The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-24
FIRST DAYS TESTIMONY.
Several Witnesses on the stand Sus-
pected of the Lynching.


Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
CROSS PLAINS. Ind, Feb. 2S.-The
many witnesses with which the trial of Hez
Hughes opened yesterday and who had
been brought to Cross Plains as they sup
posed to testify either for or against the
first man arrested for taking part in the
quintuple lynching. soon learned by the
questions of Attorney General Ketcham
that the state had been following their
movements on the night of the lynching as
well as since then, and that he was at
tempting to implicate each man who took
the stand. Hendricks Steinmetz, the con-
stable of Versailles, was the first witness
for the prosecution, although he had come,
presumably, to help get the accused county
infirmary superintendent out of the clutches
of the law. He was made to tell of his
movements the night of Sept. IA, during
the hours when the lynching took place
The lawyers for the defense objected to
the questions on the ground that they
would show some one else than the &ccused
Hughes had taken part in the killing.
Squire Craig, however, gave the attorney
general considerable liberty after it was
shown that he expected to prove that
Hughes had been with several others that
night and that all had entered into a
spiracy to hang the five OSgood men. Stein
metz said he was held up ON his way to
his home two blocks from the Jail about IL
o'clock that night, by three masked men.
It was also shown that he had taken Levi
and Jenkins, two of the lynched men, to
jail that afternoon, and saw Schueter in his
cell at that time. The warrant charges
Hughes with the murder of Schueter. He
admitted he saw Hughes in town that day
and late as o'clock that night at the
Hassmer House, with Ed Ebel, Cal Skeen
and, perhaps, Bud Kelley. Hughess home
was at the county infirmary, six miles in
the country. Steinmetz claimed he went
home after tho masked men warned him
off the street. He said he remained home
until he was called about o'clock in the
morning, when he learned there had been
lynching. He saw the men where they
hung under the tree Bert Andrewss skull
had been mashed above the right ear. He
denied that he was at the jail and took
part.
Calvin Skeen admitted he had been at the
hotel with Hughes. He gave the prosecu-
ton no satisfaction when asked what they
were talking about at the hotel. He denied
being at the Jail with the mob and did not
remember seeing Hughes in town the next
day.
Charles Weisenfelder, proprietor of the
Norwood Hotel, at Osgood, came next.
Weisenfelder is one whom the detectives
had reported to the prosecution. His doings
had been closely followed for months and
the questions showed that the attorney gen.
eral expected to trap him in his testimony.
When he said he did not go out of the hotel
after IL o'clock on the night of the lynch
ing, the attorney general asked him point
blank If he had not been at the Versailles
question saying the answer might incrimi-
nate Weisenfelder. He answered, however,
with denial.
did you not help lynch those five men?"
demanded the attorney general.
Il was not there" was Weisenfelder's
only reply.
versations at different times since the
lynching, notes of which the attorney gen.
eral had from the detectives. He was
forced to admit that he had visited YER
met TO investigate the lynching. He also de-
MED certain conversation in the poolroom
of his hotel when a man declared that Hez
Hughes had killed Henry Schueter at the
Jail that night.
When Bloss Baylor was called he denied
all knowledge of the lynching. Detectives
had also reported on Baylor's movements,
and the attorney general demanded If he
had not gone to Greensburg on the day be-
fore the lynching and purchased the rope
with which the men We're hanged. Baylor
said he went to Greensburg that day, but
ii was for beer glasses. Hughes'S attorney
argued that the attorney general was get
ting away from the Hughes case. but Mr..
Ketcham replied that if he could show that
Baylor bought the rope for the hanging in
Greensburg and that Hughes adjusted it
about the necks of the victims, Ii would
certainly connect both men with the lynch
ing. Baylor's testimony ended the session