Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-07-04
ADMIT THE CRIME
The ASSISTANTS of Brakeman Harry
Booth Arrested and Jailed.
WILL GET A HEARING JULY II
Men Are Henry kiestner, Fred Pryor
and Foss Bloomfield All of Hickory
All Coal Miners-Good Work BY
Jim Harrison.
From Wednesdays Daily.l

| From Wednesdays Daily.l
By exceedingly clever work on the
part of Detective James Harrison, of
the Burlington, assisted by Sheriff
Doner of Abba, the three men charg-
! ed with assaulting Brakeman Harry
Booth at Shocks siding Monday night
were brought to this city On No. 4
last evening and placed in jail. The
men are all coal miners and they all
| live in Hickory, a small mining town
about seven miles from Abba. Their
names are Fred Pryor, Henry Keist-
ner and Foss Bloomfield. The men
admit their guilt, but claim Booth was
| injured while he was assaulting them,
Pryor admits having struck the braker
man with stone, and detailed how 1T
was done to the officers and a Courier
| representative. He exhibits a
| bruise on his left temple which he al
leges was done by Booth striking him
over the head with a lantern.
Information Filed.
AS soon as Chief Gray heard CT the
mems capture he had John Booth,
father of the injured brakeman, swear
out information against the men,
charging Pryor with being the princi-
pal in the assault and Kiestner and
Bloomfield as accessories. The men
will have their preliminary hearing to.
day before Justice Campbell. It is
said N. E. Kendall, of Abba, will be
here to defend the men.
Harrison's Work.
| Detective Harrison began an inves-
Itigation as soon as he heard of the as
sault upon young Booth, and early
yesterday morning he learned three
men, whose description tailed with
those of the men who did the wo3k at
Shocks, which was given by Conduc-
tor Howard, had been seen at Avery,
while Towards train was doing some
switching there. Harrison at once
went to Avery and after short inves.
tigation he learned that Bloomfield
was one of the men and that he was at
Avery while the train was there. A
further search located man who saw
all three parties, and Harrison sent
for this person. He was miner EN-
ployed at the Evans mines at Avery
and after he had come up to the sur
face he told Harrison that Bloomfield
Pryor and Kiestner had been in Avery
the night before and had started fol
4 This was all the information Harri
son needed, and securing a team, he
lin company with Conductor Howard
drove to Hickory, notifying Sheriff
Doner, at Abba, enroute and instruct
| Tory.
Strategy Employed.
: Upon their arrival at Hickory con
t siderable startegy was necessary il
, order to capture the men. Pryor ant
} Bloomfield had not gone to work anG
: were hanging around the town looking
J for the officers. 1t was whispered
| around Hickory that these two mer
, would make fight before they would
: submit to arrest. After hearing this
} news Detective Harrison separated hi:
t little party, and closed in on the mel
from different directions. BLOOMFIELD
was surprised and taken into custod.
without trouble. Then they went al
!. tier Pryor He had gotten wind of thei
{ presence and was loking for them. HI
S had Just started out of his father
house and turned the corner to rul
away when he pulled up in front o
:, a big revolver Harrison covered hin
!, with. The man took one step back
:, wards, but Harrison yelled to stop an
:. he then submitted without furthe
- trouble.
Men Identified.
Kiestner was at work in the mine
where he is employed as a driver an
- Sheriff Doner went after him. He wa
: soon gotten to the top of the eartf
. and placed under arrest. Then tn
: little cavalcade started for Abb
Conductor Howard identified all tire
men as those with whom he had tn
trouble and who had struck Boot
=. The party arrived at Abba in time t
catch train No. and Harrison an
Doner brought the three men on int
this city. They were taken to th
4 county Jail and after careful scare
D. they were placed in the steel cells t
4 await their hearing.
2. Fred Pryor is a son of Hosting FL
st gineer Pryor of the Hickory mines an
O. has always born good reputation. n
is 25 years of age and is married bl
I'd has no children. Kiestner is but
2. years of age and is unmarried.
Bloomfield has the record of til
v three. He is about 40 years of ag
a. and is married and has three childrel
k Detective Harrison's evidence sent hi
If to the penitentiary from Abba abo,
10 ten or twelve years ago, for two veal
* term for breaking into the Abba
Dr. pot.
n The Men Talk.
The men seemed very willing |
~ talk about their trouble after the
az had arrived here, and in fact had to
Or Detective Harrison all about it befo
~ they reached this city. According
q the story they told Harrison, they hi
~ been drinking Monday while at Ave-
AZ and when the extra Burlington ira
I'll came along they decided to come
Ottumwa. They climbed into an Ell
Ut PITY box car and had gotten as far
n Shocks without any trouble. He
ID the car in which they we're riding W;
n sidetracked and the men claim thu
y got out and asked Brakeman Boo
~ to let them ride to Ottumwa. TIL,
s. claim they told him they were unit
De men, but that Booth refused to
ty them ride. Words were finally Z
ne changed, and the men claimed Boo
struck Pryor with his lantern and