St. Landry democrat., 1881-12-17

ed in the campaign as speaker by the Re
publican State Committee, of which l wa
Chairman" To the question: "What polit
ical service the prisoner had rendered thu
Republican party during the last Presiden
tial campaign" the answer is: "None that
know Of" To the question whether there wa
anything in the prisoners relations to him
self or Gen. Grant, or Senator Conkling, o.
any OF the others Of the Republican party
socially or politically, to furnish him witt
any ground for supposing he would receive
any political preferment, the answer is
mo" Prisoner. "That is a matter OF
OPINION" The last question was: 'Did
you ever give him any reason TO think that
he could have any political or personal in
| fuence with youW Answer: 81 never did,
Prisoner. ''He never had occasion to-" The
President adds to his answers the following:
II have been requested by counsel for
the defense to produce letter written by
the prisoner since his indictments that let
ter was received by me in October last, and
was not preserved. l do not recolect its
contents particularly, excepting that it con-
tanned some claim Of his having rendered
party during the Presidential campaign,
and an appeal for postponement Of his trial
to give him time to prepare for defense.'
Prisoner. "That is all there was to it,"
THE Ring Theater, the principal place
OF amusement at Vienna, was consumed by
fire on the evening Of the Sth and large
number of persons persisted in the flames or
were tramped to death in the frantic eff
forts OF the audience to secure an exit. The
fire broke out on the stage just before the
time for the curtain to rise, and is said to
have been caused 10y the falling Of kerosene
lamp. In brief moment the curtain and
scenery were enveoped in flames and soon
after there was an explosion of gas. The
audience were naturally panic stricken and
the ordinary exits became blocked by strug-
Cling mass of humanity. A large number
leaped from the windows to the payements
below, where sheets were stretched to break
their fall. The number of lives lost is es-
tmated at from 80 to 200.
The great Wabash Railway bridge,
spanning the Missouri River at st. Charles,
again went down, on the evening of the Sth, |
an entire freight train of some
thirty cars sixty five feet into the river be-
low. The engineer, Jack kirksby, fireman
Chamberlain. and one other employee took |
the terrible plunge, but strange to say two |
If them escaped without serious injury.
Engineer kirksby was either killed by the
all or drowned. His fireman came out of |
he cab 10 the surface and was rescued. |
Several stock men leaped from the
.aboose in time to save themselves
IS they saw the front of the
rain plunging into the abyss. 1t was two
ears ago on the Sth of November that a
imilar disaster occurred. That time it was
he third span; this time it was the first
pan that succumbcd. A month ago the
tate Railroad Commissioners made report
hat the bridge was perfectly safe, and only
day previous to the accident it is said one
the Commissioners inspected the struc-
re and went away seemingly satisfied. 1t
'as estimated by the officers OF the road
nat it would take week or more to erect
emporary trestle-work to permit the pas.
loe Of trains,