The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-01-16
THEY KEEP THE SHERIFF. pusv

If we may place credit in the follow
ing despatch, from Honesdale, Wayne
county, this State, dated on the 10th
inst, things in and around the Sheriffs
quarters are kept quite lively of lat: :
The Honcsdale Jail has had run of
lunatics during the past week. Previ-
Gus to the run it contained one whose
insanity led to one of the most frightful
tragedies on record, and another who
had made desperate attempt to COM
NIT murder. The first of the week. s
arrivals was John Howde, who admin
istered poison to his three children, and
then shot each one through the head.
The second is George n. Walker Of
Ledgedale. He imagined that j. A.
Tanning, Postmaster at Ledgedale. had
robbed him of money, He called Fan
ming out of his house at Midnight and
tried to brain him with an axe, but was
overpowered and brought to uonesdale
Jail.
Walker had been but short time in
his cell when William Grover Of Texas
township appeared at the Jail greatly
excited. He told County Treasurer
Murray that he had been followed for
days by n number of men who wanted
to kill him, and begged to be locked up
so that he would be safe from them.
Not long after Grover received quarters
in the Jail Richard Ward, an eccentric
genius of Bethany, knocked for admit
tance at the prison. Ward has been
known through the country for years as
marvellous mimic and dClineator of
humorous character His limitations of
the peculiarities of accent and manner
of well-known local personages never
failed to convulse the large audiences
that always assembled in the barrooms
of the village taverns whenever it was
known that the mimic was in town.
Ward was able to keep the crowd so
highly entertained of night that day-
light often stole in at the tavern win
dows before its presence was suspected,
and found every one present who had
dropped in during the evening. Besides
this popularity of his genius, Ward had
for years been earnestly engaged in solv-
ing the problem of perpetual motion.
He had made machine of great in
genuity, which probably came as near
moving perpetually as any similar con-
triYance ever invented, but, like all its
prototypes, it was lacking. For twenty
years Ward had studied patiently and
experimental faithfully to overcome
this little failing, but although the prob
lem still remained unsolved his faith
that he was destined to be the means of
solving it never faltered. For some
weeks past he has acted strangely. It
was noticed that he brooded a great
deal, which was entirely contrary to his
genial nature. He would gaze in curl
GUS way at his wife and children for half
an hour at time, and seemed to be de
liberating seriously. He would shake
his head and bury his face in his hands
after these strange inspections of the
members of his family, and then 90
hurriedly ont of the house muttcring:
"No, no, no! mustn't do itr'
On Wednesday, after spell of this
kind, he suddenly sprang TO his feet.
rushed out of the house, and ran at the
top Of his spee,i down the road toward
Honesdac. This was the day he came
to the Jail. painting and perspirng
sheriff, he exclaimed, "lock me
up, for Gods sake! Something has been
telling me for long time that | can't
finish the perpetual motion machine
until | put my family out of the way.
Lock me up! Lock me up! They must
not dien'
Ward was placed under restraint, and
he will doubtless be sent to some asy-
| lum.
About the time that Ward was ad-
mitted TO the Jail the constable of Mt.
Pleasant township brought James p.
McCabe, of Preston, prisoner to the
Jail. He had been committed to await
trial on the charge of numbering his
friend and neighbor, Michael Reilly, by
chopping him to pieces with an axe to
| get possession of $50.
For varied and startling personality of
inmates it is not likely that any local
prison in the country can equal the
Honesdale Jail at the present time.