Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1887 — SIOUX CITY’S SENSATION. [ARTICLE]

SIOUX CITY’S SENSATION.

One of the Men Indicted for Parson Haddock's Murder Tells What He Saw. [Sioux City special.] Paul Leader, one of the nine defendants indicted for murder and conspiracy in the Haddock case, has made a statement of bis connection with the tragedy. Leader is proprietor of the Milwaukee House* in connection with which,until recently, he ran a saloon, was closed a few weeks ago by abatement orders. He is a German* but speaks English fluently, a man of fine 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 the time of the killing of Dr. Haddock the night of August 3. I was not in the crowd on the corner of Water and Fourth streets, just in front of where the shooting occurred. A few minutes before the shooting, myself and a friend, whose 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, whose confession has been published. Just inside the door John Arensdorf was standing talking with Alderman Grady and Street Commissioner Scollard. Shortly 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, and 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 and walked along to see, but it never entered my head that there was to be a shooting or Oven a serious affray. We came upon the crowd at the corner of Fourth and Water streets.” “Do you kiiow who were in the crowd?” “Yes. We stopped long enough to see who were there, but I don’t want to give names.” “How many were there in the crowd?” “There were at least fifteen." “Was John Arensdorf there?” (With emphasis.) “John Arensdorf was not in that crowd.” “Did you see Leavitt?” “I did. He was standing there with the rest of the crowd. My friend and I were there only a few moments, and, seeing that there were so many, and that there would likely be trouble, we started down Water street. We 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-shot, and I whirled about and looked toward the corner where we had passed the crowd. I saw two men standing in the street. One staggered forward and fell. The other turned and ran north on Water street. There was nobody else 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. Of he man who turned and ran was a little over medium height, not heavily built, and about my size. He wore 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 Arensdorf, 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 J>y the friends of the defense as its theory. It is simply an alibi for Arensdorf and the fixing of the act of murder on Leavitt, while the “explanation of innocent presence will be attempted in behalf of Leader and the other conspirators. . Leader’s description of the man in the slreetwithlight-colored trousers and a straw hat clearly indicated that Leavitt is the man on whom it is proposed by the defense to put the shooting.