Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-14
THE TOWPATH TRAGEDY
The Canal Boat Captain Tried in the Police
Court.
The Testimony Acquitted Him of Aid
ing I'm the Murder and He
Was Released.

Another chapter in the recent Twigg
murder case up the canal was enacted in
the Police Court this afternoon when Henry
Linneburger was brought in on a warrant
charging him with aiding and abetting in
the murder. He was arraigned before JUS
tice Mills. Mr.. A. r. Mullowney prosecuting
ard Mr.. Albert Sillers appearing for the de-
fendant
1t Will be remembered that this is the case
OF the killing Of Harry Twigg on the tow
path week ago today. He was shot by a
colored man named Frank Williams, and
the latter. after being put under arrest in
sisted that the shooting had been done at
the instigation of the captain of the canal
boat Ivy City. Capt. Linneburger.
The trouble was begun over the possess
sion OF whip, which Williams said was
MS, but which Twigg was holding in his
hand. Williams claimed that Linneburger
ordered lin to shoot Twigg, and the police
decided to arrest the captain, who was af-
terwards apprehended up the canal toward
cumberland
A number of witnesses were in court this
N orning, mostly canal men, who described
the incidents OF the shooting. among them
Williams himself. who held by the
coroner's jury on the charge of murder.
Williams is young negro, and he seemed
to be about the least concerned man in the
court room, notwithstanding the serious
charge that is impending over him.
Told by the Testimony.
According to the witnesses Twigg was
very drunk as he came up the towpath
Williams jumped aboard the boat and
stopped down and took a gun out of the
cabin. A woman who was in the doorway
of the cabin tried to prevent him, but he
wrested the gun out of her hands. Then
he jumped off the boat, and running back
TO Twigg, shot him squarely in the stom-
ach with load of buckshot.
y number of the eyewitnesses of the
shooting denied emphatically that Lime
burger was present, handed the gun to
Williams, helped him to wrest it from the
woman's hands or played any part in the
incident whatever They said that after
the shooting the canal boat did not go up
the canal at any unusual rate, if Lime
bI rger were trying to escape.
The most satisfactory account of the
shooting given by young man named
Thomas Nuce, who was steering the boat at
the time He said that he saw Twigg leave
the boat and he told Mrs Linn eburger that
Twigg had taken the whip. Sne sent Will
Jams back for Ii, ard in a few minutes he
returned to the boat on a run and got
double-barreled shotgun. No one gave him
the gun and no one on board knew that
anybody had been shot until afterward.
After the shooting, which occurred after
the boat had sounded a bend and was out of
sight, Williams ran back to the boat and
rode on ii for Il quarter of Il mile or So
but they didn't know that he had shot a
man.
While all this was happening Linneburger
was en- the floor so drunk that he couldn't t
have been of any assistance to Williams If
he had wanted to. There had been no bad
feeling between Twigg and the captain, as
was shown by the fact that the latter was
giving TwigS free ride up the canal
Gives Up the Case.
After this sort of testimony had been GO
ing on for about an hour Mr.. Mullowney
admitted to the judge that there was evil
IDENTIFY not the shadow of a case against
the defendant, although, as it was a serious
charge, he had thought it best to give IT a
thorough ventilation. and he suggested that
the whole matter be dismissed. Justice
M.lls cOncurred In this view, as Lime
burgers innocence had been shown beyond
all doubt, and discharged the defendant
Mrs Linneburger had been sitting by her
husbands side holding their little baby in
her lap. and she came near breaking down
from hysterical joy. She threw her arms
about his neck and kissed him, and a
couple of other female relatives found the
same vent for their feelings, and as Lime
burger left the court room he was sur
rounded by friends. who showered him with
congratulations