The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-10-15
Confession and Plea OF Guilty from har-
inand LedgerwOOd, TwOOfthe Gang.
Washington Jail Surrounded with Mob of
Angry Farmers Itching TO Get Hold Of the
Prisoners-SeriOus Talk of LyEching.
MOB VIOLENCE THREATENED.

Men Who Suffered by the Washington Court
House Fire Terribly Excited.
Special 10 the indianapolis Journal
WAsHINGToS, Ind, Oct. 1.-two of the
four men arrested have already pleaded
guilty to the crime of burning the court
house. Two others are implicated by the
confession of the first two under arrest.
The officers are in search of the fifth man.
The streets of the city have been busy
hum of excitement since early morning.
Such intense feeling has not been mani
tested, perhaps, since the stormy scenes of
fall i'm days. The arrests of the persons
believed to be implicated in the burning of
the courthouse brought the people out in
crowds. and Third street. from Main to
Walnut. has been lined all day. The first
incident in the remarkable train of circnni-
stances that has wrought pubIic indigna
tion to q white heat was the arrest yester-
day of Samuel Harbin by Sheriff Colbert.
HarbIh was arrested whiie at work at the
Mckernan building. where he has been
carrying the hod. He was promptly placed
in jail, and the news of the capture spread
quickly. Shortly the Jail was surrounded
by thousand men, women and children.
The officers were close-mouthed, however.
and nothing could be learned. The crowd.
accordingly. quietly dispersed. The officers
spent the whole night on the case, and
their work resulted in four more warrants
about 4:30 o'clock this morning.
They were issued on an affidavit by Con-
stable John Prater, ami called for the ar
rest of Auditor James G. Lavelle. his broth
or. Michael Lavelle, of Barr township:
Aaron Burr Halves. of steele township. ana
BAIL Ledgerwood. of Sandhill. The war
rants for the Layelles were placed in the
hands of Deputy Sheriff John Kellams and
Constable Frank Jennings. They imme-
diateIy placed Auditor Lavelle under
rest and threw him in jail. Lavelle took
the matter very hard, declared his Inno-
cence and said that mo was the unfortunate
victim of persecution. he was locked up
in the upper part of the jail. and as the
iron doors changed TO behind him many
shuddered for the man.
AFTER THE FIRE BUGS.
Night policemen Bohnert and Harris took
the warrant for Ledgerwood, found HIM
at his work. and be, too, soon
found himself surrounded by the
gloomy walls of the Daviess county
w
naugh and deputy Owen Cavanaugh,
armed with the warrant for \. B. Hawes,
went to Hawess farm in Steele township
and returned with their prisoner about o
o'clock. lie was placed in jail with La
velle. The officers started early this morn
ing to arrest Michael Lavelle at his home
twelve miles east Of here. When they got
there. however, they found he had escaped.
The last trace they could get of him was
about o'clock this morning, when he was
seen at home.
Iiarbin has been living in this city sew
eral months. His wife was the wife of the
notorious John Hunter who was twice
sent TO the penitentiary from this county,
once for two years for the killing of Hiram
Wikoif. and again for twenty-one years for
numbering a man named William Lentz at
q picnic on the Halves farm in Steele town
ship in 1852. Samuel Harbin used 70 be
tenant of A. B. Hawes. Basil Led dgerwood
is a native OF Martin county. and. like Har-
bin. was a tenant of Uawes. OF late he has
been engaged as n wiper ut the o. ~ NJ. shops.
Harbin and LedgerwOod made full con-
fession OF the crime In all it's details. impli-
eating Auditor Lavelie. Aaron II. Hawes
and Michael Lavelle. Both the men say
that propositions were made To them by
James Lavelle, offering them $500 apiece
| to do the job. Lede ervood says Levelle
told him he would give him $500 OF n house
worth 500. Hawes is said TO have fur
nished the tools for Lavelle, and the reason
he took so great an interest In the matter
Is because the mortgages on his property
are about to be force closed and he hoped
by destroying the records to cover his in
debtedness
FULL-BLOoDED DEMOCRATS.
Df h. &c h.
cratic party in this county and is consid-
cred very bad character. HIS control of
men is remarkable. and Lavelle could have
secured no person better able to furnish
| tools for the monstrous crime than this
| same Hawes. The men who applied the
torch TO the court house are Ledgerwood
and Harbin, but they only did the work
that the others planned. They were mere
| tools. Harbin bought the coal oil. get.
ting two gallons at Allen n McGeehe's,
two at John Sahm's. two at
| John Merideth's and one at John Murray's
| seven gallons IN all Three gallons were
used to saturate the hooks in the recorders
| office and four TO dope the important rec
ords and documents IN the auditors office.
| Records of $4,000, coo worth of real estate
were thus TO be wiped out. When the coal
| oil had been poured over the books taken
| from their shelves and piled on the coun-
tels for the purpose of making sure of
| their destruction, Harbin and Led edgerwood
set fire to the oil-reeking stacks and fled,
going TO Harbin's home on Sand hill where
| they spent the remainder of tho night. The
| recorders office was fired first and then the
auditors. For some reason the tire In the
| auditors Office did not burn rapidly. and. as
1t proved. only u small part OF the records
In that office were burned.
| This is the stcry of the fire itself.
lated by HarbIn aud LedgerwOod. To
further prove their statements they
! pleaded guilty TO the charge of
arson when arraigDed in the Circuit
court this morning. They were remanded
TO Jail 20 await sentence. Hawes and La
velle were arraigned before Judge liefrOn
ON charge OF arson. aud bound over IN
the sum of IS 600 each. Until late tonight
they had been unable TO furnish bond.
Lavelles father-in-law, Ephraim Thomp-
son. of the Washington National Bank. re-
fuses TO sign the bond and there is likeli-
| hood that the proud auditor will have to
remain behind the bars