The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-02-21
MYSTERIOUS MURDER.
a TraDper on the Kankakee Killed
and the Hut Set ON Fire 10 Conceal the


and the Hut Set ON Fire TO Conceal the
Crime.
Rensselaer, Letter TO the Chicago Times
This section has been startled by the per-
petration of a murder as atrocious as the
action of the coroners inquest was idi0tic.
Immediately upon hearing of the murder,
the Times man proceeded to investigate it.
1T happened in South America, said one
presuming to know; and having been di-
rected thither, your CORRESPONDENT waded
some II miles through swamps to which
Bogus creek would be a summer promenade,
to learn that he was only about 80 miles
from the actual scene. These facts are men,
toned to estimate the seeming dilatoriness
in remitting the news. The following IS the
true history in brief:
Last fall two young men, named James
Cotton and Jay Franz, went trapping twelve
miles north of Rensselaer,. Both were White
county men, and Cotton bad relatives here
and in that county. Recently the hum
tiers moved further north to Keener
township, Oh the Kankakee, on Grape
island, where they built cabin
shanty contained a bed made of poles,
the breadth of the building, covered with
hay and rugs a stove, a rude table. and
trunk, in which were good clothes, a can of
powder, books, etc. There were also a gun
and rifle and piles of skins, besides heavy
winter clothing hanging up In another
part of the shanty was Jug of kerosene oil.
Close by was a hay stack for their horses
On Wednesday week last Franz, aged 25
took the team and went down to a Mr.
Shieldss to haul up the boat, traps, etc,
leaving Cotton, aged %, in the possession
of about 500, and accompanied by
two dogs, one savage bull, and
Franz returned, having staid over night at
nj tba Of ho che ~
burned, Cotton being partially consumed on
the floor, the bird dog dead, and nearly ev-
erything else gone. The fire was still
smoldering He immediately gave the
alarm, and Justice Fairchild summoned a
jury, who "fOund that the deceased came to
his death ewing to some unknown cause,
explosion of gunpOwder or kerosene, and so
COltOns murderer came near being forever
buried in oblivion. No effort was made
to call the coroner, none to notify the sheriff
Franz, however, came to town and notified
Mr. Frank L. Cotton, of Rensselaer, He sus-
pected foul play and telegraphed Mr.. Fisher
brother in-law OF Colton's and ordered a
coffin. The circumstances determined George
NJ Robinson, sheriff, and Dan Miller, prose
cutting attorney, to stop the funeral and learn
how the accident occurred. At Remington an
inquiry was set on foot, and four doctors
made an examination. The corpse was in a
horribly mutilated state, the hands, feet,
arms and part of the trunk being destroyed,
the head deeply burned. The examination
showed that the throat had been cut after
the skull had been fractured by blow of
some blunt instrument, or that a shot had
struck him in the throat. Attorney Dan
Miller and the sheriff proceeded at once to
the camp, wading often up to their hips
through the thawed boys. That the powder
had not exploded, but had been taken out,
was patent. There were the visible re-
1f nfo Oh,
the trunk had been burned down without
scattering the contents. There stood the
kerosene jug, empty, with the cork out,
which under the heat OF an accidental fire
would have broken into a thousand atoms.
There lay the dog enveloped in hay, and
comparatively little burned, showing that
special pains to consume the human victim
had been taken. There hung the guns, but
of the winter clothing close by, or the fires,
! nothing could be found. The most careful
investigation revealed no buttons, while all
of the silver contained in So worth, and a
silver ring PANIED out but two pieces about
the size of the head of nail.
Cotton when murdered, was eating; he
was probably shot through a small hole
which the hunters had cut in. the door to
enable them from the outside to unlatch the
door. He was evidently facing this when
| killed, for he took his meals in that direc-
ton. 1t is evident that the place was robbed
of everything valuable and portable. and
that this had been done by some one posted.
The place had been filled with hay and sat
urated with kerosene. The savage bull dog
had been bulldozed in some way. A heavy
reward will be offered tomorrow. One
theory is, that in consequence Of these hunt
ers infringing on the hunting claims of
others, these claims being strictly con-
sidered property as gold claims, some trap
pers in their neighborhood took summary
means of ejectment. collecting rent at the
same time. The officers are determined to
make thorough inquiry into the matter