The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-07-02

| Ledbeter MIR. Kieths brother, who
lives in Texas, married sister of the
late Mr. Ledbeter, and has been work
ing with p. A. Ledbeter in the effort
to recover the body and solve the mys-
terry of the murder of his relative.
| There is a general sentiment that
the county should provide plenty of
assistance for the county attorney, and
also for any needed expenses in get
ting evidence The heirs of the late
Mr.. Ledbeter, it is understood. intend
to retain an attorney to help the
county attorney.
w. r. Geddes was called upon this
afternoon by Messrs. Ledbeter and
Keith and consulted in regard to APP
pearing in the case, but nothing de-
finite was done.
The county board will undoubtedly
reimburse Mr. Ledbeter for his ex-
pense in connection with the search,
: as he is a poor man and can ill afford
to, stand the expense. His Medic friends
have been standing Loyalty by him,
advancing money TO assist in the
work. At meeting held there yes
terday, considerable was raised.
Sheriff Donahue Heard from.
Mrs. Donahue received telegram
yesterday from her husband, saying
that he would leave Fort Benson,
Mont, today for Mankato with his
prisoner.
The two little girls of Mrs Ledbeter
called upon their mother at the Jail
this forenoon. and saw her in the of
flee. They will be taken back to the
home of Matt Borgmeier, where the
boys are staying.
Deputy Sheriff ,Klugherz has been
kept busy running down reports and
rumors the past two or three days.
Most of them have very little founda
ton in fact, but here and there some
ing is gained. He was at work on
one this afternoon.
Organs Were Decomposed.
The physicians who conducted the
post norton examination of the body
of Mr.. Ledbeter We're unable to learn
much as to the condition of the stom-
ach whether there was any undigested
food in it or not. The body and it's
organs were so much decomposed that
it was impossible to determine much
about any particular organ 1t takes
about four hours to clear the stomach
of food with healthy person, where
the functions are natural. If food
had been found in the stomach, it
might have had some bearing on the
time when the murder was committed,
whether in the evening, as claimed by
Smith, or i'll the morning, as some
think
Mr.. Schwandt denies that he beat
Ledbeter out Of any money He says
that last fall business was very slack.
and it was hard to sell goods, while
the expenses of rent and salaries, etc,
kept UP.
The prisoners are not allowed to re
ceive any mail unless it is first in
spected by the officials, as a matter of
precaution.
Winding Up the Inquest.
1 The balance Of Frank Smiths testi-
mony yesterday afternoon. at the coro-
ner's inquest, was as follows:
Schwandt and | held the ends of
the post and the two women each took
enc leg and balanced the body We
went to the pasture gate and laid the
body down. Then all decided to bury
the body under where some cornstaIks
were piled. ] moved the bundles of
stalks and Schwandt dug for a time
with the spade, and then | dug until
the hole got so small at the bottom
that | could not 80 any deeper Then
Schwandt lay down and felt down in
to the hole with his bands, and said
it was deep enough, anyway. We then
dropped the body into the hole. the
head to the west and feet to the east,
and then | shoveled the dirt on. while
Schwandt got on and trampled on the
dirt to pack it down. One foot would
not 90 down, as the hole was not big
enough, and Schwandt kept a dancing
and stepping on it until it broke down.
Then | put the corn stalks back. We
lost Ledbeter's cap on the way, but
it was too dark to find it, and when
we got home, Mrs. Ledbeter told me
to be sure and bring the cap home
next day and burn it up.
Mr.. and Mrs. Schwandt went to bed
and Mrs. Ledbeter gave me the gun
and shells and told me to 90 outside
and watch and see if ANYBODY came
around. 1t was a. M when we
got back to the house. / sat on a
lumber pile back of the barn listening
and watching, until nearly daylight.
and then / looked in the field for
tracks of any one who might have
come around, but found none. Then
did my chores as usual, took my
gun to the house, built a fire, and
woke up Mrs. Ledbeter. She asked
me if ! had the hole covered up in the
barn; | said mot yet; and she said:
BE sure and cover it up She said
that she must get up and get break
fast as Schwandt wanted to take the
a. m. train | went to the barn.
filled the hole, MIXED, then ate break
fast with the other three, and started
back for the barn. Schwandt stopped
me. shook hands, and said we did q
, poo1 ;oL OIL III