The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-02-20

They all sat down and began to ques-
ton me about the medical college and
graveyards. I answered as many as
L could When they got through they
afterwards suggested that if they got
a rope around my neck I would know
more. 1 was afraid, and jumped be-
hind the stove and said L would kill
the first man that tried to come near
me. None of them seemed to want
to try me, and then 1 asked Dave
Burdge if he had a warrant for me,
and he said that he had. told him
that he had better take me to jail, and
he finally said that he would. We
started to go out and he and Jones
walked to the door and opened it and
1 followed them. When I started to
go through the door some of the crowd
started to follow me and L slammed
the door in their faces. Burdge asked
me what I did that for, and 1 told him
that 1 would not have the crowd fol-
| lowing me; that if he wanted me to go
to Jail he and Jones could walk ahead
and 1 would follow, but that L would
f, not walk ahead of him He finally
agreed to this and led the way to the
Jail, and 1 followed him. When we
got to the jail there was some trouble
over a gun 1 had 1 refused to give
it up, as 1 knew Dave Burdge was not
my friend. I finally gave it up to
John Burdge. 1 was locked up. They
were figuring away at me for several
days after this
Q.-Who.
Gardiner and several others.
Q.-What did they want?
A.-They wanted me to tell who rob-
bed graves, and didn't know
Q.-Tell what they tried to have you
do.
AT one time John Wilkerson
came down and said he was a friend
of mine and he had my partner and
had him at police headquarters, and
that he had squealed, wanted to lay
it all on me; but he was my friend, ana
if I would tell who the third man was
he would go up and see Harry and
get this fixed and 1 would be set free.
l told him 1 did not have anything to
do with the robberies and if they had
man that was connected with the grave
robbery to stick him. L said TINS out
loud and they didn't want me to talk so
loud. I finally got attorneys who got a
writ of habeas corpus and L had some
kind of a whispered TRAIL never heard
what the county attorney and Judge
Hazen said. but anyway they reduced
nv bond from $500 to 5000, and 1 got it
and was truned loose
O-You heard Mr. Offield's testimo-
A.-Yes.
Did you ever talk to him out
there?
at any time.
Q.-How about this hook?
o. heard about it a the grand jul
ry: Stafford spoke to me about it. told
him the man that told that story was
lying or else he made it up himself
Here witness denied catigOrically the
charges made by Offield in his test1mo-
Q.-You say you were not described in
either the Capital or Journal?
A.-No; not that know OF
Q.=Have you done work for this col
lege?
Ayes
Q.-Ten what it was.
Al think that my memory is a good
hntt doctors. L
got acquainted with Frank Martin and
Doctor Alkire in 1898. had been doing
some scavenger work for them ana
some of them asked me if / would do
job for them. They said it was bad
Job and 1 said I didn't care. They said
it was a dissecting room job. l did not
know what a dissecting room was, and
they showed it to me and said that they
wanted it cleaned up and the stuff ia
ken off and buried and not thrown
around on some public dump. did the
work and brought in my bill. From that
time on cleaned up the room for them
from two to three times each year.
Q-What did you do?
A.-Wen there was always parts of
bodies and flesh that had to be taken
away and buried, and the tables had to
be scrubbed.
Q.Q-You cleaned bones. too, have you
not?
Q.-How was this done?
A.-Well they had to be unjointed
| and then put in lime and when the flesh
was loose they had to be taken and
| scraped and rubbed with sand paper.
Q.-Look at these orders and tell the
| jury what they were given for. Were
any of them given for stolen bodies?
A.-NO. 1 can't pick out any partic-
ular order that was for cleaning up or
moving the dissecting room. 1 have al
ways charged SIS for moving the dis
| secting room and that was five times.
Q.-When did the college move to it's
present placer
A--June, 1894.