards.
The officers have looked the town
over, and have not found traces of any
negro answering to the description. 1t
is probable that he was strange man,
passing through. There are plenty
of thick woods along the railroad to
the south, and he could have been a
mile or two away before any armed
man could have been on the spot.
Again, he might have stopped in a
close place few hundred yards away.
AS the sheriff said, there was no tell
ing which way he would go or how
lfsr.