Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 93, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1907 — Would-be Ravisher Captured [ARTICLE]

Would-be Ravisher Captured

When a big and liisfj brute mide au attempt Tuesday a teruoon to criminally assault the blind and feeble and elderly woman, Mif*s Gobel, and was frightened away by the screams and calls for help of Mrs Hairy Swartzell ou one side of the house and of Mrs. John Potts on the other, he ran away so qnick tiat he forgot a bundle of clothing he had laid down in the room he first .entered. This clothing was examined by City Marshal Parks and he remember ed it as some worn by a large man who came np from La tayette about ten days ago and asked Mr. Parks to buy him some This of course was refused, but while they were talking the stranger showed the clothes he was wearing and said he had lately' bought them at Wildberg’s store. Tuesday Mr. Parks recognized the clothes in this bundle as the very siit this whisky seeking stranger had shown him- He took them to Mr. Wild berg who at once recog nized them as a suit he had sold to a man named McCoy not long ago. An examination was then made of the poeketsand a smaU note book was found in which was the name John McCoy.

On, Wednesday morning, it w rs learned that a man of the want ed description had stopped late at night at the Kresler feed barn and a-ked ro be directed to a house where he could be lodged over night. He was sent to Mrs. Florence’s place on south Front steet, and| given fca room, going away n* x morning. The Sheriff aid marshal got on his track, and heard he but towards the Sternberg" dredge, southeast of town. Mr. Parks'fand Deputy S ierift Joe O'Conner drove out there to*| investigate and while still there Superintendent Jess Nichols, q( tbe poor farm came in and reported seeing a big fellow of the right description hiking west out by Alton Grant’s place. Jess and Sheriff O’Conner hurried out and recalled Parks and Joe, and all four started on track of the man who had gone west. They found he had turned north at the Grant school house, and easily followed Jhim on north to where the |Monon tracks cross the road, near Sorghum Valley school house. Here they*found from some section men near at hand that he had turned off up the railroad track and they could see him a long distance away, and evidently making schedule" time, and some more. They chartered the .hand car and motive power!to run it and overhauled tbeJMlow pretty well up to Surrey. flrstjwords when told he wasjunder arrest were: “Ididn’t do nothing to] |that woman.” and that too before anything had been said to him [as to the cause of bis arrest. Thai remark alone wassuf ficient to show that he was the man wanted,“bat to make the matter doubly sure he was taken back past Mr. Gobel’s place and was positively identified by both Mrs Swartzell and Mrs. Potts.UHe made no attempt to*deny that he was the man who was*at the Gobel place, but set up afclaim that if he had at tempted any|wroug-doing he was drunk at the time and did not know what he was doing. McCoy says he is 36 years old. and is a*big hulking fellow and stupid looking rather than vicious. He is saidjto have been on a big drank for some weeks and he “looks thetpart.” He has been in the north part of the county considerable andis stated to have worked for G. W. Casey and Wes Fay lor this season. He had his preliminary hearing that afternoon before Squire Irwin who held him to the circuit cou rt in bail'of SSOO. He went to jail, of course.