Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1887 — SIOUX CITY’S SENSATION. [ARTICLE]

SIOUX CITY’S SENSATION.

One of the Men Indicted for Farson Haddock’s Murder Tells' What He Saw. • I Sioux City special.] Paul Leader, one of the nine defendants indieted for murder and in the Haddock case, has made a statement of his connection with the tragedy. Leader is proprietor of the Milwaukee House, in connection with which.nutil recently, he ran a saloon, which was closed a few weeks ago by abatement orders. He is a German, but speaks English fluently, a man of tine address and of considerable property. He admits that he was present at the scene of the murder of Dr. Haddock, but declined to make a statement over his own signature. He said he was willing to tell all he knew save only mentioning names, as that would involve others. Leader's verbal statement is as follows: “I was near the spot on Water street at tho time of the killing of Dr. Haddock the night of August 3. I was not in the crowd cn the corner of Water and Fourth Etreets, just in front of where the shooting occurred. A few minutes before the shooting, myself and a friend,-whoso name I decline to give, entered .Junk's saloon. There were a number of persons inside whom I recognized. Among them was H. L. Leavitt, the variety showman, whoso confession has been published. Just inside the door John Arensdorf was standing talking with Alderman Grady and Street Commissioner Scollard. Shoitly afterward a man entered, and said that the buggy had come back. (The man was “Bismarck' and the buggy contained Dr. Haddock.) Leavitt and others went out, und still others joined the party going up Fourth street toward Water. The livery stable is on Water street, one-half block south of Fourth street. My friend and I followed at some distance, walking quite leisurely. I knew something was up ami walked along to see, but it never entered my head that there was to be a shooting or even a serious affray. We came upon the crowd at the oorner of Fourth and Water streets.” “Do you know who were in tho crowd ?” “Yes. We stopped long enough to see who were there, but I don't want to glvo names." “How many were there in the crowd V*

“There were at least fifteen.” “Was John Arensdorf there?” (With emphasis.) “John Arensdorf was not in that orowd. ” “Did you see Leavitt?” “I did. He was standing there with tho rest of the crowd. My friend and I were there only a few moments, and, seeing that there were so many, aud that there would likely bo trouble, we started down W .ter street. Wo had walked just about half a block and were looking across the street into the livery stable. We thought the preacher was still In the stable. Suddenly we heard a revolver-almt, and I whirled about and looked toward the oorner where we had passed the crewd. I saw two men standing fn the street. One stuggered forward and fell. The other turned and ran north on Water street. There was nobody elso in the street, either before or behind those two men. They were at least twenty-five or thirty feet from the corner where the crowd was. The man who turned and ran was a little over medium height, not heavily built, and about my size. He woro lightcolored trousers and a flat hat. It may have been a straw hat. Almost as soon as the shot was fired the crowd at the corner ran away, and my friend and I ran south toward the lumber yards. ” Leader resisted every effort to draw from him the names of the persons at the corner. The statement of Leader is significant. He is on the most intimate terms with Areusdorf, and is regarded by the defense as “solid.” He has declined every overture of the prosecution. His statement, in all its allegations, intimations, and spirit, tallies exactly with what has been hinted by the friends of the defense as its theory- It is simply an alibi for Arensdorf and the fixing of the aot of murder on Leavitt, while the explanation of innocent pres nee will be attempted in behalf of Leader and the other conspirators. Leader’s description of the man in the sireetwith light-colored trousers and a straw hut clearly indicated that Leavitt is the man on whom it is proposed by the defense to put the shooting.