The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-04
HAD AN EXCITING Time
Police Officers Are Mixed UP in a
Bad Runaway.
Liquor Causes Two Men to Do Unac.
countable Things.
From Fridays Daily.

| from fridays Ddlly.
There was an exciting time on North
Front street last night, in which several
policemen and two DRINKS were the
principal figures. 1t was about 80 p
M. when word came to the city hall that
there was crazy man in Hanson's sa.
! loon. who was making things unpleasant
Chief Danohue and Officers Kelly, Klug-
herts and Daniels went to the place, with
a hack to bring the man back to the
hall
The saloon was found closed and lock-
ed, with Mr.. Hanson and five men on the
inside, who were afraid to let the So
called crazy man in, and the latter had
to content himself with kicking the door.
He was not in sight, however, when the
police arrived, but it was soon learned
that he had gone up the street. A big
crowd was on hand to see the outcome.
Officer Daniels jumped upon the hack,
and as he did so the horses started to
run. The driver, Mr.. Graves was on
the sidewalk, and the officer could not
find the lines, so he leaped off and escaped
uninjured, The team dashed on up the
street, and soon collided with buggy
owned by a Mr. johnson. The horse
was knocked down and the reach was
broken, and the whiffletree of the hack
was broken. The hack team was caught
later. Chief Donahue was about to step
into the hack when the horses started.
In the meantime, Joe Robb, who has
been ON duty as a special officer since
Monday night, taking the place of Off
Ger Bienapf, captured the man that the
police were after and took him to the
city hall without any trouble. He turn
ed out to be Pat Masterson, who has been
in the city for month or more, working
occasionally for farmers.
Soon afterwards, the officers, who had
returned to the city hall, heard great
uproar a number of blocks down the
street, man shouting that he had been
robbed. Special Officer Williams of the
Chicago & North Western road went up
to him and asked who had robbed him.
The excited man, who was Hugh Nc
Laughlin, former city employee, pointed
out another man, who he said had just
robbed him of $25. The accused man
was railroad worker of good character
and readily consented to accompany the
officer to the city hall, but Mclaughlin
refused to 90 until he had been shown
the officers star
At the city hall the railroad man pro-
tested his innocence and had no money
when searched, and was allowed to de-
part, but not before Mclaughlin had
struck at him. 1t was found that Nc
Laughlin had $l4 of the money that he
had claimed to have been robbed of in
his pockets, and that he had scattered his
money freely in saloon. He was then
locked up. He subsequently admitted
that he had not been robbed, but still
claimed that an attempt had been made
to rob him. When searched, a heavy
plumb bob was found upon him, that
made a dangerous weapon.
In the police court this morning, Nc
Laughlin was fined $S.65, for disorderly
conduct, whoich he paid. He said that he
had just returned to the city after a
long absence, having been at Port Ar
thur, Ont, most of the time. He ex-
poets to leave for Wisconsin.
Masterson was charged with drunken
ness under the Shafer law, first Of
tense, and was sentenced to pay a fine
of $40 and costs or go to Jail for thirty
days. Being unable to pay his fine, he
was committed. He protested that he
had not done anything wrong.