Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1908 — F. E Lewis Visits Rensselaer. [ARTICLE]

F. E Lewis Visits Rensselaer.

Frauk E. Lewis, the superintendent of the C. & W. V. railroad (Gifford road), who was so brutally assaulted and robbed two weeks ago Friday night, came to Rensselaer on .the 10:65 train this Saturday morning with his wife and two children, and went from here on the 6:40 train to Monon to remain over Sunday. From there he will go to Indianap lis to attend a meeting of the railroad superintendents of Indiana. Mr. Lewis is far from having recovered from the rough usage 1 e eceived at the hands of the robbeis. His spine was injured by ether t e blowß he received on his head or because he was struck on the back, and this injip;y is giving him t e most trouble, havings caused a p rtial paraTysis of his lower limbs and making it very painful for him to get about. This was his second time out of the house since he wrs assaulted. Nothing has bien found out about the assault, and what dues the officer* had have been about abandoned. Mr. Lewis gave the account of the assault Just as he remembe ed it He was leaving the railroad office and had just reached the door when he was confronted by two men, one small and the other large. Tie small man flashed a dark lantern in his face and covered him with a revolver and at the same time he wrs felled to the ground with what he thinks WM a Wow over the head from a sand bag. A little later he was conscious of crawling Into the of. Ice and remembers that he climbed' up With his bands on his desk, aqd think he was grouping around for the telephone. The instrument is. a woll phone and be succeeded In rea h : ng it and when an answer, to his ring came from Whited’s store he said, "My God, hurry over He dc«3 not recall this but the man at the store skid that is the message that came. He either fell after telephoning or was struck again and he is now inclined to be’ieve that he was hit over the head with a beer bottle, which was afte ward found in the office. 8o violently was he hit the first time that the entire top of his he d was bruised and was so s nsatlve that he suffered in'ense pain. As so much of the surface of tie be id was injured he thinks he must have been struck with a sand bag .The beer bottle had raised letters on it and each of these had made a dent 1& the scalp. When first struck Ms. Lewis had a cap on his head, the rim of the cep being firm, and this had somewhat modified the blow, which might otherwise resulted fatally. It was a very dose call, and Mr. Lewis will probably be e long time ia regaining his former strength.