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**Colorado Clues website is not
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ARMOR,
E. M. A BORDER AND HIS BILL Capitol Hill Episode Rehearsed in Justice Cowell's
Court. Rocky
Mountain News, 5/29/1895
Yesterday in Cowell's court, E. M.
Armor, a drug clerk, was placed on trial, he being accused of assault and battery
and burglary by Mrs. Clara Ball, landlady of a boarding house on Capitol
Hill. The prosecuting witness accused Armor of having broken into a
room about April 1. Armor failed to pay a board bill of $126 and was
given notice to leave. Mrs. Ball locked the door of the room occupied
by Armor. On the day mentioned Armor called with an express man.
The two men broke into the room after a struggle with Mrs. Ball and removed
Armor's trunk and other belongings. Attorney Mosey espoused the cause
of Mrs. Ball, and it is said, made an agreement with Armor that did not suit
the landlady. It is also claimed that previous to the trouble Armor
agreed to supply the house with $50 worth of coal in settlement of part of
his bill. The coal come and also a bill to Mrs. Ball which she was
compelled to pay. The case will be resumed today. Barry, William & Ellen GOT THE MONEY How a Woman Recovered Her
Husband's Savings Denver Post, 1/1/1895 William Barry of lower Capitol Hill celebrated the joyous
New Year by getting drunk and losing his holiday savings, amounting to
$25. William returned home yesterday to his wife, Ellen, after his
night's dissipation and confided to his faithful helpmate his sad experience. Family
tears were shed and Ellen at once resolved to make an effort to recover the
family savings. She
located the alleged thief in the person of Widow Coffield. The
determined wife called to her assistance several of her lady friends, and an
attack was made upon the widow's abode. Cautiously they approached the
humble cottage and, taking the widow by surprise, bounded upon her and
disrobed her. Among her clothes a roll of money was found, and the
wife, after taking $25, returned the remainder to the prostrate widow, who
throughout the proceedings kept appealing for her life. The happy wife
on recovering her family savings threatened the unhappy widow with dire
vengeance if she ever again looked at her husband, and departed for her home
across the railroad tracks. This morning
Widow Coffield swore out a warrant in Justice Cater's court for Ellen's
arrest. BARRY, William & Ellen DISMISSED THE CASE Mrs. Barry Did Not Sin When she Obtained Her Money. Denver
Post, 1/5/1895
Judge Cater this morning dismissed the cases of larceny against Ellen Barry,
Mrs. Barry is the woman who it's claimed disrobed Widow Cafflery and
took $25 from her.
Mrs. Barry denies that her husband was drunk when he lost the money.
After the money was missed, the widow was suspected and the money found on
her person. BIGLOW,
Mamie, aka May. MAY BIGLOW'S TRIAL Charged With Robbing Two of Her Visitors. Denver
Post, 1/5/1895
The cases of Mamie, alias May
Biglow, charging her with larceny from the person, came up for trial at the Criminal
court today and was reset for January 24.
There are two charges against her. One is for stealing $95 from C. H.
Tilton and the other is for stealing $70 from Ladena Lucore. Tilton was
placed under $500 bonds for his appearance at the trial. Judge O. N.
Hilton is defending her. BOY
CRIMINALS Judge Butler Decides That Justices Have No
Jurisdiction Over Their Offenses. Rocky
Mountain News, 1/29/1895
The fact that the district and county courts have original and exclusive
jurisdiction in case against small boys charged with criminal offenses was
yesterday brought to the attention of Judge Butler in the West Side
court.
Cases against five youthful violators of the law were nolle prossed and the
district attorney was instructed to file new information. the question at
issue was the competency of the justices of the peace to try boys under the
age of 16 years and to bind them over to the district court.
Judge Butler held that under the statutes of 1893 the action of Justice Cater
in binding over Miles Brannigan and John Weaver,
was illegal. Brannigan and Weaver, lads of exceedingly tender age, were
arrested ten days ago for stealing a penny-in-the-slot candy machine.
They were given a preliminary hearing in Cater's court and fully confessed
their guilt. The justice bound each over in the sum of $300 and the
boys went to jail pending a hearing. Their case was called Saturday and
after evidence was introduced it was continued until yesterday. The argument
was advanced that the justice of the peace had no jurisdiction, which was
sustained by the judge. The case was therefore nolle prossed.
Freddy Ball's case was also nolled. Freddy stole a
bicycle a few weeks ago and was bound over. Frank Kilgore, the
sprinter, who dodged a bullet sent after him by Chief Shirley a week ago last
Saturday, was taken in to court with his brother James. Upon
application of counsel the case against the brothers was nolled. Today
the district attorney will file new information.
The fact that justices of the peace have tired and bound over boys who are,
in the language of the law, "infants" not withstanding the
provision in the statutes giving giving the higher courts jurisdiction, has
caused considerable surprise. During the past few months several boys
have been sent to the industrial school at Golden by justices of the peace
before whom they were convicted. According to Judge Butler's ruling
these sentences are invalid, the justices having no authority. The
disposition of cases against young male "infants" has been very
puzzling to the authorities. The Industrial school is clearly a penal
institution and the officials frequently hesitate in sending boys 6 and 7
years of age to that place.
Edward Demelier and Jacob Schick, who pleaded
guilty to six charges of burglary and grand larceny, were yesterday
sentenced. Demelier to serve five years in the reformatory. Both
prisoners are young men. They burglarized offices in the News block and
several grocery and hardware stores.
Ed Tunberge, a Swede, accused of administering poison to Mollie
Downey, will have a hearing Feb. 18. A nolo contendere was entered in the case against George Rowe, assault to murder.
BROBECK, LEBRON - See *EADES, JOHN BROWN,
A. M. HIS JAG BROKE THE JUGS. Drunken Engineer with a Lot of Crockery. Rocky
Mountain News, 6/27/1895
While Ezra Steinmetz and Clyde Roe, boys employed by the Denver
Porcelain and Stoneware Company, were engaged in unloading jugs and plates
from a wagon at Fifteenth and Lawrence Streets yesterday afternoon, one A. M.
Brown, an engineer living at 1441 Blake Street approached. Brown was
under the influence of liquor and he saw before him an excellent opportunity
to give vent to his hilarious feelings.
He approached the wagon at an unsteady gait, took the whip from its socket
and drove the boys away. He then filled his arms with jugs and turned
and faced the crowd that had been attracted by the disturbance.
"Smash de jugs!" shouted a newsboy. For support Brown leaned
against the dashboard. The suggestion of the newsboy had its
effect. Seeing that he could easily become a hero, he deliberately
smashed the jugs upon the asphalt pavement. The small boys yelled in
glee. Officer Blake placed Brown under arrest and charged him with
drunkenness and disturbance. CLARK,
Clarence W. THE KNOT WAS WEAK Doubt About the Legality of Clarence Clark's
Marriage. Justice Morse, Who Performed the Ceremony for the
Pretended Bicycle Champion, Did Not Fill in the Blanks Properly, and The
Action of the Bride in Obtaining a Divorce Is Thought to Have Been
Unnecessary. Denver
Post, 1/5/1895
Miss Gertie Hutchinson, who secured
a divorce from her husband, Clarence W. Clark, some time ago, had all her
trouble for nothing.
It will be remembered that Clark came to this city with many medals and a
bicycle.
He claimed to have won all the medals in bicycle races, and whispered it
around that he possessed a diamond belt valued $30,000. He arrived here
on a Friday and was married the following Monday, was arrested on Wednesday
and was divorced a week later. The divorce proceedings have proven were
not necessary, as the couple were not legally married.
Judge Morse, who received the envelope from Clark which contained a $1 bill
for performing the ceremony, was over paid, and Clark's friends will probably
bring suit to have the money refunded. In making out the certificate
Judge Morse inserted Clark's name where his own should be and left the spaces
for the contracting parties blank.
According to the marriage certificate the marriage was not legally
performed. When the suit was brought for divorce Clark was confined in
the county jail where he was serving a sixty day sentence for petty larceny.
He had gone into a woman's room in the La Casa block and stolen $10 from the
mantel. This money he used to get the marriage license and gave Judge
Morse a lonely dollar bill for performing the ceremony.
The rest of the cash was used to take his bride to Castle Rock, where he was arrested
and brought back.
Clark is at present serving out his sentence and will be tried next week for
alleged perjury, as it is charged that he swore falsely when he said his
bride was over 18 years old. COCHRAN, D. A. THE FIRST CASE Special to The News Rocky Mountain News, 2/3/1895 GREELEY,
Colo., Feb. 2 -- The first case against D. A. Cochran, the alleged rustler,
was begun in Justice Roe's court yesterday and concluded this
afternoon. The charge against Cochran in this case was the larceny of a
number of head of cattle, the property of C. G. Buckingham of Boulder, and
the case was pushed by the Cattle Growers' Association. The justice,
after the testimony was closed decided to hold Cochran to appear at the next
term of the district court, the amount of the bond to be fixed Monday
next. H. E. Chruchhill, Esq., attorney for the defense notified the
district attorney that if he would file all the charges in his possession
against Cochran, he would waive examination and the bonds in all cases could
then be argued. The district attorney promised to make answer at the
hearing of the second case Monday and here the matter rests. COOLEY, James STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post, 3/6/1895 Glenwood Springs--James Cooley is on trial here for the
killing of Patrick Bohen last November. CRESSWELL, David P. (see article under Pardons) CURRAN,
John GREEN,
Thomas LOCAL BREVITIES Rocky
Mountain News 6/14/1895
August Pabst, loaded with beer, was held up in the alley in the rear of the Haymarket
last night. Later in the evening John Curran and Thomas Green were
arrested on suspicion of being connected with the holding up of Pabst. DeMERCEY,
A. H. (*see
article under Pardons) DeMOSS,
WILLIAM DE MOSS TRIAL Accused Will Be Arraigned Today for Killing Giuseppi
Cemino. Rocky
Mountain News, 6/10/1895
William DeMoss will be placed on trial in the West Side court this morning
for the murder of Giuseppi Cemino, also known as Joe Ross, on the afternoon
of Easter Sunday, April 14. Cemino, in company with other Italians, was
holding a feast at the home of Vincent Talerico, at Thrity-first and Quincy
Streets, North Denver, when DeMoss and four companions came by and mimicked
the dancing of the Italians. Cemino and DeMoss had some words together,
when DeMoss pulled a 32-caliber revolver and shot him through the heart,
eye-witnesses say, without any provocation. Ralph Talbot will defend
the accused. DeMoss, since his arrest and imprisonment in the county jail, has spent most of his time reading or playing checkers with the guards. His conduct has been exemplary, and at no time has he shown a disposition to cause the jail officials any trouble. Regarding his crime and his hopes for the future he has always declined to speak with any person except his brother-in-law and his attorney.
DONNELLY,
ROBERT AN
ALLEGED BURGLAR. Rocky
Mountain News, 7/6/1895 Dectective Captured a Dangerous Thief Robert
Donnelly, a general all round thief and burglar and a former inmate of the Buena
Vista reformatory was arrested last evening in the New York house at 1740
Market Street by Detectives Connors and Gardner. He was charged with burglary and a complete outfit was found,
consisting of "in and outside" screw, chisel and numerous other articles
indispensable to a burglar's complete outfit. He is accused of robbing the room of Frank Murphy, at 1436
Market Street, the latter part of last week and stealing a suit of clothes,
hat and a cheap clock. He is also
charged with the burglary of the residence at 434 South Pearl Street and
stealing a large amount of clothes and jewelry. Donnelly is only 21 years of age and for six years past has been in jail more or less of the time. He is a native of Tenn., and came to Denver three weeks ago. He was sentenced from Arapahoe County in August, 1892, to the Buena Vista reformatory for two years for burglary and larceny and was pardoned after serving seventeen months and two days. Donnelly was arraigned in Justice Howze's court this morning and bound over to the district court in the sum of $500.
EADES, JOHN Slayer of John Eades Will Be Tried for Murder. Rocky Mountain News, 5/30/1901, Pg 12 Special to The News - Steamboat Springs, Colo. May 29, 1901--In the preliminary hearing of Lebron BROBECK, the slayer of John EADES at this place, before Justice FINLEY, the defendant asked for a continuance until he could have time to prepare his case. This was denied. He then applied for a change of venue and the case was sent to Justice HERWIG of Elk Mountain. Last night the defendant was bound over without bail. ELDER,
DR. HIS WRONGED WIVES A
Doctor Suffers a Terrible Punishment at Their Hands. Denver
Post, 4/11/1895 Page 5 Was Forced to Live in the Same House With Both of
Them and They Never to Speak to Him--He Married the First Wife in a Colorado
Mining Town--A Strange Story of a Too Much Married Man. Fort
Scott, April 11, --The recent murder of old man Strevel by his son and the
story of the separation of the husband and wife fifteen years ago and their
strange and romantic meeting several months since in this, Bourbon County,
has given this city a great deal of prominence throughout the country.
Many strange incidents have happened in this county within the past twenty
years. For a decade this was the outpost of Southwestern civilization,
and here it was that the daring and roving characters made headquarters.
There is an old man now past the age of 70 living on his fine farm in this
county who figures in one of the most wildly picturesque episodes that ever
transpired in the West. The part he played in the romance, that of
marrying two women and deserting both of them, is not so strange as the
sequel which followed.
Twenty-four years ago Dr. Elder located on a farm fifteen miles from this
city. He came from the East, and his wife, who was an industrious,
economical woman, aided him materially in saving enough money to buy several
hundred acres of land and improving it with a good farmhouse and stock
barns. Dr. Elder was a physician, and for many years enjoyed a
lucrative practice in the northern part of Bourbon County. While he was
engaged in his profession Mrs. Elder, superintended the farm and directed the
two men who were employed to plant, cultivate and harvest the crops.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Elder, two sons and a daughter, all
of whom are now married and living in this vicinity.
During these years of affection between parents and children was marked, and
the happy union of Dr. and Mrs. Elder was the comment of the neighborhood.
Finally Dr. Elder disappeared. He came to Fort Scott, boarded a train
for the North, and that was the last seen of him. This occurred about
twelve years ago. The heart-broken wife and sons telegraphed to friends
in various parts of the country, but no tidings came of the missing
man. They thought he must have been waylaid and murdered for his
money. At last they gave up hope, and Mrs. Elder and her children
continued to run the farm as before, making money from the sale of crops and
stock.
Three years and a half after his disappearance Dr. Elder returned. He
arrived at the old homestead in the night, and was greeted with loving
embraces from his wife and children. He explained that he had been
traveling through the mountains and on the Pacific slope, where he had hoped
to make a fortune in mining investments and return and surprise his good wife
and children. Sickness and misfortune had overtaken him, he said, and
he was compelled to return to the old home. He said he should have communicated
with his family, perhaps, but that he knew they would manage the farm as
before and do well.
This explanation was accepted by Mrs. Elder in good faith, although she
admitted that the story was a trifle gauzy. However, no questions were
asked, and Dr. Elder resumed his old place in the affections of his wife, who
exerted herself to make him happy and contented. But she did not dream of the
revelations soon to be made. One day, a short time after the doctor's
return, he went to town on an errand and to meet old friends. While he
was absent a strange woman, about 45 years of age , called at the Elder
homestead. She was neatly dressed and heavily veiled. She was met
at the door by the doctor's good wife, and, being assured that Dr. Elder resided
there, she walked in the parlor.
"Is this Mrs. Elder?" asked the stranger.
"It is," replied the lade of the house. "What can I do
for you?"
"I have come to say to you that I am also Mrs. Elder, and that your
husband is my husband."
The two women gave each other a piercing look, and not a word was uttered for
several minutes. Finally Mrs. Elder No. 1 invited Mrs. Elder No. 2 to
state her case. She commenced her story by telling how she first met
Dr. Elder three years and a half before in a little mining town in southern
Colorado. The doctor was there prospecting. She was a widow
and boarded at the same hotel. Dr. Elder became acquainted with her and
that acquaintance ripened into a warm attachment for each other. One
day the doctor asked her to be his wife. She accepted and they were
married. Soon they moved to a ranch several miles distant, where they
lived until Dr. Elder deserted her. He was kind and generous and a good
husband. All she knew about his former life was the statement he once
made of having lived in Bourbon County, Kansas, before going to
Colorado. He disappeared from the ranch as mysteriously as he did from
his farm in Bourbon County. To the Colorado woman he protested that he
was a bachelor seeking a fortune in the west. Mrs. Elder No. 2 said
that the doctor left her almost penniless and that three weeks after his
disappearance she sold all her earthly possession in Colorado and came to
Fort Scott to see if she could get trace of him. She was told that such
a man lived fifteen miles distant who had been absent over three years and
who had just returned to his family.
When Mrs. Elder No. 1 had heard this story she could no longer doubt its
authenticity, and to Mrs. Elder No. 2 she said: "Dr. Elder has wronged
you no more that he has wronged me. He has grievously wronged both of
us and has committed and offense which ought to put him behind prison bars
during the remainder of his life". Wife No. 1, assured wife No. 2
that there was plenty of room there for both of them and told her she could
remain there and enjoy the fruits of Elder's labor in former years.
After a long conversation the women agreed to remain friends and to stand by
each other in making life a burden to the man who betrayed them.
The return of Dr. Elder, that afternoon was anxiously awaited by his two
wives. Just as the sun was sinking behind the hills that fringe the
Marmaton River, the Doctor drove up to the barn. "That's my
husband," shouted Mrs. Elder No. 2, "but the wretched
creature." One of the hired men was sent out to the barn to take care of
his horse and to inform him that he was wanted in the parlor. When he
stepped into the room there he met face to face the two women he had
betrayed. He could not speak. He was overcome with the enormity
of the crime which he had committed, and fell upon his knees and begged these
wronged women and God to forgive him.
But there was no forgiveness. All feeling of love and sympathy had
turned to hate, and from that moment the two wives were determined to make
his punishment equal to the disgrace and chagrin he had brought upon
them. They quickly decided upon a method, and as soon as the doctor had
rallied from his shock he was given the ultimatum. They told him that
if he attempted to leave the country they would follow him to the remotest
bounds of the earth to put him behind prison bars. Should he desire to
spend his days on the old farm he could do so, but he should never speak to
either of them again; and further, that he was to occupy a certain room in
the house as his own and that he should never again set foot in any other
room in the building.
To this day these injunctions have been respected by Dr. Elder. For
eight years he has lived by himself. He is too old and feeble to
practice medicine and spends his time in his room brooding over the
past. His two wives live there also and neither have spoken to him
since the day his crime was made public. When necessary they communicate with
him by means of a slate or pencil or paper. His room adjoins the dining
room and in the partition a hole has been cut, through which his food is
handed him. Neither the doctor no his wives will discuss their
troubles. They each prefer to live a quiet and secluded life.
They rarely leave the farm and never visit with their neighbors. (Transcribe note: The headline appears to be a bit
misleading as to wife number 2.) EVANS, Jeff STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post, 3/6/1895 Pueblo--It is rumored that Jeff Evans, who lives 19 miles
east of here, was shot and killed during a fight over some cattle
yesterday. Evans is well known here having killed Sam Duke in Pueblo in
1890. FLETCHER, ERNEST Denver Republican, 12/31/1894 Pg 6 THE GOVERNOR'S LAST PARDON He Orders A New Year's Greeting For Ernest
Fletcher.
The Governor yesterday issued a pardon to Ernest Fletcher, confined in the
penitentiary on a 10 year sentence for grand larceny. A petition had been
presented to the State Board of Pardons, but had not been acted on by that
body. The Governor thought the case was a deserving one, and so granted
a pardon without waiting for the recommendation of the board, as his term
will expire before another meeting of the board can be held and the case
considered. At the December meeting strenuous efforts were made to get
the case advanced and secure the consideration, but they were not
successful. The governor's action has settled the matter, however, it
will probably be the last pardon he will issue before his retirement.
Fletcher was sent up from Elbert County on December 14, 1890, for grand
larceny, to serve 10 years, the full limit of the law for the offense.
In the pardoning document the Governor recites the failure of the Board of
Pardons to act on the case. He states that the young man is only 22
years old, and that this was his first offense. He had been in jail 11
months before he was sentenced, and has already served 4 years and 11 months
of his time. In view of the fact that he was probably led into the
commission of the offense by evil companions, and that if liberated he will
reform and become a good citizen, and also, in view of the fact that he has
already served nearly seven years in jail, counting the time deducted for
good behavior, the Governor grants him a full and unconditional pardon, to
take effect on January 1. FRY, W. H. STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post, 3/6/1895 Colorado Springs--W. H. Fry was arrested here
yesterday on a warrant charging him with arson at Durango. GRAHAM, George EIGHT YEARS FOR MURDER George Graham Pleads Guilty and Invokes the Clemency
of the Court. Rocky Mountain News, 1/22/1895 The second trial of George Graham
for murder was opened before Judge Butler in the West Side Court yesterday
afternoon. Graham was convicted of murder in the second degree before
Judge Graham about a month ago, and was granted a new trial. Yesterday,
after all the evidence of the state had been submitted, the prisoner, on the
advice of F. E. Carsterphen, his attorney, entered a plea of guilty to
the charge of voluntary manslaughter. The plea was accepted and the
prisoner was permitted to make a statement before sentence was pronounced.
He claimed that he did not intend to do any harm when the crime was
committed, and begged to be given a light sentence so that he could begin
life anew when he got out and before he got too old. Judge Butler said
that he ought to have used more thought when he committed the crime and saved
himself the trouble. Under the circumstances, the court thought it
would be improper to give less than the maximum penalty, eight years. Ernest Budlong was
given three years in the penitentiary for burglary and larceny. In the case against Frank
Blank et al., charged with robbery, a noile prosequi, was entered as
to Blank. J. B. Schlottman, accused of uttering forged papers, waived examination and entered a plea of not not guilty.
GRISWALD, George Rocky
Mountain News 4/10/1895 BROKE TWO RIBS Why an Ex-Policeman Was Arraigned in Court.
George Griswald, an ex-police officer, was on trail today before Justice
Cater, Charged with assault to kill. Frank Wiley, a saloon keeper, at No. 1716
Market Street, was the complaining witness, and in the complaint alleged that
the ex-wielder of the locust came into a room at the Diamond Hotel, Nineteenth
and Market, on the 6th of April and struck him on the head with "some
blunt instrument." In court this morning he testified that he
visited the Diamond Hotel to see a friend. Wiley made some remark and
Griswald knocked him down striking him over the head and then kicking him
until he broke two of his ribs. Griswald testified that he called at the
room and Wiley tried to put him out and he was knocked down. The court
reserved its decision until tomorrow. |
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HANNUM,
James SHOT THROUGH THE HEART Fred Johnson Killed by James Hannum in Aspen
Yesterday. Special
to the News Rocky
Mountain News, 8/28/1895 ASPEN,
Colo., Aug. 27.--At 3 o'clock this morning James Hannum shot and killed Fred
Johnson in a house on Tincan Alley. Deceased was sleeping in a rear
room. Hannum came to the place, searching for his alleged wife.
Upon hearing the noise, it is supposed Johnson arose and caught Hannum's
second shot, which passed through his hear. He reeled towards the front
door, and there fell and died. HENRI, JAMES SAYS
HE'S IN LEADVILLE Rocky Mountain News, 6/8/1895 CARSON, Nev., June 7--Mrs.
Henri, wife of James Henri, the man supposed to have stolen $80,000 from the
Carson mint, filed with the commissioner of the United States Court a
proposition that Henri would voluntarily come to Carson if his bail would be
fixed at $5,000. The dispatch from Arizona that James Henri had been arrested
there was untrue, as Henri is at the Hotel Vendome at Leadville, Colo., and
has openly sent and received messages to and from there. The Tribune, in commenting on the action of the government officials
in the mint matter this evening, say that few people believe the government
detectives and representatives really want Henri at all. HENRI, JAMES CALLED
FOR A TELEGRAM Special to The News Rocky Mountain New, 6/8/1895 LEADVILLE, Colo., June
7.--At the Hotel Vendome it was learned that James Henri was not registered
Wednesday and Thursday nights. A man
by that name called and inquired of the hotel clerk if there was a message
for him. The message came Thursday
night and was sent in care of the Hotel Vendome. Henri received it and left the hotel. A man answering his description left on the westbound train
tonight in company with two other men. HOFFMAN,
Frank/BLATZ, Conrad BACK FROM CANON Two Prisoners Arrive Here In A State of
Intoxication.
Detective Chamber arrived in Denver
this morning at 8 o'clock from Canon City with Frank Hoffman and Carl Blatz, the
men released yesterday from the penitentiary. The prisoners are wanted
on charges of passing forged checks on several business houses.
The men, when they arrived in the city jail, were in a beastly state of
intoxication and were consigned to the hospital cell to sleep off their
dissipation.
It is not known how the men became intoxicated as they were placed under
arrest after they left the prison office.
When they become sufficiently sober today, they will be taken before Justice
Cowell for preliminary examination. HORACEK,
...... TO EXHUME A BODY Coroner Martin Will Consider Muntsinger's Death. ALLEGED THAT HE WAS KILLED TO AVOID A TRIAL FOR
THEFT. Reports Say That the Body of the Deceased Man Has Been
Removed from the Place of Interment for the Purpose of Avoiding an
Autopsy--Hasty Funeral and an Inquest That the Coroner Holds Was Without Any
Excuse in Law. Rocky
Mountain News, 1/17/1895 Coroner Martin yesterday announced that he would go to Burlington,
Colo., and hold an inquest over the remains of Fred Muntsinger,
who was shot and killed Christmas Eve near his home. The coroner
intended to take an 8 o'clock train last night for Burlington, but he did not
go. Today he will probably make the trip and superintend an
investigation into the tragedy that occurred Christmas Eve. He will not
be welcomed by a certain faction in the vicinity of the Muntsinger home, as
it is claimed the killing of Muntsinger was pre-arranged on the part of neighbors
to place him where he would give no more information to the authorities about
criminal occurrences. Each day brings additional information about the
......., taking off of Muntsinger--information that places certain
persons in a very bad light. Rumors
of Ghoulish Work
For the purpose of conducting an inquest, the remains of Muntsinger will be
exhumed, if the corpse is still in the same grave where it was buried the day
after the shooting. It was broadly hinted yesterday that the remains had
been taken from the grave and removed to an unknown spot by persons who
interests would be advanced by such a diabolical act.
Since the killing, it is rumored, Horacek, the self-confessed
slayer of Muntsinger told some friends that he did not kill Muntsinger, but
that he made the confession because he was advised to do so.
An examination of Muntsinger's clothes showed that the bullet had entered the
back and that he was not shot in the chest as testified to at the
inquest. The funeral was a very plain affair. A farmer named Holm
furnished boards for a coffin and the body was laid away in mother earth
without ceremony.
One of the mourners, it is said, was the man whom Munstinger's friends accuse
of firing the fatal shot. This man is not Horacek but another. Cattle Rustlers Watched.
The information leading to the binding over of three brothers named Zick
and a man named Rickoff upon charges of cattle
stealing, was given to the authorities by Muntsinger. He wrote a letter
to Sheriff Norman of Cheyenne County, telling the sheriff that he went if he
went to Holm's ranch in Cheyenne County on a certain day he
would find the cattle thieves. The sheriff followed the advice and
captured the men wanted. Attorney Ralph Talbot prosecuted the case and the Zicks
and Rickoff was bound over.
The substance of the allegations made by Muntsinger's friends is that
Muntsinger was put out of the way to prevent his appearing as a witness in
the case in the District Court. Coroner Martin was not notified of the
killing of Muntsinger and he claims that the inquest held by the Justice of
the Peace was entirely without authority. HORSE
THIEVES CAUGHT THE THIEVES The Otero County Rustlers Captured n Missouri. A CHASE OF 2,000 MILES They Stole Eighty Horses and Shipped Them to the
East Where They Sold Them--Cattle Agent Wyatt After a Long Chase Locates Them
and Places Them Under Arrest--An Interesting Letter. Denver
Post, 4/10/1895 Page 1.
The secretary of the state cattle inspection board received a lengthy letter
today from its agent, J. N. Wyatt, who announced the capture in Missouri of
the men who two weeks ago stole and shipped from Otero County three carloads
of horses.
The chase which preceded the capture is detailed by Wyatt, and he gives full
particulars of the discoveries he has made in connection with the
transaction.
During the latter part of March Oscar Miller and Mitch Anderson, well-known
in cattlemen's circles in Southeastern Colorado, conceived the idea which
they later put in operation. Throughout the vacant acres of Otero, Las
Animas and Bent counties range hundreds of head of horses and their plan was
to round up a number of these and ship them to an Eastern market. It
was the boldest stroke of wholesale rustling known to the ranchmen in the
immediate vicinity, but it succeeded admirably for the schemers for a time.
Wyatt's letter says that the men, after collecting their booty from herds of
hoses belonging to such prominent owners as Luke Cahill and George W. Hill of
Las Animas, Frank Bingham and J. C. Vroman of La Junta and George W. Swink of
Rocky Ford, drove them to a lonesome station on the Missouri Pacific
Railway. From this point the shipment was consigned to a St. Louis
firm. The lost comprised three carloads and it was pulled out of the
state by the railroad company without even the station agent suspecting that
they were stolen animals.
Miller and Anderson accompanied the shipment and carried their roles as
owners to such perfection that no one at St. Louis divined the true character
of the men who professed to own the consignment. There the horses were
sold for $1,190.75 net cash, which the thieves received after the consignees
had deducted the freight charges previously advanced.
Within a few days after the horses were stolen their loss was discovered and
Sheriff Potter of Otero County was notified. He started on the trail
immediately , accompanied by Wyatt, who is acting inspector for the State Cattle
Board at Las Animas. They arrived at St. Louis too late to immediately
catch the thieves, who had left the city. It was discovered, however,
that the most of the horses had been reshipped to Bardwell, Kentucky, and
thither the officers followed. Upon their arrival efforts were made to
recover the shipment or the value of the animals, but the project was
abandoned because it would be too arduous a legal undertaking.
Returning to St. Louis the officers again scented the trail of Miller and
Anderson, who were followed in their old homes, in Southeast Missouri, and
there they were captured. Inspector Wyatt writes that the prisoners
offered to deliver up the money, but if was not accepted, and he would start
back to Colorado with both men as soon as himself and Potter had sufficiently
rested. "We have followed these fellows over some rough country
and over many hundred miles," he wrote, "and we will not let them
get away. The owners of the horses will lose them, but we have the
criminals. There were eighty head in the bunch. I think the firm
that bought them at St. Louis should be advertised as irresponsible, for its
members showed little will to aid us in catching our game."
The capture is considered an important one by the cattle inspection board,
and examples will be made of the prisoners before the law if they are not
lynched by the incensed owners of the horses. It is charged that Miller
and Anderson have stolen many horses and cattle and disposed of them the same
way within a year. HOWARD, Ida M. BURT, LATE HOWARD. Cruel Joseph Is Without a Wife,
Having First Beaten and Then Willfully Deserted Her. Rocky Mountain News 1/3/1895 In the county court yesterday Ida
M. Howard, the variety actress, secured a decree of divorce from Joseph E. Howard,
also a variety performer, on the ground of non-support and extreme cruelty. Mrs.
Howard, who is rather an attractive looking woman, testified that they were
married December 3, 1892, and that on the very day of the marriage he struck
her in the face, drawing blood and soiling her bridal dress. She also
testified that although he earns from $150 to $200 a month in his profession,
she has had to support herself for the last seven months, and that he has
deserted her. The court granted her a decree, with permission to resume
her maiden name of Ida M. Burt. JACOBS, Sam SNOWDEN, H. They Met as Strangers Denver
Post 3/7/1895 Sam Jacobs and H. Snowden of Clear Creek came
together last evening at Sixteenth and Larimer Streets. Snowden accused
Jacobs of being a horse thief and the latter retaliated by knocking his
accuser down. Office Burke placed both men under arrest. JAILBREAKERS CAUGHT IN DENVER Two of the men Found Yesterday,
One of Them Badly Frozen. Rocky Mountain News, 1/28/1895 Yesterday two of the Boulder
jailbreakers were captured here and they are now in the Arapahoe county
jail. Sheriff Dyer came here yesterday from Boulder and invoked the aid
of the county detectives in locating and capturing the runaways, whom he
suspected were in Denver. Matt Tedford, alias Joe
Littford, was caught on Lawrence, near Sixteenth Street, by
Detectives De Lue, Gardner, Loomis, Millen and Berlew, and he was at once
hustled off to jail. He was captured here some weeks ago upon information
received from Longmont, where he broke jail, and his face is well know to the
detectives. Ed Baker, the
African American escapee, practically gave himself up to the
authorities. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon he limped into the police
station. His face bore traces of suffering and he was scantily
clad. His condition demanded the attention of the police surgeon, who
discovered that the visitor's hands, feet and ears were partly frozen.
Baker gave the name of Sam Jackson and told a pitiful tale of abuse. He
said that he was thrown off a freight train at a point fifteen miles south of
the city at 3 a.m., and that he walked into the city. He came from
Pueblo, he said, where he was formerly employed at a smelter. Surgeon
Wheeler sent the sufferer to the county hospital, and it was later discovered
that Sam Jackson was none other than Ed Baker.
He was accordingly removed from the hospital and Sheriff Dyer thinks that the
other jail-breakers are also in the city, and today a thorough search of the
resorts will be made. JULIAN, Richard & Bridget BOTH MASHED ON DICK. Richard Julian's Amorous
Proclivities Land Him In Jail. Denver Post 1/13/1895 An
exciting episode in downtown society was fully aired before Police Magistrate
Frost this morning when Richard Julian, a hod-carrier by profession, was
arraigned on charges of disturbance and drunkenness. The Julian's--Dick
and his corpulent wife Bridget, alias "Mother Brodus," a fragile
feminine beauty of 200 pounds--have long been recognized as social leaders
among the viaduct colony at the foot of Sixteenth St. Dick and Bridget
scrap daily.
"Mother Brodus," however, has long cherished a viper in her family
in the person of Mrs. Alice Costanzo, a damsel of 25, with a temper that
would please a bandit. Yet she possesses winning ways, and dotes on Dick,
thus arousing the most intense jealousy of her adopted mamma and her husband,
Michael Constanzo. The latter, while objecting to his wife's partially
for Dick, has generally acquiesced, but last night when Dick, much affected
by the growler, courteously requested permission to slumber in the bedroom of
Mrs. Michael Costanzo, Michael's wrath broke forth like a volcanic eruption. Seizing
the man whom "Mother Brodus" would gladly die for and whom Mrs. Michael
Constanzo adores, the Italian-Irishman did him up. After wearing the
ends of his fingernails off on Richard's face, he mauled his eyes until they
were rosy as a bologna sausage. The man's agony caused Mrs. Michael
Costigan to scream lustily, which attracted Officer Doetschman, and Richard
was lugged away. Magistrate Frost, after hearing much spicy testimony, jumped on the husband and fined him $105. Dicky and Alice won't coo again until the Ides of March are ushered in.
KUNSEMILLER, CHARLES DYING IN PRISON Rocky Mountain News, 5/11/1901, Pg 12 Charles Kunsemiller's Friends to Make Effort to Secure His Pardon.
Former Bank Cashier Lying in Leavenworth Prison a Physical Wreck.
Ex-United States District Attorney Whitford Fears That Red Tape at Washington Will Prevent Action Being Taken in Time to Save Life. Renewed reports that Charles Kunsemiller, former cashier of the German National Bank of Denver, now serving a term in the United States penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., is a physical wreck and is slowly dying, has again interested his friends in his behalf and a strenuous effort is being made to secure a pardon for him. It is said that steps have within the past week been taken to get an application for a pardon before the proper government authorities before submitting the same to the chief executive. Ex-United States District Attorney Greeley W. Whitford, during whose term of office Kunsemiller was tried and convicted of making false entries in his bank report to the comptroller of the currency, said last night that he had heard nothing of the renewal of the movement to secure a pardon. "Under the rules of the attorney general, " said Mr. Whitford, "an application for a pardon must first be presented to the district attorney who tried the case before it can receive official cognizance in Washington. No such application has been presented to me since the one of two years ago. "When the application for a pardon for Kunsemiller--was--presented to me two years ago I recommended the pardon. Acting on the application the department of Justice at Washington saw fit only to commute the sentence of five years to three years. I think Kunsemiller has something less than a year to serve. The attorney general's office has ruled that no cognizance will be taken of a second application for pardon unless intervening extenuating circumstances furnish a basis for such."
LEADVILLE
ROBBERY CERTAIN OF TWO HOLD-UPS. Two of the Cripple Creek Stage Robbers are Behind
the Bars at Leadville. Rocky
Mountain News, 5/26/1895 Special
to The News. LEADVILLE, Colo., May 26.-- It is
more than probable that at least two of the men who were guilty of the
hold-up at Cripple Creek are behind the bars of the Lake County jail. Deputy
Sterling of Cripple Creek has positive evidence that one of the men captured
by Sheriff Leslie is "Kid" Gray, who is supposed to the man who
struck the stage driver when the bold brigands made the haul. The
deputy and the prisoner were brought face to face and Gray turned as white as
a sheet when he saw the deputy. The men who have been living on the fat
of the land at Carrie Miller's place, are sulky and sullen, and refuse to
talk. "Los Angeles" is believed to be in hiding hereabouts
and the sheriff and his posse are scouring the country for him. MAAS,
William (*see
article under Pardons ) MALONEY,
James (*see
article under Pardons) MANIX,
John J. DEATH OF MANIX Shooting Declared by Detectives to Have Been
Accidental. Rocky
Mountain News, 7/5/1895
The detectives are unable to find
the person who fired the shot that killed John J. Manix at Nineteenth and
Larimer streets Wednesday night. If the act was the cowardly impulse of
an assassin, the guilty party will escape justice for no efforts are being
made to find him. The detectives declare that in their opinion the
killing was an accident, although there is reason to believe it was a
murder. An assassin could have chosen no better time to commit his
crime, for the disturbance created by the shooting of crackers and small
cannons upon the street was so great that a pistol short would not have been
particularly noticed. A close examination of the body yesterday
revealed the fact that the bullet had entered the left side of the neck
behind and below the ear, and had passed thought the neck, the point of exit
being an inch below the right ear. Manix was therefore shot by a person
standing upon the opposite side of the street. MAYOR,
Michael T. ASKED FOR MERCY Special to The News Rocky Mountain News, 11/26/1895 LEADVILLE, Colo., Nov. 25.--Michael F. Mayor, the sporty
young man who pleaded guilty to embezzlement, came into court this morning in
a very penitent and contrite mood. He pleaded guilty and threw himself
upon the mercy of the court. A letter was also received from the wife
of the prisoner; pathetically pleading for mercy. He had, she stated,
three children to support, and begged the judge to be as lenient as possible
with the erring man. The district attorney also spoke a few words
asking for leniency. He said that the actual amount of the prisoner's
defalcation was only about $105. Mayor himself made a brief speech,
stating that his downfall was due entirely to gambling. He was a
collector for the Gold Packing Company of Kansas City. Judge Owens gave
the prisoner one year at hard labor at Canon City. MC ARTHUR, ROBERT W. Mc Arthur Confesses Pilfering Messenger Bound Over to
the Grand Jury. Rocky Mountain News, 9/5/1895 Page 8 Robert W. McArthur, the misguided
Rio Grande express messenger arrested last week for looting letters
containing money in transit to this city, was held to answer before the grand
jury by United States Commissioner Hinsdale yesterday. McArthur made
confession of his guilt to the officers. The letters accompanying the
money were destroyed by McArthur, and the fragments thrown out of the
car. Inspector Waters, however, has succeeded in recovering a
sufficient number of the pieces to complete a chain of evidence against the
accused, which alone without the confession, would make a strong case against
him. While gathering up the scraps
which were scattered over several miles of track, Inspector Walters found
fragments of several other letters, one of which was written by G. E.
McClelland, from the Alamo Hotel at Colorado Springs, on August 26 or
27. To whom it was addressed could not be deciphered, but it was
evidently taken from the pouch rifled on August 28. In his search the
inspector found portions of probably twenty or twenty-five letters, but they
are so finely torn and mixed that it is impossible to put them together so as
to identify them. MC CURDY, D. R. MONTCLAIR'S FIRE BUG. McCurdy Asks For A Pardon From The
Governor. Rocky Mountain News, Page 2, 9/5/1895 D. R. McCurdy, serving six years
in the penitentiary for burglary, has asked for a pardon on the plea that he
is not a habitual criminal and went wrong because of a mania for
gambling. The petition is signed by nearly all the politicians of
Arapahoe County and by Judge Glynn, Sheriff Burchinell and Ed. S. Keith, who
assisted in the arrest and conviction. There is quite an interesting
story connected with the case. It is claimed that the prisoner was
thrown under the baneful influence of an ex-convict of the Iowa Penitentiary,
who frightened him into the commission of the crime. McCurdy was at one
time an inmate of the Iowa institution for a minor offense and his old
acquaintance turned up in Denver at an unfortunate moment. The old
acquaintance was Hamilton, who is now serving time at Canon City. MC NAMARA, Daniel STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post, 3/6/1895 Colorado Springs--The jury in the case of Daniel McNamara,
charged with assault to rob, brought in a verdict yesterday of guilty.
McNamara was a Bull Hill man and it is alleged assaulted a man in Cripple
Creek and tried to rob him. METCALF, C. B. METCALF'S LOAD Being Too Heavy for Him He Breaks
a Leg. Rocky Mountain News, 1/28/1895 A man giving the name of C. B. Metcalf was having a big time with a party Saturday afternoon and evening with a number of friends at 2404 Larimer Street, and along about 9 o'clock a disagreement arose in which Metcalf took part. At 12 o'clock he presented his left ear to the police surgeon, asking repairs thereto, which were furnished. His ear was in so bad a shape, that he escaped arrest as a common drunk, and the police showed him the way home, and started him therefor. About an hour later an officer discovered him on the sidewalk at Nineteenth and Larimer with a broken leg. He was too drunk to tell how the fracture was sustained.
MOORE, James SNATCHED A POCKETBOOK James Moore Goes to Jail for the Present. Denver Post, 3/23/1895 James Moore was bound over to the district court in $500 bonds n a charge of highway robbery today. Moore is a sneak thief and on Thursday morning he snatched a pocketbook from the hands of Mrs. R. E. McIntosh and ran down Sixteenth Street. Officer Harlow witnessed the act and gave chase, overtaking the thief at Blake and Sixteenth Streets. Moore was unable to give bonds and went to jail. MURPHY, John (*see article under Pardons, ) NORTHROP, Fred (*see article under Pardons) |
|
O'DONNELL, R. COWBOY IN TROUBLE
Denver Republican, 1/1/1895 Page 21
He Gets Into A Quarrel And Uses
Brickbats. At a house on Market Street near Nineteenth,
R. O'Donnell, a cowboy and bronco tamer, quarreled with a French woman and
tired to annihilate her with brickbats, coal and other missiles about 9
o'clock last night. After splitting her scalp, O'Donnell rushed into
the street, where he was pursued by Officer Boykin and McCarrick. Boykin,
shot over O'Donnell's head, which brought him to a halt. He must answer to a
charge of assault to kill. PARDONS BOARD OF PARDONS Harley McCoy Must Remain in the Penitentiary Until
the Supreme Court Decides Rocky
Mountain News, 1/5/1895
The Board of Pardons worked up to 6 o'clock last evening without granting a
single application. The case of Harley McCoy brought out a
little ebullition from the governor, in the course of which he emphatically
denied the report that he had stated he would pardon McCoy before retiring
from office. It was found that McCoy's application for a rehearing has
not been dismissed by the Supreme Court and the board refused to enter into
consideration of the application. McCoy's name was placed at the head
of the list for the next meeting. W. H. Davis, heretofore attorney for
McCoy, has withdrawn from the case.
The case of Richard McCoy of Fremont County, which has been detailed
in these columns, was argued at length, and the Board decided to let him stay
in the pen. Senator McNeeley and ex-Senator Beckwith showed that he has
threatened to kill Dr. Dawson and others whom he does not like.
Applications of George D. Burns, John Brady and William Gilmore,
all of Pueblo, and found guilty of burglary, were refused, although a strong
argument was heard in favor of Burns' innocence.
The board refused to look favorably on the application of C. W. Gable
of Arapahoe County. Gable is sentenced for life for murder. His
father, an accessory, was pardoned by Governor Waite in 1893, on
recommendation of the courts.
Richard Thompson, fined $200 and bagged for ninety days by Justice
Harper, failed to excite the sympathy of the board, but the case of Robert
Holmes, as presented by Judge Sale, induced the board to name Drs. Love
and Wheeler as a committee to look into the sanity of the prisoner.
Holmes is a Garfield County man and is serving a twelve-year sentence for
killing his step-father.
Richard Lorain, ten years, burglary, Mesa County, has applied for
pardon on the grounds that justice has been satisfied.
Governor Waite treated the board and a large crowd of spectators to several
interesting exhibitions at the night session of the board of pardons. The
first outburst came from the executive when the chairman decided the vote on
the conditional pardon of Andrew Bigger as not having carried.
The vote stood 4 to 3, but the rules require that all votes on second termers
must be unanimous in order to prevail. Governor Waite excitedly
declared that he would pardon Bigger anyhow.
Bigger has served twelve years on a life sentence for murder. He hails
from Ouray County and shot a man in a drunken spree, having served ninety
days of a previous sentence for assault to kill. His pardon was asked
for by a big petition signed by a majority of the people of Ouray. He
has been serving as librarian at the penitentiary and has a clean record at
the institution. The condition imposed is that he shall not indulge in
strong drink.
The board also recommended the pardon of John Freiburg of Sedgwick
County, who is serving three years for robbery, and John Vanhove of
Arapahoe, seven years for burglary. Vanhove was a student at the Denver
University and Chancellor McDowell has been interested in the case for
months. Freiburg obtained clemency through the intercession of
Representative Carnahan.
Those refused last night were: George F. Almeter, Arapahoe; W. T.
Roberts, Arapahoe; J. Mc Nally, Otero; G. A. Sollars,
Arapahoe; E. Wells, Arapahoe; P. M. Dillow, Arapahoe; D.
Danforth, Arapahoe; Harry Archer, El Paso; Josiah Jackson,
Arapahoe; D. Gould, Las Animas; J. G. Hultz, Arapahoe; Mark
Powers, Montrose; T. W. Sawyer, Arapahoe; S. G. Wilson,
Arapahoe; C. Wedel, Park; F. Maes, Rio Grande.
Applications of Josiah Jackson and Harry Archer were refused,
not being approved by the trial judge or the District Attorney.
PARDONS THE TEARS OF TWO WOMEN Board of Pardons Put to a Severe Test HARLEY MCCOY'S FATE SETTLED He Will Remain in the State Penitentiary
Nothwithstanding the Imploring Voice of His Mother and Sightless
Brother--Widow of Inspector Hawley Entreats the Board to Remember the Fate of
Her Husband and Not to Allow Clemency to Soften Their Hearts.
Rocky Mountain News, 2/2/1895 Harley McCoy's fate, so far as the present board of pardons is concerned, is
settled, and unless his friends can induce some future board to reverse the position
taken, the slayer of Inspector Hawley must remain in the penitentiary the
rest of his life. The board met at 10:30 yesterday morning and
considered McCoy's case in executive session.
The application of J. C. Jones, the ex-policeman who shot
Strawn, was presented in a somewhat startling light. Letters which had
passed between the murdered man and Mrs. Jones have been discovered and they
were presented to the board. They were found on the body of Strawn at
the coroner's office and were not produced on the trial of the case for the
reason that the defense, in demanding the documentary evidence from the
prosecution, failed to properly describe the papers and thus lost this
valuable testimony. Mrs. Jones appeared for the first time to speak in behalf
of her husband. There was another long executive session, and at its
conclusion it was announced that the Jones case would not be finally passed
upon until the March meeting. Has One True Friend
Harley McCoy has one true friend left, and that is his mother, now more that
70 years old. She came to the board meeting yesterday, expecting that
she would hear a determination that would give her back the boy whom she has
not deserted in the long years of imprisonment. She made a plea to the
board that was more effective than the most skilled orator could have
made. She pleaded with simple words that the prisoner might come back
to his home. "I know," she said, "that he is a changed
man; and that if you will only allow him to go free that he will be a good
man and care for me and his brother's children."
McCoy's brother, who since the sentence of Harley has met with an accident is
is totally blind, was also present and made a statement in behalf of the
prisoner.
Mrs. Hawley, the widow of the murdered inspector, opposed the pardon.
She said that her husband had been ruthlessly killed, and that since his
death she had been obliged to earn a living for herself and little ones as
best she could.
The denial of McCoy's application finally disposed of the matter during the
life of the present board. Policeman Jones' Case
When the case of James C. Jones was
called there was a genuine sensation. I. N. Stevens, one of the
attorneys, said that Mrs. Jones was present and desired to be heard.
Jones was convicted of murdering Strawn in June, 1891, and sentenced by Judge
Burns to imprisonment for life. On the trial of the case Mrs. Jones was
not sworn, as the law provides that a wife cannot testify for or against her
husband without his permission. The board was informed of the four
letters in the possession of Jones' attorneys now, but which during the
progress of the case were with the District Attorney, and which were not
produced because the proper demand was not made for them by Jones'
lawyers. Those letters were shown the members of the board, but were
not given out for publication. They are said to contain language that
bears out the story that Jones had cause for his suspicions and that the
relations between Mrs. Jones and Strawn were of too familiar a nature.
Letters recommending the pardon were read from Judge Burns, the trial judge;
W. Neil Denison, H. G. Benson and Booth Malone, who assisted in the
prosecution. Convicted to Save His Wife
Judge Macon threw some light on the case in his explanations. He said
that H. M. Furman, was associated with him in the case, and it was at the
suggestion of the latter that the letter Jones found in the sewing machine
was not put in evidence, "Furman wanted to save both Jones and his
wife," he said, "and in trying to do that we saved neither."
He said the jury would undoubtedly have acquitted if there had been any
evidence of improper relations, but there was none. If, he said, the
letters could have been brought into court which have since come to light,
the jury would have been satisfied that there were improper relations.
"Not, ", he added, "that adultery was committed, but that
those relations had been established which lead to adultery." As it
was, he said that Jones was defending his home from the encroachments of an
adulterer. A pardon would not encourage others to murder on the mere
pretense that the home was being invaded. He had only been informed
after Jones had been sent to prison of the letters in the possession of the
district attorney that contained more than he knew about the case.
Mrs. Jones, a tall, comely woman, was called into the presence of the board
and was closeted with the members for more than an hour. She came back
with eyes streaming with tears, and the case for the time being was at an
end.
The applications of M. L. Hollenback and James Brennan, both
sentenced from Salida for life for the murder of a cook, were denied.
The body of the murdered man was found in a river. Hollenbeck now
declares that he lied on the trial, trying to shield Brennan, whom he knew to
have committed the crime. Self Defense Pleaded
The case of Peter Augusta, who is to be hanged unless the board
intervenes, the week of March 8, was considered and postponed until the next
meeting. Father Ferrer of Canon City made a plea for the condemned
man. He claimed that it could be shown that the prisoner acted in self
defense.
It appears that Augusta is unable to speak a word of English. The board
determined to secure an interpreter and endeavor to get at the truth of the
matter through the medium of August's testimony.
Application of Robert Holmes of Garfield, sent up for twelve years for
murder, was refused.
The sentence of James Sullivan, sentenced from Arapahoe for ten years for
burglary, was reduced to five years.
The application of Christian Kuelbs, sent from this county for life
for murder, was refused.
All the other cases on the list went over until the next meeting, Friday,
March 1.
PARDONS BOARD OF PARDONS One Absolute Pardon and Two Commutations Recommended
At Yesterday's Meeting. Rocky
Mountain News, 3/26/1895
At the meeting of the Board of Pardons
yesterday an absolute pardon was recommended for Charles F. White,
sentenced in 1894 from Arapahoe County for forgery.
The sentence of Thomas Hester, sentenced in 1891 to ten years for
murder in the second degree, also from this county, was commuted, saving him
two years and three months imprisonment.
The case of Columbus Sikes, serving a life sentence for murder from
Ouray County, was presented by Senator Johnson, but no action was
taken. It is claimed that Sikes is absolutely innocent. Sikes is
a young man and had as a close friend another young man named Smiduth.
They went to Colona one day on horseback. There Sikes bought Smiduth's
horse and they separated. The next day a body, charred almost past
recognition, was found in a burned haystack. It was claimed to be
Smiduth's body, and Sikes was arrested, tried and convicted of his murder,
the evidence being almost wholly circumstantial. It has developed that
the teeth in the body found wee very wide apart, while Smiduth's were known
to be close together. Back of this was total lack of motive for the
crime so far as developed. One doctor testified that the body found had
been dead thirty to sixty days, yet Smiduth and Sikes were seen together the
day before it was discovered. Smiduth is wanted for grand larceny and
embezzlement, which is given as the reason for his not putting in an
appearance, supposing him to be still alive. Sikes was sentenced June
12, 1894. He is still in his twenty-first year. (Transcriber note: Following the appearance of this article on Columbus Sikes, his ancestor did contact Colorado Clues. She had his prison records including the trial transcript, however, the reason for the pardon was unknown. Additional research in the local newspapers revealed that Smieduth was indeed still alive, the body found in 1894 on his ranch appeared to be a tramp who had fallen asleep in the haystack and caused the fire and his own death. The News held a prominent position in helping to find and present the truth by it's continued investigations. In September of 1901 Sikes was pardoned.)
PARDONS SIGNED THEIR PARDONS. Rocky Mountain News, 5/6/1895 Governor Waite Acts On Recommendations Made Friday Governor Waite yesterday issued pardons in favor of W. B. Leithead, Ambrose Lewis and Martin Schaaf. The action was in each case recommended by the board of pardons on Friday. The sentence of James Banks was commuted to May 1, 1895. The governor announced late in the day that he would follow the advice of the board and commute the punishment of Santiago Torresand William Nesbit to imprisonment for life. The case of Thomas Jordan will go to the Supreme Court of the United States. In answer to strictures on the board for setting aside the death penalty in Colorado it was claimed yesterday that the penalty is not a feature of the state constitution and is a statutory provision which, in the opinion of several members of the board, should be a dead letter, like many other laws.
PARDONS TO STAY THE LAW. Appeal of Abe Taylor's Wife to the Governor, Whom
She Believes Has a Good Heart. Rocky
Mountain News, 6/4/1895
The first step in an application
for the pardon of Abe Taylor which will bring the matter before the state
board, was taken perhaps quite unconsciously, by his wife, who lives at
Norwood. Taylor is under sentence to be hanged at the Canon City
penitentiary the last week of the present month. Under date of May 22,
she addressed a letter to the governor asking that Taylor's life be
spared. The letter was referred to the Board of Pardons. Proper
papers will now be filled out by direction of the secretary and the case will
come before the board in the usual way. Mrs. Taylor's letter shows her
to be an illiterate woman, unable, clearly, to express her feelings.
She writes:
"My husband, Age talyor, is centence to be hung for killing Mr. Emerson
of alamosa. I thought I would write to you and see if you Spare his
life for my sake and my little girl if you would be so kind. I saw you
in Rico last fall and I think you are a good man and got a good heart.
Yours truly,"
Jennie Taylor
The pardon board will hold its regular monthly meeting next Friday.
Thirty cases are down for hearing, including that of J. L. Campbell,
serving thirty-three years for murder. The story of the remarkable
developments in this case was recently told in The News. The case of Columbus
B. Sikes, serving a life sentence for murder, is again set for hearing
and heads the list. The following are the cases to come before the
board:
Columbus B. Sikes, Ouray County, life, J. G. Kearney, Pitkin
County, fifteen years, February, 1897. Henry Lee, Arapahoe County,
fourteen years, January 1901. John L. Campbell, Mesa County,
thirty-three years, March, 1904. Toribio Archuletto, Pueblo County,
five years, October, 1897. William Barron, Pueblo County, five years,
October, 1897. John Brady, Pueblo County, five years, July,
1896. Isaac Seeley, El Paso County, three years, March
1896. Joseph Slinker, Rio Grande County, four years, February,
1896. William Sherrill, Routt County, five years, June, 1897. Foster
Brown, Arapahoe County, five years, October, 1895. Richard
Manley, Hueffano County, twenty-four years, April 1904. Charles
Thornton, Arapahoe County, five years, November, 1895. G. T.
Graves, Chaffee County, three years, July, 1895. George S.
Ashley, Pitkin County, six years, March, 1897. John Dunn,
Pueblo County,
two years, July, 1895. John Cox, Fremont County, ten years,
July, 1898. Peter Foley, Huerfano County, twenty years, April,
1892. B. Fengvessy, Arapahoe County, three years, August,
1896. Nathan Rosenbloom, Arapahoe County, three years, August,
1896. Frank Hart, Pueblo County, five years, November,
1896. C. C. Rogers, Hinsdale County, seven years, April,
1897. Thomas Kelley, Arapahoe County, fifteen years, October,
1900. Charles Gavin, Arapahoe County, ten years, October
1898. George H. Smith, Arapahoe County, two years, October,
1895. J. Dawson, El Paso County. two years, November,
1895. Frank Hamilton, Arapahoe County, ten years, May,
1900. Mike Sherry, Mineral County, three years, March, 1896.
William Davis, El Paso County, three years, August 4, 1895. Emil
Becker, Arapahoe County, fourteen years, November, 1901.
PARDONS PUNISHMENT FIT CRIME Equation Board of Pardons Is Solving Known Quantities in Excess Governor's Hard Headed Board Refuses the
Applications of Nearly All Case Brought Up--Let One Man Go If He Will Promise
to Make Himself Scarce--Cresswell of Berthoud Must Serve His Time--An Old
Neighbor Professes to Be Afraid for His Life if the Prisoner Is Released. Rocky
Mountain News, 8/22/1895
The Board of Pardons spent four
hours last evening in an endeavor to make the punishment fit the crime.
Governor McIntire, who acted as Pooh Bah, occupied the chair, and Drs.
Wheeler, Beaver, Mr. Bonynge and Secretary Gabriel were present. R.
B. Richardson was pardoned on condition that he go to his home in
Missouri. The ground was an excessive sentence of thirteen years for
larceny.
The case of David P. Cresswell was considered unfavorably.
Cresswell killed Pat Buckley in Berthoud two years ago. The victim was
a burly laborer who went into Cresswell's store when drunk and began to abuse
him. A letter from C. V. Stryker of Berthoud was read,
protesting against the pardon of Cresswell. Stryker said he was afraid
of his life if Cresswell got out as Cresswell had said he would kill
him. Warren Blinn, one of the jurors at Cresswell's trial, laughed at
Striker's statement and ascribed it to an old ditch quarrel. He said
Cresswell had very great provocation, was nervous and irritable, owing to a
previous sunstroke and had always been an excellent citizen. The
application was denied only Dr. Beaver voting on the side of mercy.
John Murphy and William Maas were convicted of highway robbery
June 6, 1891, and a pardon at this time would cut off about twelve months of
their sentence. Colonel Neil Dennison said that they were convicted
entirely on circumstantial evidence, and he never was satisfied with the
verdict. A letter from Tom Ward, assistant prosecuting attorney at the
time was read to the same effect. G. M. Allen appeared for the
prisoners and showed that they would both leave the state if pardoned.
The pardon was denied.
F. W. Sanger was convicted of helping to rob a man while all three were
drunk. His attorney made a rambling and almost interminable plea, but
the board quickly voted him down.
Fred S. Rice tried to shoot Augustine Dumal a year ago. The
board quickly voted to let him serve out the second and last year of his
term. Harry Marsh has been in the penitentiary since 1890, and
the board voted to let him stay there until 1901. He assaulted and
robbed an old lady.
Frank Reed and James Maloney held up and robbed an old German
in his saloon in 1891 and they were sentenced for eight years. The case
was passed till September on request of their attorney. Dick
Matthews, who stole a horse last winter will serve out his three
years. R. J. Thompson forged the name of his wife to a check for
$15, got the money and within half an hour was found in a gambling
house. Colonel Dennison said J. S. Appel had a similar check on which
he had never prosecuted, and that a half dozen others were scattered about
town. The case went over on request. Thompson deposed that his
wife wanted to get him into trouble as she got a divorce within twenty days
after his conviction. She is now Mrs. Witter.
Judge Butler sent a letter stating his conviction that A. H. DeMercey
never committed the assault for which he was sentenced and that he should be
immediately pardoned. Unfortunately he gave no reason and the case went
over. Colonel Dennison announced the peculiar fact that no record
whatever could be found in the office of the district court of the trial or
conviction of Fred Northrop. The case went over.
The case of George F. Williams was presented by Attorney Walkie.
Conflicting statements made at two different times by Judge Rucker, whose
memory of the case was indistinct, confused the board for a time.
Colonel Dennison strongly recommended the pardon and a letter was read from
Mr. Strong of Victor, his old employer, offering Williams a position as a
bookkeeper. Williams was given ten years for attempting to steal
clothing forty months ago. He always claimed his innocence, but was never
able to prove it. The board was ready to vote on the case and, to all
appearances, favorably, when the governor ordered the vote postponed till the
meeting next Tuesday night. PARDONS ONE PARDON GRANTED Tame Session of the State Board Which Resulted in
One Favorable Recommendation. Rocky
Mountain News, 8/28/1895 The Board of Pardons
held a short meeting last evening, at which the accumulated cases were all
cleared up.
Robert Williams killed Tom Phillips in LaPlata County in 1891. Phillips
had talked against him to a girl whom they both wanted. Letters from
the district attorney and others opposed pardoning, which was quickly voted
down.
J. A. Hamell was convicted of larceny in Saguache County last year and
sentenced for three years. It was shown at the trial that he was one of
an organized band of cattle thieves. Pardon was quickly refused.
A. T. DeMercey was sentenced last January for two years for assault
with intent to rob by Judge Butler. A letter from the judge stated that
persons who were not called as witnesses saw the attempted robbery and swear
that De Mercey was not there. Therefore he recommended his pardon,
which was granted.
Pardons were refused to John McNally, J. M. Harris, Lem Swank, Eugene
Maya, A. M. Romero, Lucinda Guyer, Charles Wilson, Adam Fischer, Juan J.
Ortega and William Hague.
Cases of Jeremiah Coffey and George F. Williams went over till
the September meeting.
M. E. O'Brien created a little diversion by appearing to beg for the
pardon of his wife Mary, who twenty-seven days ago hit him with a tin
bucket. He expressed his regret that he ever swore out the warrant,
especially after the court gave her ninety days instead of thirty, as he
expected. He apologized for her by saying she only did it because she
was jealous. He didn't look like a person any woman could be jealous
of, and the board smiled all around and voted "No." The next
meeting will be held on the evening of September 10. REED,
Frank (see
*article under Pardons)
RICE,
Fred S. (see
*article under *Pardons)
RICHARDSON,
R. B. (see *article under *Pardons)
SANGER, F. W. (see *article under Pardons)
SMITH,
Frederick FREDERICK SMITH'S ABSENCE. Had Less Than $5,000 on Leaving Denver. Rocky
Mntn News,7/25/1895
No word was received yesterday from
Frederick L. Smith, the runaway manager of the J. W. Knox Jewelry
Company. William E. Knox, brother-in-law of Smith, said yesterday that
he did not expect to hear from the missing man. According to Mr. Knox,
the appropriation of the firm's funds on the part of Smith lasted over a long
period of time. It is believed that Smith, at the time of his
departure, did not have in his possession an amount of money greater than
$5,000. The invoice of the stock of the firm has not yet been completed
and it is not known as yet just what property is missing.
SNOWDEN,
H. (see
article*Jacobs, Sam)
SNYDER,
H. R. SNYDER ACQUITTED Special
to The News Rocky
Mountain News 2/3/1895
Pueblo, Colo., Feb. 2--H. R.
Snyder, who was arrested at Colorado Springs with Frank White with a quantity
of wire and brass stolen here in their possession was acquitted in the
district court today, it being shown that White exercised almost complete control
over Snyder's actions. White was given three years and a half on his
plea of guilty.
TAYLOR, Abe STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post 3/6/1895 Alamosa--Abe Taylor is on trial for the killing of City
Marshal Emerson, last January.
TAYLOR,
Abe AN APPEAL TO BE TAKEN Rocky
Mountain News, 6/13/1895 Special
to The News ALAMOSA,
Colo.,June12-- Papers are ready to file
with the Supreme Court appealing the case on error of the State vs Abe
Taylor. This will force a stay of execution of the death penalty on
Taylor until the Supreme Court can hear the case. Taylor will not hang
next week, so the knowing ones say. THOMPSON,
R. J. (*see
article under Pardons) TODD, Thomas H. STATE HAPPENINGS Denver Post, 3/6/1895 Canon City--Thomas H. Todd, who was doing eight years in
the penitentiary for assault to murder, escaped yesterday and is still at
large. A reward of $200 is offered for his capture. TYSON,
Henry SENTENCED TO DEATH Henry Tyson Must Pay the Penalty of His Crime on the
Gallows. Judge Bulter Held That After He was Pronounced Sane
There Was Nothing for Him to Do But Order the Original Sentence Carrie
Out--Tyson Heard His Doom Without Showing Any Feeling--An Appeal Probable. Denver
Post 3/19/1895
Henry Tyson was sentenced to be hanged during the second week in April in the
criminal court this morning. The prisoner listened to his death warrant
with the same stolid expression and lack of interest that has marked his
demeanor during the argument of his case. Until the reading of the
decision he apparently was the most disinterested spectator in the court
room. As the sentence was read he watched the court intently, but
farther than that did not display emotion. After the ordeal was over he
quietly reached for his hat and got up from his chair and walked back to the
jail with the sheriff without saying a word to anyone or showing a tremor in
his face or walk.
The sentence was the result of a motion that Tyson be discharged from custody
for the reason that since he has been adjudged sane the laws under which he
was sentenced to be hanged in the year 1889 have been so changed that the
sentence of that court could not now be legally carried out, and he could not
be again tried for the same offense for which he was once convicted.
Judge Butler decided that the motion was not sufficient grounds why the
former sentence should not be carried out, now that Tyson had been found
sane, and so ordered that he be hanged. His attorneys say that they
will take the case to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The death sentence read as follows:
"Wherefore, it is ordered by the court that the sheriff of Arapahoe
County take the body of Henry Tyson and him keep safely, convey and deliver
to the warden of the penitentiary of the State of Colorado, within
twenty-four hours hereof, to be kept by said warden until the second week of
April, A. D. 1895, and that the said warden shall upon a day and hour in the
second week of April to be designated by him, execute the sentence of this court
of July 26, 1889."
The former sentence was that Tyson
be hanged until he was dead. Shortly after sentence was pronounced
Tyson was found to be insane by a jury in the criminal court at that
time. He was then taken back to Canon City and the story of his
solitary confinement and terrible suffering was told on the witness stand a
few days ago and fully published in "The Evening Post." He
was advised by his attorneys that there was a chance of getting him free but
that he would run the risk of being hanged if their plans should fail.. Upon
this advice he decided to stand trial as to his sanity and after being proved
sane run the risk of getting free by habeas corpus.
His attorneys relied upon a decision in the United States Court in which a
man was sentenced to death and the execution for some reason delayed until
the legislature had made several material changes in the laws relative to the
trial of murder. They then held that he could not be executed for the reason
that with different laws the result of his trail might have been
different. Judge Butler held that the laws of our state had not been
changed so materially as to effect the sentence of the same court in the year
1889. WILLIAMS, George F. (*see article under Pardons) YEOMAN, Ves THE JURY DISAGREED Special to The News Rocky Mountain News, 6/3/1895 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 2.--
The jury in the case of the People vs Ves Yeoman, accused of being an
accessory in the murder of Richard Newell, Jr., disagreed. They were
out about eighteen hours and were about equally divided. Judge Lunt
called them in at 1 o'clock and discharged them. The case cannot be retried
before September. |
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