Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1906 — AN ATTESTED HOLD=UP. [ARTICLE]

AN ATTESTED HOLD=UP.

An attempted robbery occured in Rensselaer, last Saturday morn ing, but the publication of the facts of which were temporarily held back, in the hopes that the supposed parties might in some manner make some remarks or admissions which would lead to their detection. The intended victim was O. H. McKay, proprietor of the McKay laundry. It is his custom to go to ing and do some work there in preparation for the regular work of the day, and then go to his breakfast, at bis home.gust south of the laundry, and not more than 50 or 60 feet distant from the rear end of the laundry. He always enters at the frontdoor, which is locked from the outside, and then goes out at the rear door as a short cut to his house. Saturday morndog he states that he had finished has work and start-' ed to go to breakfast about 5:30 o’dock, or while it was yet quite dark, especially as the morning was cloudy. He had just unlocked and stepped out of the door when some party who was waiting for him only .a few feet away -ordered him to hold up l his hands and to go back into the laundry and unlock the safe and hand-over the money there was in it. Mr. McKay is pretty handy with his fists, and instead of complying with this order, <he struck out at the fellow and ‘knocked him down. Just then ►some other party who seemed to have been standing by the wall of -the building, and whom Mr. McKay had not seen, -struck him on the back of the head and knocked him down, also, he falling on top of the first hdd up mans Mr. McKay scrambled to this feet, -and at the same time the other man got ®p and Mr. Me Kay Set him have another right hander which knocked -him down a second time. Just then he heard a noise-which soiinded like No. two

was running away, aroimd the west side of building and had ram into box that stood there. While tarned to took in that direction, the <)tber fellow got an his feet j .and ran *way ajaw. ‘ Mr. MdELay says the first man orj hoy had a cloth over part of his face, with a slit c«t for his eyes, but the light in the laundry shone lull in his face and Mr. McKay thinks he knows who it was. He did not see the other party who hit him, at ail, but has a pretty strong idea of who he is also. Both are young and residents of the town. The blow Mr. McKay received on : the back of the head was not hard enough to hurt much, but as he fell on receiving it his hands struck in a pile of rubbish in which there was some sharp object which eut a deep gash in his thumb. He also landed on some small upright wooden pins in the ground, which barked and bruised him in several places, including his chest, his thigh and his shins.