Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1903 — Sheriff Took a Shot [ARTICLE]

Sheriff Took a Shot

Man Fell, Not Mortally Wounded But Fearfully Frightened. Along about January 27, Frank 7Fempe, a man 56 years old, came ere and looked up George and Tony Striokfaden. He used to be a close friend of their father, and of them, down in the southern part of the state and where at one ■time, he was a deputy revenue collector. The Strickfadens were glad to see their old friend, and could not treat him too hospitably. He said he was traveling for a Louisville liquor house, and George, just to be good, bought a barrel of whisky from him, and to be still better endorsed for Wempe a sight draft for SSO on this same firm. ’ WempS then went away, and pretty soon the draft came back protested, and Strick had to fall for it and for protest fees of about $2.50 besides. The Louisville firm wrote that Wempe was not in their employ, and had not been, but that his sight drafts had been coming in, in a pretty steady stream, from different parts of Indiana, About that time Striok got a letter from Wempe, sayin'g that he would pay that SSO and telling him to write to the general delivery at Chicago. Strick thereuponjhiked up to Chicago and got the police to watch for Wempe when he called for his mail. But Wempe didn’t call, but he did Something else about as indiscreet. He wrote to the Chicago post•master, ordering his mail to be forwarded to Huntington, Ind. Strick telephoned this fact down to Sheriff Hardy and the latter telephone to Huntington to the sheriff there to be on thfe look out for

Wempe. This was late Saturday • afternoon, anc within less.than two hours word came back that Wempe was there and bad been placed under arrest. Sunday Sheriff Hardy and Tony Strickfaden went over and brought -"Wempe back. They arrived on the 4:30 a. m. train on Monday morning. As the old man said he was cold Sheriff did not put him at once into the jail, but allowed him to stand over a register, while he stepped out of sight, to fix the -fires. The sheriff was hardly out of sight however, before be heard a noise, and running back he found that Wempe had lit out. Abe ran to the east door and saw Wempe sprinting east in the middle of Harrison street. Abe took after him, gun in hand, and was gaining fast, when he struck an obstruction and fell full length in the snow. The gun which was extended in front, plowing through the drifts like the pilot of a derailed locomotive. Abe’s plunge in the snow made his body cold, but his temper hot, and he got up and taking a pretty close aim at his flying prisoner, banged away. His intention was to shoot mighty close the first time, and then if his man did not stop, to let him have it straight, the next time. But when the gun cracked down went Wempe, flatter than Abe himself had just tumbled. Abe thought he had shot closer than he had intended, and that he had winged the old man sure. But when he got to where be was, he found be was only soared and not hurt. He took him back and put him safe behind the bars, in spite of his protest that , h I wanted to get by the fire again to warm his cold feet.