Year: 1868

A we'll known family resident for the
past twenty years in Ballard county, KY,
within thirty miles Of Cairo, consisted, two
months ago, of the father, step-mothcr and
one child girl just turning into her ff-
teenth year. A young man of the neigh
borhood commenced paying attentions to
the little girl, and finally seduced her. The
youth and extremely small stature of the
girl screened her from detection until
within few days of her confinement Rag
ged and barefooted she was compelled to do
household work, and ignorant of the great
trial she was about to undergo, she subject
ed herself to hardships and exposures that
would have killed hundreds of women of far
greater strength and powers of endurance
than she possessed.


About a month ago the step mother and
a servant girl engaged in the house heard
the child groaning, and watching her
movements saw her pass across the yard,
enter thcket near by, and fall to the
gro and. Although suspecting the nature
of the child's visit to the thicket, the
heartless step mother remained indooos.
Alter the lapse Of two hours the little girl
returned to the house, wearing most
ghastly and corpse like appearance, with
scarcely strength enough to stand upon her
feet. She succeeded, however in reaching
her bed where she laid down and tainted.
When she awOkl to consciousness and
step-mother, perfectly inhamcd with pas,
sion, applied to her all the insulting cpl
thets her foul tongue could command, and
ordered her to get up and leave the prcmi
Ses on the instant. The poor, suffering
child tried to obey, but fell back upon her
bed exhausted. The step mother then
went out to the thicket; the servant girl
watching from the house saw her stoop,
pick up something and toss it upon brush
pile. Shortly atterward the step mother
returned to the house, repaired to the
room of the suffering child, and accused
her Of the murder of her own bastard
child, and declaring that she would have
her indicted for the murder. The wicked
woman then commanded the servant girl
to bring the body of the child to the hou e,
and to take particular notice how IL had
keen killed, as she would want her to tes-
tify before the Grand Jury In few hours
a knowledge of the shocking occurrence
spread over the neighborhood. The girls
father secured physician, and directed
that not only his child but his child 5 child,
which was yet living, should be duly cared
for.


The girl recovered, but in the course of
two or three days the infant died. Persons
Interested in the matter visited the scene of
the little girls labor. Her barefoot tracks,
both going and coming, were plainly vlSl-
bic in the sand; the tracks to the brush
pile where the infant WAS found were made
by some one wearing shoes, and the size of
the shoe correspondent with that worn by
the heartless steD.mother. She was duly
informed of this, and consented, inasmuch
as the infant was not dead, to furego the
fiendish pleasure ofindicting her husband S
fallen child for murder!


Nearly q month has elapsed since the
occurrences above detailed. The wronged
girl has mysteriously disappeared from the
country The story is told that a family
of refugees en- route for their former home
in Tennessee passed through that neigh
borhood, and the girl left the country with
them. II this solution of the mystery sat
lsfy the father, we'll and good. We shall
have nothing more to say respecting it.