Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1884 — INDIANA STATE NEWS. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

—Ten prisoners escaped from jail at South Bend by sawing the bar 3 of a furnace register in the floor. —Mr. A. C. Bockwell, an old citizen of Owen County, died at the residence of John M. Stewart, in Spencer, aged 81 years. —The Johnson House, at Mount Jackson, four miles west of Indianapolis, one of the oldest hotels in the State, burned the other night. Loss, $6,000. —A colored citizen of Logansport, named Noah Wilson, who recently participated in a prize-fight, was killed by Policeman Griffin for threatening the officer’s life on being placed in jail. —James Howell,*h grape-grower near Indianapolis, fired a shot-gun toward some lads whom he saw among his vines, and soon afterward found one of the thieves nearly dead on the roadway. —Jacob Velton, of Lafayette, attempted to jump from a baggage car, and a large ring on his right hand caught on the door, and his weight falling on the finger it was literally pulled in twain and jerked off. His sufferings were terrible. —The golden wedding of Mr. Ambrose Phelps and wife took place at their pioneer home in Pittsburgh, Carroll County. Many distinguished guests from distant States were present, and the aged twain were the recipients of marked attention. —William Dunn, formerly deputy prosecutor of Delaware County, deserted his newly married wife at Muncie recently. The lady is now recovering her jewelry, placed in pawn by her runaway husband, and says that he took with him SI,OOO of her money. —Dr. John Charles Waters, at one time intimately connected with the Irish revolutionary movement in Ireland, died recently at Indianapolis. He was a man of some literary attainments, and had a quasi-con-nection with journalism in Dublin and Indianapolis. —The city of Wabash has sold bonds of the face value of $13,800 to N. W. Harris & Co., formerly of Cincinnati, but now of Chicago. The firm took them at 97. The debt of the city is now $35,000, nearly all of which has been expended in real estate during the two years. —Andrew Robinson, who came to Decatur County in 1823, and has lived on the same farm, near Kingston, ever since, died recently. Although he was 92 years old, his mind was unimpaired until the last week. He was a soldier of 1812, and for the past eight years had been blind, but always cheerful. —Hardy Scott and James Trimble, farmers residing in Union Township, Madison County, indulged in a shooting affray, in which the former received two shots, one in the face and the other a shot in the back, none of which, however, is dangerous. The affair grew out of a debt which Scott alleges is due him. —At Peru, Edward Williams and William Stark have been bound over to the Circuit Court for highway robbery, their bond being SI,OOO. Their victim was William Yard, a citizen of Clinton County. They were employes of a concert saloon, where they are alleged to have succeeded in working themselves into the graces of the old gentleman, and enticing him into an isolated place, knocked him down and relieved him of $163. —The town of Delany, in Warrick County, was almost destroyed by fire. The buildings destroyed were as follows: Large frame wagon and plow factory and blacksmith shop, owned by Corley Ketcham; loss, $1,500. General store, owned by Gresham Linn; loss, about S6OO. Postoffice building, together with all the mail matter for the week, which had arrived the previous day. Building owned by Corley Ketcham; loss, about S4OO. Several small buildings were also burned. The total loss is about $3,000, with not a dollar of insurance. —A special from Groencastle says: A west-bound freight-train on the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad caught fire this morning, about 6 o’clock, a few miles east of this city. In the train were several Union oil tanks, one of which ignited, and a terrible explosion followed, scattering the oil on the adjoining cars and setting fire to them instantly. An emigrant named H. Clark, of Anderson, Ind., on his way to Kansas, perished in the flames. He occupied one of the cars, with three horses, a cow, and household goods, all of which were destroyed, together with two oil and six freight cars. His body was brought here to be forwarded to his friends. —An unusual sensation was caused at; Monticello by the arrest of Sol Spencer, a wealthy farmer of the county, and Thomas Keever and wife, living six miles east of that place, on an indictment for the murder of Alva Spencer, a brother of the first named, who died at the house of Keever, who was then a tenant on Spencer’s place —two years ago last spring. Spencer’s death occurred suddenly after the attending physician had left him as convalescent, and a growing suspicion of foul play resulted in the present investigation. The body was exhumed two weeks ago, and found to be in a perfect state of preservation. The stomach was.analyzed, and the presence of arsenic discovered in quantities sufficient to have caused death. Spencer was unmarried, and left considerable property at his death.

—Hon. Robert Miller, one of the pioneers of Indiana, died at his home, ten miles northwest of Wabash, recently. He served several terms in the Indiana Legislature, and was well known throughout the State. He was 81 years old. —C. C. Hopping, whose desertion of his wife at a hotel in Mnncie, last fell, was the subject of mnoh remark, has turned up in the regular army. —A Board of Pension Examiners haa been established at Martinsville.