Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1896 — RECORD OF THE WEEK [ARTICLE]

RECORD OF THE WEEK

INDIANA INCIDENTS TERSELY TOLD. Kokomo Has a Tremendous Gos Ex* plosion—Widespread Ruin the Result—Joseph Mix Rapidly Sinking Because of Son’s Alleged Disgrace. Terrible Kxplonion of Gas. The most destructive natural gas explosion that ever occurred in the Indiana gas belt took place in Kokomo at noon Friday, the station of the Kokomo Natural Gas and Oil Company, consisting of four iron and brick buildings, located in the central part of the city, being demolished and many houses in the immediate neighborhood being shattered and almost wrecked. Fire burst forth from the ruins just after the explosion and the plant and machinery were entirely consumed. So violent wax the shock of the explosion that windows three squares away were broken to- flinders and men and horses going along the street were knocked down and seriously injured. Joseph Lindley, superintendent of the plant, was in the office when the explosion occurred and was hurled through one of the windows and fell forty feet away. Two horses in the works were raised high in the air and were crushed to death in the fall and thefar bodies ‘burned. No lives were lost, though several employes were slightly hurt.. The company furnished fuel gas for domestic consumption, and hundreds of families were thus cut off without fuel supply. Among the buildings that suffered most from the chock of the explosion were the jail and the court house, both of which had the windows torn out and bricks>and L stones displaced.

Noted Seer of White River Dying-. Joseph Mix, of Anderson, the old seer of White River, known.as such all-over: Ohio and Indiana, is reported dying. He was declared of unsound mind some time ago and his money, or rather that part which could be found, was put into the hands of a guardian. He is 70 years-of age and has gained his-title from the fact that he had a strange insight into the future. He could, it is said, locate missing, stolen or lost articles, could tell who the thieves were and do many equally strange things. He practiced his art in Indiana for forty years and during his last years people came from the Eastern and Western States to have him locate lost children. In this manner he amassed a fortune and it is thought that’he buried most of it. When Ms estate was turned over to the guardians but $4,000 could be found. 1 It is thought that he is worth many times this amount. His aberration was due to a peculiar circumstance; His son Joe married and later sold his wife and threw in her bed clothing to Joe Badgley, a neighbor, for $25 on easy payments. The bed clothes were thrown in to fill out the bargain and the money was paid and he delivered the wife. The sale would probably have held good but for the State stepping in and taking a hand. The news Was sent out through a press association and the similarity in names caused many to think that it was him. turned his mind and he has been failing eVer since.

All Over the State. A. J. Conover, the alleged forger, held at Peru on a charge of having bogus Checks in his possession, has been released, the authorities finding no case against him. Daniel Baugh, of Jeffersonville, celebrated the 107th anniversary of his birth Wednesday. He is probably the oldest man in the State. He is hale and hearty and retains his mental faculties. Rev. Dr. John Rutledge, of Oakville, was arrested, but was released on bond of SI,OOO. The indictment was returned by the recent grand jury. It is charged that on Dec. 24 last Rev. Dr. Rutledge united in marriage Charles Jones and Miss Lalo Hunt, though the. United Brethren Church had revoked his. license. It is alleged that he had.no authority to perform the marriage, and was guilty of felony. He isone of Delaware County’s oldest residents, and has been a physician and minister at Oakville for a number of years. It is not known, why the license was revoked. Theodore Frank was severely injured Saturday night while, attempting to clean out a dance near Inwood. Frank, Grimsley and Thompson,, three of. the most spirited young men in the vicinity, had. partly carried out a plan to throw out the young men at the dance and take possession of the hall. Frank was-the first one in the hall, and, , taking hold of the smalb est man in. the room, received a violent, blow across the head with a. stove poker, in the hands of. Charles Meyer. Instantly all the men: present joined against the intruders. Knives, guns, stove pokersand stones, were freely flying in the room. Mr. Meyer,, living close by, heard theracket and went over to see about it. With the help of several others he quieted thefighters. Frank, Grimsley and Thompson, were arrested and put under bonds. Early Wednesday morning the authorities of Bremen were notified, to. meet the-west-bound limited express om the Baltimore and Ohio road and arrest a gang of thieves, supposed to be on, board. They had boarded the train at Garrett and. catching Theodore BeilsteiiL of Chicago, on the platform, ro'bbed. hipi aud threw him from the rapidly moving, car. One of the gang remarked that he-believed. Beilsteia held, the keys to the express safe. After he had recovered from the shock Beilstein crawled, bruised and" bleeding, to Garrett and notified the authorities. Officers were lined up on both allies of the .track, and as soon as th£ train. Slowed up the gang was located between’the cars. They made a desperate resistance and two of them got away. Four were arrested, and when about a. block from the depot one of them knocked down the officer who had him in charge and made a dash for liberty. The officers opened fire, which was returned. Two of the thieves were Shot and one will die as a result. Robert Torrey, for years with Buffalo Bill’s show, while going through a livery stable at Valparaiso, was struck on the head by a bale of hay and killed. The block coal miners of the Brazil district asked the operators for a joint conference, which was granted. The miners met in secret session and formulated a scale for the ensuing year which they will present at the joint conference. It is said that they will ask an increase in the price of mining in the same ratio as that granted in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The operators say they are, not in a position to grant a raise. Quite a sensation whs created at Valparaiso by finding the remains of an unknown about ’l9' years old, lying by the Fort Wayne tracks, west of the city, Tuesday night. Nothing was foqnd on. his person to- establish his identity.’ " %ome small change and a purchasing check of a clothing house in Chicago wefe’ found In his right trousers pocket, while the left was missing. His clothes indicate that he was no tramp. A party of tramps, of whom several seem to have met the dead man on a freight -train coming out of Chicago, were locked up pending; the coroner's examination. It is thought be wa« robbed and then thrown from the train.