The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-09-20
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Peculiar Experiance OF a Missouri
Horse Thtef. q

Peculiar Experiance of n Missouri
Horse Thief. i
lankton, s. D., Sept. Ii. - w. FL
Leonard, alias w. II. johnson, Was III
#1anktOn to-day. LeOnaru enjoys the
unusual dlsIlnyrion vi having Deen AL
der sentence OF ueatn Tor murGer al
legged to have been committed IN kan
saS While he was III Jail in lankton Tor
horse stealing. Leonard was born i'll
Clay county, Mo-, the birthplace OF the
James and Younger brothers, and when
eighteen years OF age tell in love with
q larners daughter. lie had 10 means
and the girl refused to marry him until
he could provide her u home. TO do
this he stole horse and buggy and
sold it, but before the wedding could
be effected he was arrested, tried and
sentenced to three years Imprisonment
in the Iowa penitentiary. He served
his time and removed to ELK Point,
this state. In April, 1883, he came to
Nankton, hired q livery team and drove
to Creighton, Neb From there he
started West He tried to sell the
team, and was finally brought back to
lankton and indicted for horse steal
ing He was in Jail here from April
to November, 1883, when he was re-
leased on his own rscognizance. From
| 1ankton he went to Missouri, stole q
| horse, was again convicted and SEN
fenced to five years in the Jefferson
City penitentiary.
| Here began the strangest part of his
career. In the Jefferson City peniten-
tiary he became acquainted with many
/ o1.in1 no1S Of VIII
/ to him the details of railroad robbery
City, Kan, in July, 1883, in which one
man was killed and two or three
wounded Leonard thought he could
use this information to secure his re-
lease from prison, and he devoted him
self to rehearsing the details of the rob
berry as described by his fellow con
yict until he could describe the Incl
dents connected herewith as readily
as though he had actually participated
iE the robbery. He then made a state
4 nent Of pretended confession, in which
he implicated himself in the robbery
but declared he had no hand in the
killing of the express messenger. As
anticipated, he was taken to Garde1
City and indicted for murder. He was
tried, convicted and sentenced to hang
One man testified that Leonard was thu
man who shot him, and others testified
that Leonard was the man who die
the killing. His protestations Of limo
cense and afidavits from Yankton de
claring that at the time the Santa r,
train was held up and robbed Leonart
: was an inmate of the Yankton count.
: | Jail were in vain. Gov. Humphreys o
Kansas and the railroad compan..
wanted Leonard hanged, and the jaile
in whose charge he was at Yanktol
was sent for to identify him, if poss
ble When Henry Bradley, the jailel
arrived at the penitentiary he foun
800 convicts drawn up in line. Out 0
this number he had no difficulty i
placing his hand on his old prisoner
This delayed the execution of the ser
tence still further, and when Coy
Lewelling was elected he became cor
vinced Of Leonards innocence an
3 pardoned him, safter he had been fo
seven years under the sentence Q
death for crime that he did not con
nit Leonard is but thirty-four year
Of age now, and says that hereafter b
will avoid criminal pursuits and settl
: down to honest life.