Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-10-09


the Prosecuting Attorney, MIR. Ryan,
ave notice that twenty-sevenn new counts
charging forgery would be added. BAH
was fixed at SIS, 600, and falling to give
bonds, Lapoin was committed and lock-
ed in Jail. The prosecution bad by thls
time come to the conclusion that Lappln
and his brOther-ln-law, Chas. @. Scraf-
ford, who was supposed TO be his accom-
/ plice, intended to flee from the country,
and had selected South America as g
place of refuge. On the next day the
/ case was continued until February ].
I His bOndsmen by this time had con-
Guided that Lappin intended to escape,
and said they intended to give him up Il
he had not been reauested. On May
9th an effort was made to have the bail
! reduced, which was not successful.
On Saturday night, June 10th, Lappin
made an attempt to escape from jail, be-
] ing assisted by a cOlOred prisoner named
/ Bob Odell, who had been an inmate for
/ some time and was incarceTated for a
petty theft in Silver Lake, and was lib
| Grated a few days before. The Sherih's
/ officers becoming aware of the attempt
/ received Lappin as he was in the act of
/ crawling through the seat hole of the
water-clOset in the court house. Odeu
| had cut a bolt which held the bar that
T locked all the cell doors, and thus re-
] leased Lappin from his cell, and then
/ boosted" up the bUrly form of the eX-
/ State official.
On the night of July 1Ith, another at
tempt was made, which was successful,
and Lappin escaped from his old quar-
Uers, since which time he has not been
seen in Topeka. His assistants were his
OLD friend Bob Odell and another colOTed
man named John Anthony, who was in
for stealing. The three men were con-
fined on the north side of the jail, and
through the aid of cOnfederstes the pris-
Oners obtained files, saws burglars tools,
etc, and used them effectively on the
bars Of the window on the street. A
hole large enough to admit of the
passage Of an ordinary man was
cut in the jail window, and it was stated
by other prisoners that Lappin CraWled
through it. Many persons djsbelieved
the story, as Lappin weighed 235 pounds
and was very short and chunky. 1t has
since been learned that a man named
Walter Stanley took Lappin in a spring
wagon and carried him into the northern
I part Of the State, where they kept In
hiding for some time, and at length they
escaped from the country and went to
South America together. Stanley was
an eccentric character whom Lappin had
! given employment in his Office. He was
once a fllibuster, having been with
| Walker IN his excursion to Nicaragua.
Odeu, the COlored man, was subse-
| quently arrested in Topeka, having vol
UNFAIRLY returned. and he insisted that
Lappin was pulled through the hole,
adding 81 thought they would hear him
/ grunt half a mile"
Soon after Lappin's escape, his son,
| Grover Lappin, about thirteen years Of
/ age, ran away, having been led to do so
] by the sneers of his school companions.
| He had a very sensitive nature, and
could not bear the insults heaped upon
him. He afterwards returned, and led
a rowing life for some time, but was fin
ally arrested for rebbing a pOstOfice, and
was sent to the Kansas p6nitentiary
from the BelOit Judicial District, where
he now is.
On September 3, THE Co1ndoNwEALrH
published a letter from Walter Stanley,
describing the course taken by Lappin
and him after leaving Topeka. They
made their way to Canada, and thence
to New York, from whence they sailed
on August 14th for AspinWall They
were joined in South America by @. o.
Scrafford, Lappin's brother-in-law, and
led a very precariOus life until the Sum
mer Of 1878, when Scrahord returned to
Kansas, sending ahead of him an an
nOuncement that he was coming, and
desired trial, saying that he was tired
Of trying to shield others.
On December 18th, 1873, the case was
called in the District Court at Topeka,
when the State filed an amended infOr-
nation consisting of sixty-three counts.
1t was intended, apparently, to try Lap
pin, practically, while trying Scrahord, a
result that would naturally follow. In
fact the amended information connected
Lappin in every count. The information
charged SCraftOrd and Lappin with forg-
ing and causing to be forged certain
bonds, enumerating them.
the course Of the trial and sWore that he
left the country because Lappin said that
it would be for his (Lappin's) interest to
do so. he made the statement that
when he left New York for AspinWau
he had only eighty cents, and worked
his passage, shOveling coal, six hours of
and SIX hours on, all the way That he
met Lappin and Stanley In CaIlaO, Peru,
and that soon after they fell out and did
not speak for several years. That he
cooked for himself and lived cheaply and
made some money, but lost it.
The trial lasted seventeen days and
resulted In a verdict of guilty. The de-
fendant moved for a new trial on the
ground that the case had been com
menced In one term Of court and finish
ed IN another. Another trial was
granted and was begun on July III, 1879,
and terminated on July 25th, ina verdict
Of acquittal.
ScrafOrd at once proceeded to his old
home, in Nemeha county, and went to
work with the industrious energY which
had been characteristic of him all his
life. His fortune, which was large when
he left, was sadly wrecked by his strange
experience and the vicissitudes Of years,
but IN few years more he had got on
well IN the world, and is to-day, rapidly
accommodating another fortune.
Mr.. Lappin's family became scattered,
N-Hn