A GIRL'S INFATUATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 79

A GIRL'S INFATUATION.

I THE CKBNATOWN MURDER. 1 Writing of the mysterious tragedy which agitated" New York some weeks ago the correspondent of the Daily Telegraph saye:— - The body of a youn? American girl, Elsie Sigel, 19 years old, the granddaughter of General Franz Sigel, a hero of the Civil "War, -was found in a trunk in the rooms occupied by Leon Ling, a Chinaman. She had devoted two yeara of "her li-fe to missionary work in Codnatown, and was apparently deeply absorbed! : in the task of Cjkristianising the young I Chinese of this cijty, " mosftr of whom are either, running laundries or chop euey, .. restaurants. Id ojae of the last letters received by her parents, indeed, she renewed her dedication to her work in, the following words : — "I thank Thee, Father, that Thou hasti given me power to fashion" my thoughts according to the patterns at beauty Thou ifaast set jjefore me to inspire me and empower me always to use my gift worthily, for tihjrough Thy power I car accomplish ail things." There is reason to believe, how-jver, that, besides endeavouring to save the c-oul of Leon ling, she had 1 surrendet'od her heart to him. ladeed, in long's rooma the police discovered 40 love-letters vmtI (ten by the dead girl to Ling, aJI couched) in endearing terms, and breathing & per-* feet spirit of happiness. .; Further investigation showed the pre- ' sence of scores of other lo<v«-le&ters eon« laining the pictures of many pretty, American women directed to the same Ling, wtho invariably dressed like an, Americam. Such evidence indicates that Ling, wih» often called himself Mr William L. Leon, was a sort of Chinese Lothario, and is leading the police" to the - conviction tihat Eteie Sigel was the victim of a band of depraved Chinamen masquerading as Christian converts, in order to win their way into the confidence of j unsuspecting women. ' ' The girl's parents knew of her infatuation for this Chinaman. A few -weeks j previously he called, as he ofter did, at .her home in Washington Heights, in th» I no'nthexn section of : New, York. Her 1 father, "Mr Paul Sigel, says he was drunk. .After reading 1 Ling" a soundi " lecture Mr Sigel threw bdm out of the house, the Chinaman uttering threats that he would) : be even with, his ejedtor as he disappeared! , down the doorsteps into the street. Elsie Sigel left home on June ,9, laughingly telling her patents thatt she waa ■going to visit her grandmother in Wash- , ington. Her father waim^d her to give .up her plan of uplifting the denizens &S the scattered Chinese quarters, but he [ seems to have thought she had honestly, intended taking a, holiday %t the home ■wflnere she' announced her intention of visiting. She nevei went to the capital' at all, * although a telegram purporting to com* from her, dated Washington, wa« received a few days after her departure. [ Nobody so far seems to know what she ■ wias doing during the next few days. On Friday, June 18, however, Ling's neighbours informed the police that his room in Eighth Avenue, above a chop suey re- ' stauramt, had been locked for some days. ' Officers broke open fee door, and found the apartment hung .witih elaborate Chinese tapestries. There was a canopied! bed with a coverlet of blue silk, while* old Oriental bric-a-brac decorated th® room. The police spied a portmanteau j bound with a stout cord, and on openj ing it they found a woman's body wedged! I in so tightly tihat they had to exert no little strength to pull it autfc. Letters from the girl, signed. "Elst« Sigel," were lying on the table. She had j apparently been strangled. Her outer ' clothing, shoes, and stockings had been; removed, and « stout rope toad been wound! more than a dozen times round her body, 00 tightly that when it was remoy-ed th« marks on fhe flesh increased the difficulty of identifying the remains. The girl had) been dead- several days. Ling was employed as a waiter in Chinatown, and his pleasant personality bad enabled him * to> reap something of a 'harvest from the hundreds of slumming parties wihiidh are constantly visiting the Chinese resorts. The* ftraejedy is once again calling attention to the readiness with which American giarlft volunteer for mission work ia Chinatown. One elderly ißowery mission! worker said. "TfheTe seems to be a sort of fascination in the Orienttail character that' . appeals to young sd.rls,.an.d for that reason I have 'always believed it unwise for young wom*<n to teach the "Chinese. Tarn equally opposed to tneso slranraMnz parties of yonrtct oeople that' 'visit Chinatown, You would be fmrp-risedl to know how many yorang , ijirls of respectable families jret their first, ideas of wrong-doing from these sight-seeansr trips, and - return by tbenneelves some IJay to sea more of this Ohinaftown life, and then corn-sis their rain." , Additional letters written by the victim indicate that she was more of less in love or infatuated with another Chinaman, named Cbn Gain, ac well <as mtfh Liner. Ling seems to have been seen with Miss Sigel on June 12 in Baltimore, andT there 'is no evidence ttoat Bhe was alive in NewYork after that date. Chu Gain, proprietor of the 'Port Arthur ■ Restaurant on Mott 1 street, is under arrest. - -He and Ling were supposed to be friends, , and letters in the former's jposeessiori show' that Mies 'Sigel pro- ' teeted that he. and < not Ling, had won her heart. "My dear Chtt Gain," one missive read, "don't worry about Leon. 1 hope yon are enjoying and behaving yourself." This Chni Gain was <u*reste.d as a t material witness. ' The police are confi-

dent that the attentions of Chu Gain to Miss Sigel inspired Ling to slay, his whit© sweetheart. Chu Gain asserts that he jjave Ling considerable sums of money, apparently hoping that the natural Chinese cupidity would result in Chu Gain getting Miss Sigel to himself. By the curious irony of events Ling, the rival lover, seems to have used Ghu Gain's money to make good his escape towards the Pacific slope.