The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-12-20
MITCHELL BULLDOZERS.
Progress Of N,e Trial Of the Orange County
Outlaws.
THE CASE FOR THE DEFENSE
nesses TO Prove an abb for the Jones
Gang-Benf Jones ON the Stand To-
Especial to the Sentinel j

Especial TO the Sentinel i
BIooM1sGros, Ind, Dec. Is.-This being
the first week of the circuit court in Law
renee county, Judge Pearson was compelled
TO adjoarn the Jones-Tolliver investigation
on Saturday until tomorrow, in order that
he might 60 to Bedford, open court and in
struct the grand jury. At that time this
of. There proposition to post
pone the hearing OF the remaining testi-
mony, which includes that of Bent Jones,
| for some weeks, until the court could find
time from the regular business of court to
hear il, but as that would defeat the object
| of the defendants, immediate bail, they of
course objected. Besides the judge had
| some doubts as to his power to begin an in
vestigation of this kind in term and con-
| tinue it in chambers. Judge Rhodes took
| the ground that the court had this I'M
doubted right, and r w. Miers forci-
| bly, argued against il. The PROPOSE
| ton was also entertained of setting
day OF this week to hear it at Bedford, but it
was finally concluded that it would be unsafe
to take the prisoner there, and the PROPOSE
| ton was abandoned.
| After Mrs. Donelson, whose te timony was
given on Saturday, Robert Teagarden, one of
| the detectives engaged in the case, was put
mostly of the details of the arrest of the
prisoners, their manner then and conduct
| since, and was not very important.
Clara Harvey testified to hearing Bent
| Jones when angry with various persons
| threaten to kill them "as dead as he
had killed Moody"
THE DETECTIVES STORY.
il. b. Ward was an importa It witness,
| he went to Orleans and Mitchell for the
purpose, and has done little else since last
| February but work up this case, and to him
and to Mr. Teagarden belongs the credit and
| the reward IL they have captured the right
parties. He stated in substance. that he
made the acquaintance of Bent Jones
on the I'd of May. A package of
letters had been found between Mitchell
and White river belonging to Jones, and
| that he made his acquaintance in delivering
| them; that at the time he had informed
Jones that he wanted TO have confidential
| talk with him, and soon afterward met him
privately and told him that he was working
up the Moody murder; that he had made
considerable progress and had found moth
ny against him, but had found evidence
against jeff HuffStetter. and could indict
| him if he (Jones) would assist him; that
Jones then told him that JEFF Huffstetter
was as guilty as hell, and he would help
prosecute him; that he could get Lowery
| to swear against him. He said
| Lowery had got scared about something and
| gone, but that he could get him back to
swear against Huffstetter. He said Hutfstet
| ter had told Abe Jones something. and that
Jones knew where the gun was that killed
| Moody; that he would see Jones and find
telegraph; that in a few days he received
letter and then telegram to
come to Mitchell; that he went
and met Jones, who took him TO
| a private room in the Albert house. That
| he then told him that he had found out
1 II. -
be friend to him, and might be trying to
trap him, but that il he (Jones) would help
| him to get two or three thousand dollars,
| ne guessed it would be all right; that Jones
then took card and drew plan of some
ground and two ponds, and said the gun
| was in one of these two ponds. That he
then said that Eli Lowery told him where
the gun was and that he knew where il was
all the time but that he had not to Id
| at the other interview, because he wanted to
find out what he (Ward) was up to; that he
then went back to Orleans, got assistance
and went to the ponds, but seeing that he
could not drag the ponds without being
seen from Hutfstetter's house, he went away
and returned at II O'Clock at night and
raked the ponds without finding
gun; that on the next evening
| he took Robert Z. Perkins with
! him, and Perkins succeeded in finding
| it; that it was buried In the mud. very
| rusty, and the varnish scaling on the barrels,
| and looked like il had been in the pond
| some time Here witness identified gun
| shown him as the one. Said he fouud the
gun on the 18th of May last. He said he
saw Jones again on the day before he was
arrested and told him that the gun arrange
ment wouldn't work, that they must go to
work when the grand jury set at Paoli and
indict Huffstetter; that Jones then said he
could get forty men to swear against Huff
| Setter, that they would swear what he
wanted them to; that they must
not be seen together, he and Jones must
have quarrel at Paoli, and let on that
they were not friendly; that il they could
would see him go to the penitentiary he
would pay four or five thousand dollars;
that the next day Jones was arrested. On
croSs-examination he said he went to Or
leans to canvass for the State Atlas and look
up the Moody matter in conjunction: that he
used the canyassing as a cover and TO pay
expenses; that the way he came 10 engage in
it, he was marshal of Greensburg in 1875,
and got poster Offering a reward of $4,000
and after his time was up as marshal, had
determined to try to get it.
Here the state rested, with the under
standing they had the right TO examine alb
sent Witnesses when they arrived.
EVIDENCE FOR THE DEFENSE.
Aleck Hardin, Lemuel Magner, William
Buchanan, James Head, Lee Morris,
lanes kelley Thomas Murry, Moses Gin
ton and Abe Jones were introduced by the
defense for the purpose of proving an abb,
and most of them swore to seeing the pris-
oners that night, covering the time from
to or half-past o'clock. The latter gen.
tleman is the man who kept the saloon
which had figured so prominently in this
case, and who was seriously shot in an at
tack on his saloon by mob on the night OF
the odd of February last Ii is claimed by
the friends of the prisoners that the pur-
pose of this mob was to kill this Jones to
keep the prisoners from proving al alb by
him.