Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-01-11

| A brief teIegAphic announcement has 81.
ready besn made In these columns Of = most
Hsndish murder that was perpetrated nsar
lacrosse, Wisconsin, early on Saturday
morning last. The murderer was arrested IN
Chicago this morning, and We ere nov pre-
pared 70 furnish the fhcts connected With
the murder.
At On early hour on esturdsy morning. .
span Of horzea, attached 10 slsigh loaded
with pork and beef stopped in front Of .
not0 ID - 0DOsse. No driver accompanied
the team, which was instantly recognised ~
belonging 70 ROBERT LANCE, highly res
pected merchant At Cone Prairie, Vernon
county, Wisconsin. Mr.. LANCE always stop
ped at the hotel alluded to. and his team,
from long habit, stopped In front of It On
that occasion - orderly as though driven in
hand. Ths team was cared for, and for q
time nothing strange was thought Of the
matter; but when hours had worn away
without hesring anything from Mr.. Lange,
suspicion began to develop itself, and close
examination Of the sleigh revealed large
spots Of clottcd blood, while signs Of des-
perats struggle were manifest. a number
Of citizens forthwith proceeded to investi-
gate the matter. Tracing the road which the
team had Travelled. they come upon spot,
three miles from La Crosse. which indicat.
ed something unusual. Following the tracks
for about sixty rods from the road they
came upon the murdered body Of Mr.. LANCE,
shockiDgly mutilated, the skull having been
driven in in several places, while his breast
had several deep aud terrible cuts, evident.
ly inflicted with nm axe.
The news Of the murder created a pro-
found sensation in La Crosse and its neigh
borhood. Il was believed that Mr.. LANCE
had a large sum Of money with him, as he
usually deposited his funds in La Crosse.
The first suspicion as to the murderer was
created by one Jacob A. Clear, a soldier Of
the 18th Wisconsin, who changed about
fifteen dollars worth Of postal currency, at
the Harrington House, for grcenbacks.-
Clear had formerly been clerk in the EN-.
ploy of Mr. Lange, and knew that he gcner-
ally carried large sums of money to La
Crosse. The sudden disappearance Of Clear
community settled down to the belief that
he was the murderer. lie was tracked to an
eastern train; tracked to Milwaukee, and
then lost sight Of On Monday last Mr.. Soel.
berg, Sheriff Of La Crosse, arrived in Chica-
go in search Of him. lie invoked the assis-
lance of Chief Of Police Turtle, who instant
~ detailed Wells Sherman, an expert de-
tectivc, to assist him. Working upon mere
description, Sherman finally got upon the
scent, and never lost it Till he caught his
game. The arrest was made this morning
1T the soldiers Rest, in this city, and so
adroitly was it managed that Clear, taken
BY surprise and overwhelmed at finding
himself in irons at the Central Police sta
ton cells, confessed tie murder. lie MUIR
dered Langc with an axe and rilled his peck
cts of 1924, much smaller sum than he
had expected to find.
The murderer is about twenty five years
Of age, and very good looking His frame
indicates great physical strength. while his
mental faculties are better developed than
The average. He had served in the 18th |
Wisconsin three years and re clisted His
parents reside in Minnesota. Detective
Sherman will take him to La Crosse this
evening. Chicago Journal.