Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-11-12

behavior he was seized by three men,
who claimed that he was wanted for
forgery in Illinois; that he was taken
by the Santa Fe railroad to Chicago |
and there imprisoned in a private asy.
lum; that he was taken from there to
Tiff1n, O., and again removed to the
Ohio state penitentiary at Toledo. He
escaped from that institution August
26 last by crawling down the hot air
register to the basement and getting
out of a window. He went to Findley
and Bowling Green, o., where doctors
declared him perfectly sane.
Warden N. N. Jones, of the Iowa
penitentiary, has said over his sigma
ture that Faust was entirely sane
throughout his incarceration there,
that he was considered 'trusty," and
that there was no charge of forgery
against him, nor was he rearrested by
the prison authorities.
Faust is utterly at loss to under
stand any motive for his persecution.
When he was first arrested for arson,
he had pending suit for $4,000 dam
ages against the Northwestern rail.
road for being put off freight train.
George A. Hyde, rival for the hand
of his wife, committed suicide after
Faust's marriage.
| Story Of His Arrest.
Faust went to Des Moines the day
of September 8, 1897. He claims that
when he returned to Marshalltown,
| Vina Gross, clerk in Tue postofflce
| there, told him his house had burned
He would not believe it, but when he
| reached his homestead he found his
house and barn and all his machinery
destroyed by fire. His buggy was
chopped to pieces and his dog was shot
dead. Faust claims the loss was ST.
500 and he had $4,000 insurance. He
was convicted of arson and sentenced
to four years in the penltentiary. He
was released after two years and a
half. June 4, 1900, and was seized two
hours afterward by three men, gagged
and put in cab. They told him he
was wanted for forgery. and took him
across the river in buggy, and put
him on board a Santa Fe train. He
remembers passing through Streator
and Galesburg, III. He cried out to
the passengers that he was being kid.
naped. but his guards tapped their
foreheads and that was enough. AT.
ter his confinement in the private asy.
lum in Chicago, he claims he was tax.
en- locked up in arms from Chicago to
Tifin, O., where he was ordered to
the state asylum at Toledo. and was
incarcerated.
Rev. j. A. Earl, of Waterloo, was
going home one dark night, when he
thought he detected a footpad follow.
ing him. The man approached and
instead of demanding money of the
frightened pastor poured out confess
sion and he disappeared. Rev. Mr.Earl
told it, and then it was found that
Postmaster l. G. Munger had short
time before been handed a letter by q
strange man who stood in the shadow
of the door at 8 o'clock at night. This
letter was in the form of a confession
and signed by one c. P. Rawlins. He
told in detail how he had gone to the
home of j. R. Faust on the night OF
September 4, 1897, and had asked
Frank Johnson, the hired man ant
only member of the family at home
TO sleep with him. He says he got VI
at o'clock in the morning and set the
hay in the barn on fire. He claims HI
wakened Johnson because he wa:
frightened for him, and each took {
horse, Johnson riding to Cskaloosf
and he to Waterloo. From Waterloo
he rode to Freeport, ILL.,. where he sole
the horse for $40 to William Loeffler
Confession is corroborated.
81 was employed to commit the
crime says the confession, 'and he
ceiyed $3.50 for it. | was under thu
influence of liquor at the time | have
not slept peaceable since | committed
the crime. l have always imagined
2 someone was walking in my room ant
f would shake my bed and pull off the
) cover for me. Faust was KIDNAPPED
from Fort Madison on June 4, 1900
and is now being held prisoner il
Chicago. / am willing to surrende
: and turn states evidence if I am no
prosecuted for stealing the horse ant
burning the barn, and l will reveal thu
names that was in the plot, but Franz
Johnson is perfectly innocent"
|, Strange TO say this remarkable con
fession was corroborated when tn
, horse was recovered from William
/, Loeffler of Freeport, III. Beside, /
was not known by any one then tina
Faust was in Chicago asylum. H
had been given up for dead.
The Titfin, o., authorities CLAIM
i Faust was arrested there and immed
I ately showed signs of insanity, thong
: they fail to state how or by whom h
D was arrested. Assistant Superintent
3 ent Nelson of the Toledo penitentiar
: says that Faust was sent there fror
Tifin and that his only insanity wa
that he was being prosecuted.
K Who was Rawlins? Is Faust sane
n Why this strange confederation? VIII
r could have prosecuted him? Attorne
: Bowen promises to answer these.
4 SHOOTS TWO; DRINKS POISON,
: Illinois Man, His Wife and Nelshho
= All Near Death