The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1870-05-25
SA,l tnrnta B.n,ae.nt.
Henderson County, III. Correspondence Of the
Cincinnatf Enoufrer1
POLITICAL MURDER.
A Horrible Crime Unearthed after
FIVe Years-LoYaI League AssassIns.

EANG LCAHN-A40y - A4c~- = AG @AaNAANaAAAA-
send you for publication an accoun
Of most atrocius and cold blooded mur
der, which has recently been successful,
unearthed, after a period of some five o
six years. The circumstances of the case
so far as can be gathered from rumor, anC
the evidence elected before the grand iury
at the last term Of the court, are these
An old man, name unknown, was travel
ling on foot, carrying a pair o. saddle
bags, through this country in the spring o
1864 or 1865, on his way to Iowa HI
called late in the evening at the house of &
Mr.. .DeHape. some five miles east of Bur,
lington, Iowa, to get his supper and night:
lodging, which was granted. During the
evenings conversation, political question:
came up for discussion. DeHage, it seems
was member Of Loyal League" ol
some other organization, and the traveller
was Democrat, and of<ooorse they could
not agree. At length DeHage's son damn.
ed him for a "copperhead," and ordered
HIM to leave. When the traveller went tC
paw for his supper he exhibited number
Of bank bills. paid for his supper and left,
being directed to call ON q man named
Parks, living about three-fourths of a
mile west Of DeHage's, as that would be q
good place to pass the night, Parks being
also a member Of the league
The old man travelled on, young De
Hsge following; instead Of the traveller
calling at Parks house, he went into q
school-house across the road from Parks
house. Young DeHage, it appears, went
to Parks, and consultation was held, and
Parks boys were dispatched to notify the
balance Of the league that there was horse
thief in the settlement. Parks and De
Hage went and found the traveller lying in
the school-house, and charged him with
being a horse thief, which he stoutly and
truthlully denied The crowd began to
assemble at the school-house, and some oi
the party took an old mare with colt, that
was so feeble that her owner, a member OF
the crowd, was obliged to take her from
the plow that day, not being able to stand
the work, put a bride and saddle on her
and hitched her to tree in the woods
near by Then some one slipped the old
mans saddle-bags from him and put them
on the old mare, or as some say, an old
mule not worth two dollars. It seems,
by this time the crowd was all collected
when the old man was taken to where the
mare or mule was hitched, and was asked
if he knew anything about that animal
and saddle-bags. He told them that as
for the animal he knew nothing, but the
saddle-bags were his, and he knew NOT
how they came there.
he was then accused Of having an ac-
comphce, and was told that they would
hang him unless he told them who it was.
He answered that they might hang him
that he had nothing to confess-that he
he'd no accomphce, nor was he horse
thief, or any other kind of'a thief. A rope
I l.
swung to limb Of a tree until he was
nearly dead. He was then let down and
interrogated as to where he got the animal,
and who was his accomplice. The poor
man had nothing to confess, and so he told
them-told them also that if they intended
to murder him for his money, if they
would let him 90, they might have his
money in welcome, but for Gods sake to
spare his life He was hung up the third
time without any confession being made,
and when almost dead was let down and
interrogated. Then his hands were cut of
and he left to himself, almost dead for a
short time. He made An effort to crawl
off from them, bewailing his fate and la
menting most piteously from pain, when
one of the desperadoes cursed him and or
dered him to stop his noise or he would
knock his brains out Suffering from ex-
cess of pain as he was, the poor man
could not keep still so one of them seized
club and beat him over the head until
life was extinct. This occurred in the
spring, about complaining time.
Seven or eight months subsequent tC
the transaction, some men went to take q
brick wall out of an old well at a cabin in
which no one had lived for a long time
and while taking the wall out, they found
the body Of man nearly all decayed ex-
cept the limbs, and both hands had beer
cut off
Prior to finding the body in the well
the excitement had cooled down; but 8
little incident would now and then occur
such as a man saying chat he had on the
copperhead's overcoat, and that if he
would come back he might have it :" an
others wife was showing his shirts; an
other being seen with his saddle-bags by o
man who had taken particular notice oi
them when he had halted to rest that af-
ternoon before going to DeHage's, thus
fastening guilt or completely on certain
parties.
The fact has also transpired that on the
night when the murder was committed,
somehow got an inkling of what was up,
and watched them. He secreted himself
under hedge, so near that he could hear
and see all that passed
Afterward some Of the crowd engaged
in the murder suspected that Knowles
knew little too much about the affair,
so they caught him, put rope on his
neck, and were going to hang him. He
plead for his life, however, and promised
that if they would let him off he would
leave the country, say nothing about it,
and 60 into the army; but he returned
safe, and Is now ready to testify to all he
knows against them
There have been efforts made at nearly
every term of the circuit court in this
county since the transaction occurred; a
little was unraveled at each term, making
the case more plain, but yet not enough to
lasten positive guilt until the last which
was on the l4th Of last March, when posi-
tive proof. was obtained, duplicating about
fourteen persons.
Warrants have been issued, and three
OF the men are now in the county Jail,
and among them are two prime movers in
the deed-young DeHaGe and Parks
Some of those engaged IN the transactions
are dead, some have moved away, and
how many are here yet do not know. l
understood that warrants have been issued
for the apprehension of all that can be
found. | am told, also, that detectives
from Chicago have been pu. on track of
some whose whereabouts are not known.
1t is to be hoped that all who were en-
gagged in the dastardly and cold-blooded
muresf may be arrested and receive their
just deserts
Too Much.