Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1891 — INDIANA RIGHT IN IT, [ARTICLE]

INDIANA RIGHT IN IT,

IN THIS COLUMN WHICH GIVES ALL ITS NEWS. Three Hollers Explode In a Coal MineMysterious Death at Columbus—Curious Marriage Contract—Death of a PioneerDeaths, Suicides, and Accidents. “Gold Bricks” of Solid Brass. Chief of Police Robinson, at Muncie, found the two alleged gold bricks used in the attempted swindle of Uriah C. Vermillion and his son Jesse, in that city, in the United States Express office, and seized them as gambling devices. The bricks were taken to a jeweler, and found to be of solid brass, covered with gold foil, each weighing thirty-five pounds. Several small auger holes were found In each brick, and the filings that are pronounced fourteen-carat gold are supposed to have been smelted in the holes, tnat were easily located by tile Sharpers. The express agent says the “castings,” as they were consigned, were shipped there two days since. A man called for them, but hours later returned them to the office and disappeared. It Is now known that the two gold-brick swindlers who came so near capturing the Vermillions are none other than Ed Post and Doc Baggs, the notorious swindlers who made recent victims at Lawrenceburg and Washington C. H., Ohio. Minor State Item*. —W. P. McCluro, of Liberty Township, Warrick County, was found dead in bed. —A syndicate with $1,000,000 capital has been formed to boom Linwood, Madison County. —The church denomination of the Friends will erect a budding at Paoli this summer. —Senica Armstrong, the oldost and best known horseman in Indiana, died at his home in Rushville. —lndianans own more property to the man than is owned in any other State in the Union, statistics say. —Mrs. Jesse L. Williams, in her will, gives $12,000 to the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne. —Joseph Augh’s barn at Frankfort was burned by an incendiary, and a horse valued at .SSOO perished. —The eighth annual reunion of the Thirtieth Indiana Veteran Association will be hold at Goshen April 7. —Taylor Eads, janitor of a Greoncastle school building, was shot at twice in the darkness, but escaped uhliurt. —George Curtis, a deaf mute, was struck and killed by a train while walking on a railway track at Danville. —An immense cave, as yet unexplored, has been discovered in Owen County, 011 the farm of J. W. Becm, near Spencer. —The drv goods store of Byram & Sullivan, at Indianapolis, was destroyed by fire. Several other firms lost heavily by smoke and water. —lsabel Shafer, a lunatic, confined temporarily in the Brown County Jail, set lire to the structure and narrowly escaped cremation. —An eight-foot fly-wheel burst in the Northern rolling-mill at Terre Haute. Though the mill was full of workmen nobody was hurt. —A wreck on the Evansville and Rlchat Kurtz’s Station is reported, in which it is said one man was killed and three injured. —The Strawboard Company, at Noblosville, say they don’t empty poisonous substance enough into White River to cauijg any bad results. —Grafton Johnson’s safe was blown open at Greenwood, robbers procuring some small change. This safe has been blown open four times the past fifteen years. —Alex. Milburg, vardmaster of the Air-line at Huntingburg, was knocked off an engine and seriously injured. Part of his heels were cut off and his back badly sprained. 4 —The new officers of the Waveland Horsethief Detective Association are as follows: President, J. O. McCormick; Vice President, John Robertson; Secretary and attorney, L. E. Acker. —John Payne, a private watchman at Jeffersonville, was assaulted by Micthell Moorman, whom he was trying to arrest. His skull was fractured and ho was stabbed several times in the breast. —While returning home, intoxicated, George Graves, a well-to-do farmer, of McGrawsvllle, fell asleep on the Pennsylvania tracks. His mutilated remains were found along the track next morning. —William Mullen, formerly employed by the Norton Creek Coal and Mining Company, No. 2, of Clinton, disappeared on the morning of Feb. 15. The other night his body was found in a creek near Geneva. ’ —Mrs. Edward Lashon, of Lebanon, committed suicide by cutting her throat with a butcher knife. Her reason had become dethroned on account of the recent death of her son. She leaves three small children. —The Ministerial Association of the Crawfprdsville district of the Methodist Chiirch will hold a meeting at Crawfordsville, on April 14, 15 and 16. Among those who will deliver addresses will be Bishop I. W. Joyce, of Cincinnati. —John Sheets, a brakeman on the Chicago and Indiana coal road, was killed at Pine Village. He fell from the top of a car and was cut into four pieces. He resided at Attica, and leaves a family. —John Strombaugh,a long-time convict from Logansport In the Prison North, attacked Ed. Carroll, another convict, against whom he held an old grudge, and inflicted several knife wounds, likely to prove fatal. Robert King, an Indianapolis convict, played the part of peacemaker and was badly carved.

—Addison Carter, residing near Liberty, shot Oliver Stenton, a neighbor, iu the breast, inflicting a dangerous wound. The quarrel originated over a dog. —The body of John Wittcnbech, a citizen of Rockport, and formerly Superintendent of, the County Public Schools, was found near the railroad, about eighteen miles from that city. His watch an papers were unmolested. An investigation proved that he had been dead a week. His death is a mystery so far. '—Tho body of William Mullen, general secretary of the Miners’ Federation at Geneva, Vermillion County, who was found short in his accounts, and who disappeared two weeks ago, was found frozen in the ice in a creek. The Coroner is investigating the case, and there is a difference, opinion as to whether it is suicide or murder. —John Johnson, a Swede, 25 years old, was out sleigh-riding atSbutli Bend, and was driving alongside the Chicago & Grand Trunk road, when an approaching train scared his horse, throwing the sleigh, horse and Johnson against tho engine. Johnson was frightfully bruised, his shoulder dislocated and his neck broken. He died in a few minutes. The horso was injured and had to bo killed. —Charles Leibfried, aged 30 years, proprietor of the Central saloon, at Columbus, was found dead in his room. Henry Schnurr, a former proprietor of tho same saloon, fell dead in tho doorway, and six months later his brother, John Schnurr, committed suicide by shooting a pistol ball through his heart. Three years later George Phillips, the next proprietor of this saloon, died suddenly. Thus four consecutive proprietors of tho samo saloon havo died violent and mysterious deaths. —John Wells, a young man, was driven from some charcoal kilns he was attending near Washington, by masked men.- They left a bundle of switches on which a piece of paper was tacked bearing a warning to Wells to leavo tho country. , As he feared to return the kilns caugftt fire and were destroyed, Samuel Brown, the owner, has employed Judge T. C. Crutcher to begin civil proceedings against tho night-riders to recover damages. They are said to be prominent farmers.

—Fort Wayne and surrounding villages has been infested with two gangs of burglars, who have done a thieving business, but they havo come to grief. Dempsey and O’Neil, two Chicago thieves, were arrested and a quantity of stolon goods were found in their possession. Tom McNally and a son of ’Squire Tancey, both of Fort Wayne, broke into three stores. At tho last place, Henry Busching’s grocery, they were confronted by three clerks, who opened fire on thorn with revolvers and shot McNally through the hip. —A curious instrument of writing exists in Jay County which does not appear of record, but which, if recorded, would create tho livliost breeze that has happened around Dunkirk in a long time. It appears that two early lovers failed, foi some reason unexplained, to marry, but married others. Lately a written agreement has boon signed up, In absolute secrecy, providing for their future marriage to each other, in the event they survive their present companions. This contract further provides a liquidated damage of $5,000 upon of contract, as provided. They set forth in their contract that, owing to respect for children, etc., no divorce shall be asked for, but that they shall trust in providence to remove present unwelcome stayers. —Rather a remarkable case has developed at Terre Haute by tho filing of the suit of Anthony Fuller vs. Alovia J. Fuller, for divorce. Fuller lives south of Terre Haute on a farm, and during a visit to the city recently ho discovered that he was the husband of two women. The affair came about in this way: In 1865 Fuller brought suit in the Clark County, Illinois, courts, for divorce from his wife, Alovia. For somo reason the case was dismissed from court, but iller’s lawyer told him that the divorce i.ad been granted and collected a fee. Fuller married a few years later and is now the father of several children by his second wife. As soon as ho discovered his predicament he at once instituted di vorco proceedings against his first wife, who now turns up as a defiant disturber of tho peace. —Gov. Hovey has appointed Col. Ivan N. Walker, of Indianapolis, and Josiah L. Gwinn, of New Albany, Tax Commissioners. Col. Walker, a Republican, is prominent in Grand Army circles, having been for the past six years Assistant Department Adjutant-General for Indiana. He for years held responsible positions in the County Auditor’s office, and is well posted In the line of work that will probably be required of him. Ho was his party’s candidate for Auditorof State at the last election. Josiah L. Gwinn, Democrat, ik a native of Harrison County, and In his boyhood learned the printers’ trade in the office of the New Albany Democrat. In 1863 he was assistant postmaster at that city, and in 1860 was elected Recorder of Floyd County, in which office he served two terms. He is now pcoprietor of the Truth-Teller, and one of the Trustees for tho Hospital for the Insane at Evansville. —Robert Westcrfield fell from a haymow near Danville, and was impaled upon the broken end of a pitchrfork, suffering fatal injury. —Albert Laws, of Lewis Creek Station, who was found with his brains blown out, left a letter saying that his suicide was due to physical infirmities. —Sarah, widow of George W. Leitz, of Muncie, suddenly died of heart disease, aged 63. She resided there sixty years, and was the wife of one of tho Stare's well-known politicians.