The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-12-17


holders of the Mankato State bank,
of Mankato, Mimi, for the election of
directors to serve for the ensuing year,
and such other business as may come
before the meeting will be held at
thier banking rooms Tuesday, Jan. H.
1910. Polls open from 2 to 4 o'clock
p. m.
JOHN R. THOMAS, Cashier
Mankato, Mimi, Dec. Z, 1909.
Sanger came. Did not 60 to school
that day. Mrs. Ledbeter helped hunt
for her husband.
Matt Borgmeier Called.
Matt Borgmeier was called and said
that he is farmer, living in Lime
| township. He was born there and
had spent the fifty-one years of his
life on the farm where eh was born
He could see tine Ledbeter premises
plainly from his premises. First met
! H. j. Ledbeter soon after he arrived
and had met him frequently. Smith
worked for Patrick McTighe and re-
manned on the farm after Ledbetel
bought it and moved there. Last saw
him alive May in the forenoon He
was blowing five or six rods from the
roadway. Had a short conversation
with. him, about the blowing. He APP.
peared and talked the same as he had
always done. May 5, witness was call
ed to the Ledbeter residence. Got
there about Z a. m. 1t was about
G:50 a. m. when Mrs. Ledbeter tele.
phoned She asked if witness had
seen her husband, and when he said
ne had not, she had asked that he
come over at once to help search for
her husband. He was the first neigh.
Dor to arrive. Mrs. Ledbeter was walk
ing and running down the road toward
Frank Schaefer's farm. The four chill.
dren were all dressed and out in the
yard, and the lodest girl was crying
Smith was near the hen house, coming
from the west side of the barn, down
a steep slope.
Witness told of conversation with
Smith. Smith said that they could not
find Ledbeter, although they had hunt
ed. mitn had said that Ledbeter had
acted queerly, that the previous Sun
day he had tried to shoot himself, and
that he (Smith) had taken the gun
from him and had said to him: "Why
do you want to shoot yourself? II
you want to shoot somebody, why
don't you shoot Schwandt?" Smith
said that Ledbeter that morning had
got raving mad at COW he was
milking and struck it with a stool
He feared that he might have gone
and done something. Smith, continuing
had said that the back door of the
barn, contrary to the practice was
open, and he thought Ledbeter had
gone out that way, especially as he
had heard footsteps that way.
The witness told of searching the
barn with Smith, and going into the
feed alley. Smith asked the witness
to take the pitch fork and strike into
the ground, and he had done so, but
satisfied himself that he was not
under the ground or in the barn. He
had remarked to Smith that a mar
could not kill himself and bury him.
self, also. They then went to look
for footsteps, on soft ground, on the
farm.
What Smith Had Said.
Smith had said that Ledbeter was
in the barn, and that he thought Led
better would follow him to the house
to breakfast. Witness and Smith went
down the ravine, as he feared that
Ledbeter might have hung himself. We
found some fresh tracks about the
size of Ledbeter's shoes, and Smith
said that he thought that was where
Ledbeter went. Later Smith said that
he himself, had been there earlier
in the morning and made the
tracks in order to make searcners
think that Ledbeter had gone that
way. The tracks were lost on the
south side of the ravine. Followed the
ravine alone to Thomas McTighe's
house on the st. Peter road. Saw
the Culp boys and Scnaefer searching
and Smith might have turned off with
them. Witness had searched number
of small ravines clear to his OWL
home. Went to the Ledbeter place
again after breakfast. Had breakfast
between nine and ten a. m. Shortly
before noon, witness had told Mrs
Ledbeter that he could not find Led
better there, and that they would
drive to Kasota in the afternoon.
Smith appeared wearied when first
seen in the morning, and his clothes
looked as though they had been sweat.
ed. He cried while talking, and tears
stood on his cheeks, and he seemed
possessed of more sympathy or feeling
tnan an ordinary hired man would
show. The searchers drove in the aft.
ernoon as far as Bradley's crossing
and got back about p m. Mrs. Led
better wanted to go, but witness had
advised her to stay home. Smith had
told in the afternoon of Ledbeter hav.
ing financial trouble with Schwandt
and said that Ledbeter had acted
queerly while blowing, sometimes stop
ping suddenly in the middle of 8
search. Smith certainly seemed in earn
est in making the search.
While In the ravine, Mrs. Ledbete1
came to the top of the ravine and saw
Smith standing still, and she called
down to him and asked him why he
did not look for Ledbeter. Smith had
told witness: "She has kept me search.
ing all day and she knows [ can't find
him."
Repeats Fairy Tale of Smith.
A week before the body, was found
Smith claimed that he had seen Led
better in the field two weeks after the
murder. He had claimed that Ledbetel
had said that he had intended to &C
home the night he disappeared, but
whom ba hod crof 70 fbo ho,,no Z