Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 November 1950 — Page 23

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‘Editorials

World Report

ianapolis Times

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1950

“Editorials World Report ........ 25 ‘Radio and Television.... 26

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Hangings in 1856 Were First

And Last in Tippecanoe County By WILLIAM M. CROCKETT, Times Special Correspondent HAT GRIM DAY of Jan. 11, 1856, was one of wild

excitement in the brash young town of Lafayette. As the cold, bleak dawn broke, restless citizens of

Tippecanoe County began stirring. By mid-morning, although the temperature stood nearly 20 degrees below

zero, Lafayette streets were crowded with men and women who had come from near and far to attend a triple execution in the - courthouse square. The superstitious say even to

- this day, nearly a century later,

that three trees which grew on the fateful northwest corner of the square were stunted because three men were hanged there

long ago.

Two of the trees still remain, still stunted, but the third has been removed. The trees recall to minds of oldtimers the stories of two early-day murders that a pioneer society swiftly avenged, thus effectively ending a growing crime wave in Tippecanoe

County.

The unhappy trio who went to the gallows that January day was one David Stocking, 30, convicted of the murder of a businessman, John Rose: and Abram Rice, 27, and Timothy Driskill, 23, adjudged guilty of the murder, four months later, of Cephas Fahrenbaugh of Wild Cat Creek.

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IT WAS the first execution ever witnessed in Lafayette, then a town with a population of 6129, according to the 1850 census. Lafayette had become a trade center thanks to the Wabash and Erie canal; at that time in the peak period of :ts -operation. It was the center of railroad, canal ‘and plank road traffic, : There were several mmportant manufacturing establishments, about 40 dry goods stores, 18 clothing stores, some 28 groceries and various other business establishments, including a dozen warehnuses, one of which was owned by a man named John Rose, The two-story warehouse, standing at the foot of North St., was operated by Mr. Rose and his son, George S. Rose. The father was in the habit of occupying a room immediately over the office as a sleeping room. This room contained a bed, bureau, several trunks, one or two carpet sacks, books and portraits. Rose had several articles of jewelry hut never wore any save two rings.

AT HE A AR in BAURLLRALRARIN TARLAC LLL LEO ESA AAA R RAR ELA SCALA EARN ROELE AA0 LANE beta R BEALL ELAR ALORA LAA RARE CARRS LARA

Sparking 7 in the Dark'—

” on = THE WAREHOUSE was consumed by fire the night of Jan. 8, 1855. John Rose was last seen alive by his son George about 6 o'clock that evening. George later told the following story: “There had been fire in .the stove in the office. ‘There was an engine house attached to the building on the southwest corner, The fire in it had been extinguished in the morning to make repairs. “The floor in front of the hoiler was earth, to the south of the boiler it was planked. At noon the floor was wet, 1 was in (the warehouse) again at '§ o'clock in the afternoon and the ground of the floor was frozen and the planked flocr was covered with ice. “Between 4. and 5 o'clock I went through the building to gee- that the doors were fastened. There were five doors on the lower floor, two on South St., oné on the east. end of the building and one into the crib on the north side. The doors were fastened by wooden bars about one and a half inches thick. un n 2 - “I REACHED the fire about half past twelve, The firemen weré in the act of breaking in the office window as I got there,

No one had seen ‘my father. ®

There was a ladder and I tried to go up, .but was’ suffocated by the smoke. “Finally I was led off by friends. A search was made at my request, Some buttons and bones were found. Dr. McFarland examined the bones and pronounced them human: These

bones were .taken to Ohio: for burial.” : Dr. Robert O'Ferrall, who

later became a leading surgeon of Lafayette, was present at the time of the fire and said that after the building had been burning for sometime he saw in the warehouse the thigh bones, hips and spinal column,

. with ribs attached, of a human

body. The authorities were of the opinion from circumstances

that John Rose had been killed in. some manner, with robbery as the motive, and the warehouse had been fired to conceal the crime, o on »

A WITNESS was found who

had seen three men running

eA co

AINE IS Tm

The present Tippecanoe Court House . . ®upersti

on has it that the trees (circled) on the

northwest corner of the square failed to thrive because three men were executed there 94 years ago.

across Caswell's bridge over the canal immediately opposite the Rose warehouse and away from the building. One, this witness identified as David Stocking, who had operated a grocery and liquor store, known as the

Farmer's Exchange, until the previous December. Stocking, known to his friends as “Sock,” claimed to

have been at sea earlier in his life. He =aid that for two years he had heen engaged in privateering under the Columbia flag at the time of Bolivar, that he had been in a number of engagements and in support of the latter claim exhibited evidence of numerous wounds upon his body.

He was indicted, tried and convicted in the. Tippecanoe County Circuit Court, Strongest evidence linking Stocking with. the Rose murder was given by Thomas Longley, who at the time of the trial was imprisoned as a member of a

gang of five men held for the robbery and murder of Cephas Fahrenbaugh in May following the Rose crime, , ¥ 2 = LONGLEY testified ‘that days prior to the Rose fire he

five

had met Stocking and Stocking had told him he had a “raise” on hand. Longley Had asked what it

was and Stocking had repled,

on

“a warehouse, Rose's.” He also stated that Stocking was planning to open a store at Culvertown in Stark County, 65 miles north of Lafayette. Stocking attempted to prove an alibi, bringing from Culvertown a number of its citizens to prove he was at Culvertown the hour of the Rose fire, However, he had been seen at the fire. His conviction was upheld by the State Supreme Court at its November term, 1855, but he went lo his death declaring ” #8 THE MURDER of Cepha Fahrenbaugh was not attended with the publicity of the Ron killing, hence al the tetails are not known. Cephas, Mathias and Martin Fahrenhaugh lived in the country four miles from Lafayette on a branch of Wild Cat Creek and were said to have a hoard of money in their home. . A gang, identified later hy a grand jury as including Abram Rice and Timothy Driskill, went on the evening of May 3, 1855, to the Fahrenbaugh home. They decided the best way to get in the Fahrenbaugh house was to have Rice pose as a cripple. About 11 o'clock that night Fahrenbaugh was called to the door and admitted Rice. The latter sat down in a chair

Two Stunted Trees Mark Scene Of

The Tippecanoe CBunty-Court House in 1856 ... An angry crowd tried to tear down the iron

fence after three men were executed within the enclosure.

Old sheri fr s residence and jail, Viopacotes County.

bv the and some minutes later the ot According to the grand jury Mr. Fahrenbaugh shot to death with a pistol escaped with one £1, pair of and the

fire

hers followed.

indictment, was and the gang chirt, value pantaloons worth sum of £1100 in cash, Of the men indicted for the crime,- only “Rice and Driskill were tried and sentenced to die

one

£3

on the same ‘day that Stocking was to be executed. o ” ” IN THE JAIL awaiting their execution that cold January day the condemned men were outwardly calm. Driskill, with wry humor, remarked to Rice, while eating their last dinner, “We'll get supper somewhere else, Abe.” Stocking went to his death

as splendidly attired as any

local Beau Brummell. He wore a blue frock coat, black pants, black satin vest, boots and hat. Rice chose to meet his Maker. clad in two pairs of drawers, while the jesting Driskill wore shirt, pants and socks. The hanging took place in an enclosure on the courthouse square, a law requiring that all executions be private, Nevertheless, the street outside the iron fence of the courthouse vard was crowded by men and women, Sheriff Thomas J. Chissom had inside the fence a posse of 50 men, and outside was a horse company from the town of Romney, 10 miles south of

the city. un = n ASKED if he had anything to say’ before death, Stocking

made a brief declaration of innocence. Rice gave a long recital of incidents leading to the murder of Fahrenbaugh which hé believed have acquitted , him. Driskill: merely faid, “Honorable Sheriff, I am ready.’ > A& Sheriff Chissom adjusted the ropes, Ricg removed a stool upon which he had been sitting, knelt «down and inclined his head forward, remarking that

should

he had “seen men hung” and regarded that .as the proper position.

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‘and bitter cursing.

Nas aes

Driskill, observing, sald, “Abe, are you going to kneel?” Rice answered “Yes.” He then turned to Stocking and said, “Sock; which is the easiest to die, kneel or stand? I want to die the easiest way.” Stocking said to stand, unless he feared the rope would break. The sheriff said there was no danger of that, so Stocking stood up. Driskill kneeled. n- ” 5 S WERE PUT on and at 2:22 p. m. the bolt was drawn. After 20 minutes physicans pronounced all three men dead. Bells of the courthouse and churches began tolling to ane nounce the execution, Immediately, the men and who had pushed and crushed against the iron fence of the square to get a look at the grim proceedings began to raise”their voices.in yells, howls An effort was made to pull down the fence, but after a time the riot was quelled, and a dozen of the ring leaders were arrested. The Daily Courier, reporting the events of that January day, concluded: “Thus ended the first execution ever witnessed in La~ fayette, God grant that it may be the last.” Ninety-four years later 1t still

CAPS

women

is.

— » - es

Cupid: s Wiles ‘Unchanged In 70 Years

—————ree

Sparking in the dark .

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From a sketch ‘copyr

r . ighted. In 1008 by Life Public hing Co

. taboo, laccording to pre-1900 advice to lovelorn,

Hoosier Doctor's Book of 1878 Warns

Of Love's Pitfalls; Praises - Matrimony By CARL HENN

CADERCIAL advice to the lovelorn is not a monopoly

of the present day.

As far back as 1878, words of warning and camstort were dispersed in Indiana at a fairly cheap rate within thé

covers of a paper-bound pamphlet, entitled:

“Sparking in’

the Dark,” by J. A.-Houser, M. D. A copy recently was

secured by the Indiana State Library. Printed in Arcadia, Ind. the pamphlet, according to Dr. Houser, was written “during idle moments while the author was watching at- the bedside of a gick friend, which it is hoped, will excuse its imperfections. " It sold for 10 cents. Dr, Houser’'s theme was marridge, of which he approved as “the only safe foundation of soclety.” -

“WITHOUT MARRIAGE,” he as “ghat would man be? Without it, home, that diminu‘tive heaven, would not exist.” Marriage is the repository of

‘true’ love, Dr. Houser advised

his readers, and “to loye and be loved is a woman's highest ambition; to gain the object ue affection Sonsummates er

a

soul's desire.”

*. From this burst ‘of admira.

tion for the wedded state, Dr.

Houser Janie 1 | the idea. of

To voung ladies, Dr. Houser gravely . warned of dangers ahead should they make a wrong choice, "” “Never marry a man who has nothing to do,” he wrote, “If a man will. not support himself, will he support a wife and famfly?" “I would further warn you,”

” hé admonished in his pamphlet,

“of the man that is given to strong drink. ‘But’ you say, ‘my beau just takes a dram

once in a while, but never gets.

drunk." All drunkards commence by taking a dram. “If you would be -safe and

enjoy all the- untold pleasures.

‘of married life, let your motto be, “Total husband’.”

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TO YOUNG MEN, his advice _

was equally’ strong. He advocated choosing women of intelligence and refined moral nature. Industry and willingness to®*work also were important. .. To: ‘support his - point, Dr,

abstinence or no

Houser gave an instance, “Suppose,” he ‘wrote, “a young husband is working for $9-or $10 a week. If the wife does the housework and economizes the expenses, he may, aided by good health and steady work, save $1 to $2 =a week, and at the end of the

-

year have from $50 to $100 laid _

up to invest in a home, *“At the end of 10 years, the couple may be quite well to do, or even rich, from the savings at home.”

Another female fault . Dr, Houser mentioned was tight lacing. : . ‘The woman that laces is_fit neither for wife or mother,” he stated. “Those who lace destroy their health, and, of course, their ' usefulness, and ruin their temper.” ! Ld » »

"THE GOOD doctor advocated

the marriaga of opposites in

every .possiblé way. For com‘patibility, he advised blonds to marry brunets, #lim, tall to short, jolly to serious, ete. Buch pairing, he

gave as his professional opin-*

ion, would tend to produce children with the best attributes of each parent. In" touching subject, Dr. = Houser's: flayed the seducer, foulest of men, whose wiles were most : easily worked late st night.

society would bé far

fat to marry

upon the. title - - pen _ ,

bk

From a sketch

Marriage of opposites . .

voung ladies hy gentleman were ‘made in. daylight, or when in the evening would end at ordinary bedtime, not a dount,” he wrota, “How ‘often, how VERY often, does the ruin of the girl date back to the tme she ‘kept company’ with gentlemen after the usual hour for retiring, or after the family had retired? What good can possibly come of

midnight courting? Surely none. ; ; “Under the protection of

marriage,” wrote Dr. Houser in conclusion, “virtue has increased and human nature has been refined and chastened, un- _ til this age is better than any age in the past. , one : “THERE ARE thousands of .men as noble and good as any

sands of women as purs as Eve before the fall, and in no coun-

beter maraiy, J eal” pon EY 4% thems jebie. men 45a

there can he =

that lived in the past, and thou-

Weekly *. a good thing?

pure women =o plentiful as in

our own beloved Jand.” The physician Included a couple of interesting sidelights his pamiphlet One, on the back - of the front -cover,.praised as ‘the best of all” another pamphlet written by him, entitled,

‘*A Glance Behind the Scenes.” “It treats upon subjects too delicate for this pamphlet,” he extolled his work, “and is for private perusal. Those who want to know the secrets and myssteries of Nature can find them here uncovered.” .To the readers ‘of “Sparking in the Dark,” Dr. Houser's last

words were agaih in praise of’ “another of his abilities.

“The author will: go to any city or town,” he promised, “with his museum, which is very large and attractive, and deliver, a “course of both public and private lectures . .. First lecture’ “will be free; small admission for the Test.”

*\

Brain Torn by Bullet, Youth Who ‘Couldn’t Live’ Makes Comeback

Mother Had Faith

~Son-Would- Recover

By DONNA MIKFLS

BULLET through the

brain. The faces” of physicians gathered in the emergency -room of General Hospital mirrored the near-despair

of men who know their . skill has limits, Nearby the: family of the youth who lay so still on the

stretcher stood huddled together, ‘pitting ther combined faith <t carne

against the deapair that with the words: “He just can't live.” That was in the emergency admitting ‘room. But jin Generdl Hospital’ they dan’t allow despair inside the operating room. It stayed outside in the corridor when the operating room doors closed behind the

stretcher, - ” ” ”

and

~ gspurred by °

fule

BECAUSE of that hecause doctors are

_ hope beyond what their knowledge deems possible, Paul Hubert Sprague, the hoy who “just

couldn't live” is alive today. ‘ General's emergency ward is the catch-all of a big city's violence and its doctors have seen

ton many miracles to believe they can't happen. But the physicians seasoned in ‘“impossible” recoveries are still shaking their heads over Paul's amazing comeback.

Paul was rushed to General 8 emergency room late on Sept. 23. A bullet fired by an unjdentified rifleman into a group of youths gathered near 16th St. and College Ave. struck the 19-vear-old boy and tore through his brain. : ” ~ ~ PAUL, never knew hit him, The next thing he remembers was five days later when he startled his family and medi-"

what

cal attendants by arousing from |,

the coma that was to have been. his last. : Doctors, who instinctivety shy away: from ‘miracle’ stories and lean ‘toward understatement say: ‘That type wound is usually fatal." The police of the city's homicide bureau, ready to

put Paul's case on it's slaying

blotter, were equally amazed. The only’ person who doesn’t seem to be too surprised by

_ Paul's recovery is his mother,

Mrs. John Sprague, 1726 Carroliton Ave. She sgys: “That ight told ; us.

"

‘Don’t build up any’ hope-—he . just can’t live." But I looked at him there on the stretcher and I knew he would. There were all those doctors, the finest men availablé, and there was someone: else, a Higher Power, that willed he would live.” " = rn when doctors

LATER told

her that irreplaceable brain tis- °

sue had been destroyed ani that if Paul lived and was normal mentally he would still be paralyzed, a mother's hope came ‘to the front again: “I said I wouldn't be worried if he lived and was all right mentally, I knew if he was all right he'd have the : willpower to try.”

Doctors sent him home in a wheelchair on Oct. 31 and

hoped that in" six ‘weeks - he “might -bé able - to, start on crutches. "The next day Paul

_ was out of his wheelchair, using one crutch for balance,” his

mother said proudly. He hasn't *

used” the wheelchair since.” . Gradually the paralysis that immobilized « his left side has lessened, so that he is now able to use both his left arm and : M8 Rd OAR exeruies OU0 MH

Paul Hubert Sprague , . . Despair had to wait outside.

amount of control over tha€ hand and foot. moe. THERE WAS a time when # was thought the bullet might have performed much the same as a surgical frontal lobotomy, If this had happened, there was a possibility Paul’ would have a’ personality change. ~ However, it didn't happen, His folks say they can's see a “smidgen of difference” in their

son, . “ . Part of the bullét 1s still ‘ lodg®d in the ck of Paul's head and he still is taking some treatments. Aside from a few ‘headaches, he says, he's never suffered any pain. He says -he ~was “treated like a king” at General and adds: - “I wouldn't go an ' else if I had the money for thé most expensive hospital in the world." wp : J ~ ” kr THERE'S ONLY one aftereffect that puzzles Paul, Before he was injured he used to whis= tle a lot. But now he can't. - “I pucker up hor fn comes out,” he grin don't know what caused wat ve “been lucky enough. I'm mot to worry about that.”