Startling Adventures of Lady Missionaries.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7661, 20 June 1896, Page 3

Startling Adventures of Lady Missionaries.

On the evening of Easter Sunday, in the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem, a Scotch lady missionary, Miss Crawford, and her assistant, Miss Waite, were set upon and dreadfully mangled by their Moslem servant. Miss Crawford lived in a house on the south-eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, just above Bethany, and en Easter Sunday night, while they were in the drawing room, after their return from a visit to Jerusalem and Bethany, their Moslem servant, a young man of twenty-two, who had been with them only a short time, came in with a large knife or dagger and a long rope. He locked the door and advanced on the two defenceless ladies, tried to bind them, and then attacked them with the knife. In the scuffle the lamp was overturned, and the room was plunged in darkness. Miss Waite, after trying to defend Miss Crawford, in doing which she got her hands dreadfully cut, managed to get to the door, and, opening it, rushed downstairs to summon assistance. She found, however, that all the doors had been secured and the keys removed. The Moslem pursued her and dragged her upstairs, where Miss Crawford was lying dreadfully mutilated about the head and throat. By some means Miss Crawford escaped to her own bedroom and locked the door, from which she pushed several pounds to try and satisfy the man. He then decamped, securing the doors so that the ladies could not escape, and they remained in the houso till the morning, when they were able to attract attention in the village, and information was sent to Dr Whoolor, and Dr Dickson, British Consul, Jerusalem, who at once proceeded to Bethany. The wounded ladies were attended to as speedily as possible, and later in the day they were removed to the English Hospital, Jerusalem, where Miss Crawford lies in a very low condition. The Moslem, in trying to escape in tho darkness, must havo fallen over some embankment and injured himself Boinowhnt suveroly, for during the day he went to the Russian Hospital, saying he had been attacked and wounded by robbers. He was traced there and arrested by tho British ViceConsul, and conveyed to prison. —Westminster Gazette.