The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-11-18
TWO COUNTIES TERR0RIZED
REGUL irons ~ ONO AND INDIANA,
1ND IHEIR IIROCIIILS.



Darkc County has been the -ccno your readers
are already acquainted. as they arc also awnro
that those crimes are UNPUBLISHED. Your road
ers have heard also ihat 70 reign oi terror oN.sis
hero: that mob law is supreme. and the author
itics powcrlcss and such hni tn bee in q great
measure tho case. The authorities ac,uowl-
edge their fear OF the consequences II thcy
openly move and s., day after day passes. ana
TIC clue to tho murlcr.is becomes more and
NOR din .uli Co. fad.
IT, Prosecuting itornoy. speaking ~ these
facts said. " " thoro was any ono that know
ANYTHING about Oh So things lac would ho afraid
to speak of il. dreudu-, the Consequences No
one knows with whom he IL talking. He might
bo talking to a party Of two or three. and one of
them. his nearest ncighbor. perhaps. might be
implicated. and he would tell tho others" A
leading member OF tho bar. speaking Of tho
feeble efforts made to find out the outlaws gave
It as his opinion that 1t would be impossible to
impanel Grand Jury in the county in the reg
ular way without having Mt least one or two
members OF it who wero either themselves con
cerned in the mobbinR. or else had friends who
were, 80 that it would DO impossible to indict
any Of them.
committed embraces part Of the two counties
Darkc in Ohio and Randolph in Indiana. The
country Is purely agricultural. dotted with sew
eral prosperous villages and inhabited by many
wealthy farmers. There are in the section two
negro settlements one in each State bordering
on tho State line. inhabited by mixed race In
which the negro blood Is amalgHmated with
Indian and white until II is hard to tell which
prcdOminntes. There are two or three wealthy
farmers OF this mixed race hut the majority are
shiilless. worthless set. who suhsist in the
main by thieVing. Their depredations cover
mum ber OF years. and have been the source OF
much annoyance 10 the farmers. Tho natural
upshot Of this WAS that many q the farmers
who had suffered from their offerings organ.
lied for the purpose OF Kidding themselves Of
the pest. and T. this may undoubtedly be traced
the killing OF Steve Wade last month, But rs
the murder OF Gcyer preceded that Of Wade. in
order to "A better understanding OF the state OF
affairs will treat Of tina, first.
Although Wesley GrNcr was killed only about
a year ago cot. a. 1871. the circumstances
that led to his murder 10y the mob may be traced
who never bore good reputation. was living IN
Palestine. about eight miles from this place and
ostensibly carried on the business OF an under
taker. There also lived in the same place pet
tifogging lawyer named Dave Putnam. whom
whether with truth or not cannot now be as
cortainedl Geycr charged with criminal init
macy with his wife Tho men becnme bitter
personal enemies. though when the war broke
out Geyrr enlisted In n company under COM
mand u Putnam. and went TO the seat OF war
with him. According To Putnam's story. Gcycr
did not enlist 10 do any soldering but TO get a
chance to steal. and Il WIS not long before he
got into trouble and Putnam. then n Colonel,
put him under arrest at Camp Chase This. as
may be supposed widened the breach between
them, and on the disi anding Of tho regiment
aud the return Of Putnam and Gcyer to Paes-
n
lng had not cured him OF his bad habits and
he became notorious as a thief. He had two
grown-up sons. who were as bad as himself
and his home soon became n resort for all the
outlaws in the neighborhood.
About six or seven years ago man living in
the neighborhood had horse stolen from him.
There was ut that time and In fact Is in exist
ence yet. self-protertivc association among
punish horse thieves and this organization st
10 work and traced the theft To one Reed, who
was captured In Illinois. He implicated Gcyer
nm lt.N Dtafaa BfNf NtHua hat
President Of tho Self-Protectvo Association.
and i is now charged that in order TO get out Of
the fix. he aided in Reeds escape shortly after
ward. Reed has never been heard OF since.
Putnam refused 10 help Gcyer and he was in
diHed. but the Prosecutor nollied his case.
Out Of this scral", however Geyer was soon
In many others, and 'hin-~ went on Tor Il year
or so more. until the evening q the 2ith Of Oc.
toher, when. at about "a o'clock. body OF
masked and armed mon. under command ot a
leader. marched ny TO Gryrrs house. halted at
tho word Of command. and the leader. going to
panied by u little daughter about years ~ age
came To the door In. their night dress having
boon in bod, and ask 81 whut was wanted. Tho
lender sind they wanted G"ycr. ID quick
Alarmed. Mrs. Geyor called her husband. He
stepped out 20 talk With the men. They uarleycd
Tor lew minutes, t'>cr Standing Win hls arm
on the gate post and, while they were talking
the vile saw one Of tho men standing few feet
from her husband G"lb"rnt"ly raise his gun
take aim. AMI fire. Gey"r staggered. hut did not
fall, and two more guns Wrrc discharged. tho
bullets from which hit him IN the neck. lie
fell aud as h. lay ON tn ground the mob
literally riddled HIM with shot
Seeing Gcyer was dead. the leader ordered
his men to march, tut after moving n few
PAGES hutcd them. and himself returning,
warned the family g. move out. under penalty
OF tho Same fate. The mob then filed on in
good order marched round two squares. and
warned one Quack cnbosh, who lived that dis
lance from Geyer's. and who was said to have
been concerned IN his st"alinGs that he would
be given ten days 10 move out OF the county.
They then marched down an alley and dis
Ii seems somewhat strange that such a thing
As this murder could h' perpetrated at that
hour In the evening, right in the heart Of the
village. and no one know who tho perpetrators
were. Yet the authorities have never been abb
20 discover them.
Mrs. Geyer said. Immediately after the shoot
Ing. that she rcoOln iSed certain individuals in
the party and that they were his own cunfed-
crates, and among the many theories brought
forward to account for the killing OF Geycr. the
only one that would seem At all reasonable is
that no was killed not for his bad deeds SO much
as for fear that he would squeal. as tho say
Ing Is. on some ol ms pals,
On" circumstance that occurred yesterday.
while was IN Palestine. makes II clear 10 me
that Little j. needed now 10 got at the identity
OF Gcyrr's murdcrcrsi In TN course OF my in
vcstlghtlon called al k"usior's store to see Mr.,
SteinmetZ who was one 81 G"yers most bitter
enemies. BY somr nouns. us / have since
rs ! represented myself an luIuirin- news
paper man, | was u detective from Cincinnati
who was playing that part, and on entering
this store, saw that the persons found there
wcro little uneasy. | shall never forget the
look OF Stcnmetz on my nsk 'ng him for some in
look OF uneaslncss hs wore changed to one Of
AbJOrt fear. his face banchcd. and his hands
tremble,i IA though he had the aguo. He made
two or three efforts TO speak before no could
utter a word and when he did. talked In an
incohcrent manner. He was so emphatic in
denying. without any questioning, that he knew
anything about tho murder. that | instantly
formed the opinion that he know more than he
would tell whether himself an accomplish or
GOT.
Tho impunity with which the inhabitants OF
Palestine took the law into their own hands In
the killing Of Geyer had the effect Of inspiring
others. who fanccd they had lRbored under
petty annoyanccs long enough. to 70 and do
Hk"wsr. for hardly had Geycr's mnnglcd body
been buried before mob law broke ont in an
other quarter man who had committed a
thett in one State was followed into another by
an armed band, who tore him from his house In
the dead ol night and bore him across the stare
line. This crime. also going UNPUBLISHED
seems 10 have emholdened those who were de-
slrous Of following in the footsteps OF the
ueyrr murdrrrrS. for pcaceabla old man.
a. ilnst whom the only crime charged WAS that
he defended his own children when doing
wrong WAS warned 10 quit the country, and
falling to do 80. like Gcy'r was slaughtered at
an armed band Of Regulators.
Tho details Of tho murder Of poor old steve
WHd' ARE even more terrible thsn those ~ the
0"yrr murder. Steve Wade was a quiet pearr-
ubla old cOlor'd man. who lived On tho out
skirts 81 the OhiO 'o'orrd settlement. He IN
the m siortune 10 raise a family 81 bad boys