Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-08-02
A NIGHT OF TORTURE
IT BROUGHT A FORTUNE TO ITS I'M
NOCENT VICTIM.


Confessed to Murder and Was Aft
erward INDICATED and Recovered
$25, 900 ron His Assailants.
Late In the ifties George W. King
was the proprietor Of a hotel In Or
ford, rs miles from Lafayette, Ind. fa
1880 q stranger arrived at the hotel and
gave his name as DR.. Rowe. He fsN
King that he had no money and askst
to be trusted for his board till he ccnlf
get practice in the place, promising t9
pay him as promptly as possible. King
consented to the arrangement, and
Rowe soon became q favOrite wifi tie
people on account Of his compaphsu-
able disposition and superior intailf-
gence. The doctor, however, fell deeyl-
er and deeper in debt. He had been 40.
the hotel fer nearly a year when King
reminded him one morning that ne
had not paid anything on his board
bill for three months. The cOnyerst~
ton, it afterWard appeared. was over
heard by some one in the hotel. though
nothing was thought of it at the tin,e-
"A WEN dliti tllt COllN u SLtlOu hoHG
was called u late at night to sse Il
patient ard failed to return. DayY
passed without any word from him, arss
his disappearance soon was c~onneclAE
with the conversation that had passae
between him and the landlord aboM-
the unpaid board. One night thre'
months later a party of disguised mea
entered the hotel and. overpowerin2
King, took him to a woodland adjoiM-
ing the town.
He recognized the voices Of severat
Of his captors and especially of fiIs
leader, who told him that he was sUx-
pected of numbering Rowe and de-.
manded that he confess. King stoutE
maintained his innocence, and tie
leader of the mob ordered his csro.
panions ''to string him up" A nops
was placed around his neck, a dazsn
men pulled down a stout limb, Gvsr'
which the other end of the rope u;3x
thrown, and when the limb was ls-
| leased it carried King off his feet sHsa
left him hanging by the neck. liz
was nearly unconscious when let down
and again ordered to confess.
After mach delay he was restored
sufficiently to understand what way
said to him. and he again refused, de-
claring his innocence and saying E@
did not know what had become Of
Rowe. A second time he was strung
up and Il second time let down, hEs-
life was nearly extinct. and he VAS
much longer in being restored than r.
fore.
The luckless landlord knew he could
not pass through another such or,tszf
and live. so he consented to confeSA.
He purposely heightened the confas--
sion in order to gain time, and saW
that he and tive men. named Rog"N
and Haggard, had poisoned some wi >
ky and induced Rowe to drink it. u
after his death they had buried i}A
in a hollow some distance away. !.
was nearly daylight when the contrs
sion was made. and the lynchers GA
termined to take King to Jail in IAfk-
| yette and then arrest Rogers and HaH~
gard.
Before the Jail was reached day hA&
dawned, and King recognized his cry
tors as members of the Horse Thief
Detective company Of Benton, Warren
and TippecanOe counties. nearly all Ge
whom were known to him. Contest
| of his guilt. the men made no attempc
to conceal their indentity. So greEt
was the excitement and SO intense Or
feeling against King that he waiveA
examination and went to jail. hoping
that something would turn up to e.
tablish his innocence.
From the Jail at Lafayette King nd
dressed letters to editors of papers In
Cincinnati. Chicago. st. Louis, L<,uax-
vile and other cities. setting out tfs.
circumstances Of his confinement ank
asking them to keep his letter In tis
papers in hopes that it might fan
der Rowe's notice. The appeal was q.
pathetic one and was copied into mary
papers throughout the mort. west
Two weeks after its first appearances
Dr. Rowe rode into Oxford and. az
tended 10y a number of citizens, prs-
ceedod to Lafayette, where his appsae-
ultS us tllt llillllNttihtt lCINtlS' *
the accused landlord. In eXplanatit1
Of his disappearance Rowe said he hat
left his home in the east on account =
domestic troubles; that he had learneA!
that his wife was on her way to Or
ford and he had determined to lea va
the place secretly in order to preyenf.
her from learning where he had gore.
He had gone to a little town In sssz,a-
ern Illinois. and it was there that NV
learned that the mar who had hSn-
friended him was suspected of his nszr.
der and was in Jail in Lafayette.
AS soon as King was released Aas
brought suit against 80 members Of the
Horse Thief Detective company far
$4,000 each and also against the c0zf--
pany as Il corporation. Thomas e.
Hendricks. atterward vice pressders.
was his counsel. but the case was r4z.
allowed to come to trial. the lynchsrx
compromising by paying King $23,tAt--.
With this money he purchased a farm
n,.1 tl,, A,>nv ,nnv T n "a Ns,a