Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1882 — INDIANA ITEMS. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA ITEMS.

Twelve leading cities of Indiana have bonded debts of $6,958,700 and floating debts of $315,948. A widow near Shelbyville, aged 43, induced her daughter to discard a Jover aged 23, and then married him herself. The wholesale dry goods firm of Evans, McDonald & Co., of Fort Wayne, has suspended, with liabilities of $150,000. The Commissioners of Clinton county have awarded the contract for building the new Court House to Farman & Pierce for $169,999. Shelbyville butchers charged with selling unwholesome meat have been acquitted, and have sued their accuser for $5,000 alleged damages. Some of the students of the Indiana College dressed up a gawky, long-haired comrade as Oscar Wilde, accompanied him on a lecturing visit to Crawfordville, and dined with an aesthetic villager. Returns to the Indiana Bureau of Statistics refute the general idea that the lands of the State are gradually absorbed by capitalists, showing to the contrary that the number of owners is increasing. Mrs. Sparks, of Hensley township, Johnson county, is nearly 100 years old, and states that she has twelve children, eighty-five grandchildren, about 160 great-grandchildren, fifty great-great-grandchildren, and a few great great-great-grandchildren. J. M. Walter, who carried the mail on horseback between St. Meinrad, Spencer county, and Leavenworth, was arrested for stealing several registered letters from the mail-sack. He escaped by jumping from the horse and dashing into the underbrush. A somewhat singular proceeding was witnessed at Lafayette a few days ago. A man named Gillespie, who died from small-pox, had been conveyed to (he burial spot on a dray, the body being in a coffin and the latter placed in a care-fully-sealed box. The drayman’s next load happened to be some bags, and, when the owner discovered the fact that the bags were on the dray which had been used for the small-pox patient, he threw them all into the canal. Fort Wayne has been convulsed by a big social sensation. Miss Nellie Fleming, daughter of William Fleming, exState Treasurer, and Director of _ the Chicago, New York and St. Louis road, eloped with Tony Trentman, and wont to Detroit, where they were married. Trentman is a notorious gambler and hard character generally, but is a member of a highly-respectable family, being a brother of Augustus C. Trentman, a well-known wholesale grocer of Fort Wayne. Miss Fleming is a beautiful brunette, and has for several years been a leader in Fort Wayne society.

A correspondent sends from Bedford the following particulars of the killing of Nicholas Bawn, Zachariah Whitted and Virgil Wilcox, at Tunnelton, Lawrence county : For a long time Tunnelton and its vicinity has been infested by a baud of thieves and burglars, who have done pretty much as they pleased. Travelers have been .■•topped on the highways and robbed, and farmers have had stock and feed stolen from them. Yet such was the horror the robbers created in the community that but few if any could be found who were willing to prosecute for fear of arson or bodily injury at the hands of the band. A few days ago, according to the story that Ben Willoughby, the man who betrayed his confederates, tells, four persons—himself, Nicholas Bawn, Virgil Wilcox and Zachariah Whitted—entered into a conspiracy to carry out a plan which embraced burglary, arson and murder, and but for Willoughby weakening and making a clean breast of the affair they might have been to a great extent successful. He says, in the first.place, they were to burglarize the saloon of A. Myers on the supposition that a large amount of money was concealed in the building. From the saloon they were to go to the residence of Mr. Thos. Clark, a wealthy citizen, call him out if possible, kill him and then rob the house. If successful, after this the next thing on the programme was to fire a vacant building that stands on the outskirts of the village, and, while excited people were drawn to the scene of the conflagration, break open the store and office of Messrs. A. Guthrie <t Son, pork-packers and merchants, and rob the safes of their contents. Then they were to leave the country. They did leave the country, but not as they intended. On Sunday morning Willoughby for some cause or other revealed the whole affair to Mr. Clark, Mr. Myers and one or two others, and measures were at once taken to capture or kill the burglars. It was agreed to place a number of men armed with shotguns in such a position tha‘ they could see the window of the saloon the thieves were to enter, and not be seen themselves. Promptly at the hour named the burglars appeared at the window, Willoughby with them, as agreed upon, wearing a pair of white pantaloons that he might be known and not injured. Bawn whistled, and •Wilcox soon bad the window opened and entered, then Willoughbv stepped around the corner of the building out of the way. A pistol was fired by one of the citizens in ambush, and in a second almost the three frightened burglars got out of the window onto the platform, which is about three feet above the ground. They were “no sooner out than a volley of shots was sent at them, prostrating all of them, but not preventing them from getting off and crawling under the platform. The citizens then called upon them to come out, throw away their arms and surrender. They agreed to do this if assured they «ould not be shot. It is said this assurance was given, and they came out and threw away their pistols some distance from them. No sooner had they done this than a perfect hail of shot and bullets was sent at them. Whitted dropped dead on the spot, Bawn fell mortally wounded, and Wilcox, although badly wounded, ran some distance, when he received another shot which brought him to the ground in a dying condition. It is asserted that just after he fell a young man stepped up, placed a shot-gun against his head and blew the top of it almost off. Bawn died next night. He was but a boy, being only about 18 years of age, but was a bad character. The other two, especially Wi'cox, were noted for their lawlessness of character. Willoughby is by no means a saint, and was a few years ago |in jail here charged with murder, but was acquitted. It is reported that Willoughby has fled the country through fear of vengeance on the port of the ■dead men’s friends. The verdict of the Coroner is, “Came to death f om the effect of gunshots fired by unknown persons,"