The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-06-25
HOW THATCHER WAS KILLED.

Another Phase of the Unfortunate Acct
dent Told by an indianapolis Paper.
A few days ago an item was publish
ed IN this paper concerning the manner
in which James Thatcher met his death
near Indianapolis. The newspaper re-
port gave out the idea that Thatcher
and u friend had misappropriated q
horse as a conveyance to carry two
ladies to town. 1t now seems that this
was mistake and the Indianapolis
Sentinel gives the version Of tho two
interested ladies connected with the
sad affair:
If the stories told by Ella Thompson
and Nora Mullen, the women who we're
with William Elvis and James Thatch-
er on the night the latter was killed
are true, it looks as if an injustice had
been done in releasing Henry Leonard,
the man who shot Thatcher, without
going through the formality of trial.
The women we're released in police
court yesterday morning and they i'm
mediately sent word to Capt. Quigley
that they would like to see him, as the
stories of the affair 80 far made public
were largely untrue.
Both women insist that they had not
been away from the Bellevue road house
over twenty minutes when the murder
was committed. In this statementthey
are backed by Charles Kirk and How
ard Wright, employees OF the place.
They say, however, that there we're
two other couples there, and that they
left at least an hour before, and that
they took the same road for the street
car line. These people, they say,
might have been the ones who entered
Leonard's barn, if any one was in there
at all. The women know the names of
one OF the men and one of the women
and they did not hesitate to give them
when requested to do SO. They furth-
er say that when Leonard, carrying
his shotgun, passed them on the road,
he was fully dressed, even wearing his
collar, and they are positive that he
could not have dressed SO carefully in
the short space of time. The farmers
son Lewis also wore q collar. Captain
Quigley also says that both of them
were fully dressed when he called at
the house and placed them under ar
rest.
The women, as we'll as Capt. Quigley,
are inclined to believe that the slum-
bers Of the farmers were disturbed by
the people who must have passed the
house at least an hour before the muir
dered man and his friends did. aud
and were just about to go out and look
after their property when the unfortu-
nate party came along The guilty
people had in the meantime got safely
away and Thatcher and his friends
were taken for them. The women also
say that they were induced to cay they
left the club house at o'clock in or
der to shield the proprietor of the place.
Capt. Quigley said the employees of the
place told him on the morning OF the
murder, while they were excited. that
the crowd bad just left. Another
thing which will go to prove that they
were not in the stable and did not take
the horse is the statement OF the wife
o. one of the employees of Bellevue.
When Elvis and the women returned
to the place and reported the murder
the woman Immediately said that she
had seen the horse walking up and
down the road while they were in the
bowling allev.
The Thompson and Mullen women al
so saw that Thatcher did not curse
Leonard when he passed with his shot
gun. He asked him in a polite way if
he knew whose horse they had. Leon
ard made no reply, and then the re-
mark about man with a gun was
made. The women tell their story in
straight forward manner that carries
conviction with it.
A letter from r Otto ,ots of Indian
apolis, speaks very highly of the de-
ceased gentleman, who has always
lived an upright and honest life Mrs.
Thatcher and Mrs. Bunting are ex-
pected to arrive here soon.