Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-11-20

There appears to be something OF
mystery Connected with the case OF the
one-legged man giving the name OF
John Rogers, who came into the Top
mill about midnight Thursday night,
suffering from a half dozen or more
cuts on his face and head, and who
explained his wet clothing by the story
that his boat had collided with barge,
moored near the mill, and that he had
been thrown out.
Facts were revealed yesterday which
conclusively showed that Rogers was
not telling the truth. The cuts upon
his face and head were not such as
would have come from an accident of
the description named. There were
too many of them, and they were prac-
tically located all around his head.
Again, if he had been injured by col
lision, in the manner he described, there
would have been little or no blood in
the boat, for he would have been thrown
into the the water. In opposition to
his story, the inside Of the boat, at one
end, is very bloody, the marks being
scattered over the floor, over some loose
boards and also on a couple of news
papers and a portion of a show bill,
which were found lying in the boat.
There was also found, yesterday, a
broken Ratchet, the blade of which was
missing, leaving nothing but the poll
attached to the handle, and there was
blood all around the handle, close up
to the iron, and even upon the iron
part itself Had blood dropped upon
this Ratchet handle it would have been
upon one side alone, save where it
might have run around the handle and
dropped off, but there is just as much
blood on one side of the handle as the
other, and on both sides it looks as
though it had been smeared on.
1t will be remembered that Rogers
told the police, when he was taken to
the City Hall yesterday morning, that
his boat had collided with barge and
upset, and that he had waded ashore,
the boat being overturned. The i'm
preston he created at that time was
that it was a johnbcat The boat was
caught at the LaBelle landing early
yesterday morning and was towed
ashore 1t was not a johnboat at all,
but house-boat, about twenty feet
long, eight feet wide and seven feet
high, and had never been overturned.
Nor did it bear any apparent marks of
collision. Inside there was an old
table, and a stove, the latter freshly
broken, but no other furniture. Some
old rags, the bloody newspapers
copies of the Pittsburg Chronicle-Tele-
graph of November 4th and 5th, and
the Ratchet and bloody boards were
found by Lieutenant Dan Egram, who
made a careful examination of the boat
about noon yesterday. The Ratchet,
rags, newspapers and fragments Of
play bills were taken to the City Hall.
On one piece Of a show bill there was
picture of one-legged man, in a SOL
dier's uniform, and over this figure
some one had written in pencil: &C.
Trotter." This may be the real name
of the man now at the City Hall with
his head cut up in remarkable way.
Rogers, or TrOtter, was questioned yes
terday, but had little to say. 1t is be-
lieved he came from Steubenville, via.
the boat, but has evidently been in
Pittsburg, also, probably about the date
of the two newspapers found in the
boat. Whether somebody beat him up
and escaped, or he beat up and possibly
killed another man, is a question which
had not been answered last night to the
satisfaction of the police, but the case
will be worked up as soon as possible,
and meanwhile it is likely that the man
will be held.
Last night Rogers said he was orig
inally from New England, where he lost
his leg some years ago. He also adj
mitted having been in Pittsburg re-
GENTLY