The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-10-05
SUSPICIOUS
CIRCUMSTANCES
The CardwelI Furniture, Thought to
Be Destroyed by Fire,
Is Located by City Marshall Jackson
Men Caught in the Act of
Hauling Some of it Away.

The burning of Mrs. Enos CardweIl's
night of last week, has resulted in some
interesting and sensational develop
ments, which place several parties in
very bad light.
1t will be remembered that the house
and furniture were we'll insured, and
that the fire occurred while Mrs. Card
we'll was in the country, and that
young man named Algle Johnson was
sleeping there. and that he barely ec-
capped with his clothes on, and could
give no account of the origin of the fire;
the house and contents being entirely
consumed That is the beginning of the
story. Following is the sequel
Wednesday night, about ten o'clock,
as City Marshall Jackson was returning
home from the fair grounds, he came
across two men in farm wagon, stand
ing in the road near the site of the
burned house. The officer says that
upon his approach the men got out of
the wagon and lay down upon the
ground, feigning sleep when he reached
them They were so dead asleep, APP
parently, that he had to kick one of them
before he could get him to talk, and
then he talked powerful sleepy. The
officer recognized the two men as Bill
johnson and his son, Gus johnson, who
live on the Coffey place, mile or two
from town, on the Nashville pike. Their
feigned sleep excited Mr.. Jackson's
suspicious that something was wrong,
and, after awaking the men and search
ing the wagon, which contained moth.
ing, he proceeded short distance to
watch.
Nothing developing, however, he went
on home, but acting upon the supposi-
ton that the men would soon go to their
home, he telephoned to the police to
keep a sharp lookout at the new bridge
and the old ford across the river and
stop the men and search the wagon if it
came that way.
An officer was placed at both the
bridge and ford, and about IL O'Clock,
Officer T. E. Lipscomb, who had been
stationed at the bridge, noticed the
wagon approaching. He halted the
team, and making search of the wagon,
found carpet, several rugs, bundle of
quilts and other articles therein. The
men and their outfit were detained at
police headquarters, and City Marshall
| jackson was notified and dressed and
| came to town.
Mrs. Cardwell is said to be related to
the Johnsons, and has been on intimate
terms with them for several years, and
the young man sleeping in the building
when it was burned was son of the
| Bill johnson who was with the wagon.
Putting these facts together, a suspi-
cion was raised in MIR. Jackoon's mind
that the contents of the house had been
| hidden somewhere before the fire, and
that the Johnsons were now in the act
of removing them.
Mrs. Cardwell has been staying out at
Jordan Green place for several days.
with whose family she has also been on
intimate terms. Mr. jackson telephon-
ed to Mr.. Green and inquired if Mrs.
Cardwell had sent anyone to town, and
was told that she had not. Later on,
however, Green called the ufficer up,
and told him that Mrs. Cardwell had
sent the Johnsons to town to dig some
potatoes and get her laundry, and want
ed to know what was the matter. Mr..
jackson replied that the Jobnsons had
been found with quantity of household
goods in their wagon. Green asked that
| the men be sent on home with the stuff,
but Mr.. Jackson told him that he would
keep the articles for Identification, but
would let the men come on.
There is neg'o house on Mrs. Card
wells place, and Mr.. Jackson, suspect
ing that more goods could be found
there, went out to search the house.
After great deal of questioning. the
negro woman who lives there finally
stated that she knew ''these white folks
were gwine to git her into trouble" and
said that several days before the fire,
Mrs. Cardwell had taken possession OF
one of the rooms and had moved a
quantity of furniture, etc, into it She
also said that the Johnsons had been
there last night to get some of the
goods Mr.. Jackson sent an officer out
to watch the house, to see that no more
goods were taken away, and the John
sons were then released.
Mrs. Cardwell carried $1,000 insurance
on her residence and $500 on the con
tents, in companies represented by
Hendley & Wilson, agents. No war
rants have yet been taken out against
anyone, the insurance agents waiting tc
receive advice from their company.
City Marshal jackson deserves a
word of COMMUNICATION for the prompt
and efficient manner with which he
handled the case.