Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-16

Attorney F. +. Thompson will be asked
to nolle PROSE- the indictment. in which
case the hospital authorities would re-
turn Evans into court. where he could
he either discharged or paroled TO his
two brothers residing in Moline as
his condition justified.
Rock Island alienists were arrayed
against themselves in the Evans trial.
Among those to declare that in their
judgment Evans was sane were Drs. S.
c. Plummer, G. G. Craig and Calvin
TrueSdale. all now deceased, and DR..
c. L. Eyster, still practicing in Rock
Island, while DR.. Cowden, former su-
perintendent of the state hospital at
Mt Pleasant, Iowa, and then located
in Rock Island, and DR.. Sala were
equally confident that Evans was in
sane and not accountable for his acts.
It was the opinion Of Dr. Cowden that,
although he could not express an opin-
ion as to the mental condition of the
defendant from examination, that judg-
ing from the hypothetical question put
to him. in which the various acts of
the defendant were described there
could be no question but that such
person was unbalanced mentally
Further evidence tending to show that
Evans was insane was shown in the
fact that he tried to set fire to his cloth
| ing while in county Jail and that
/ Joshua Vandruff. an ancestor, had been
/ insane NJ. NJ. Sturgeon, as states at
/ torney, prosecuted the case and Mem
/ Try & McEniry defended.
/ Error in Papers!
| Il is claimed there is an error in the
circuit court records, in that the com
mitment papers provide that on regain
/ ing his sanity Evans shall be brought
/ back to receive sentence, while the or
/ der ought 10 state he should be brought
/ hack for trial on the charge of arson,
as it is impossible to place an insane
person in jeopardy. as would be indi-
/ Gated by the courts ruling. for a trial
on the question of the guilt or limo
/ cence of a man cannot be conducted
unless the defendant be sane.
! The Rock Island Argus files contain
/ lengthy and interesting stories about
! the Evans escapade. In the issue of
| Aug. IS, 1880. it is stated that after
the farmers got their dander up and
] dIlutIl Will plltu ibl no anu ollOLS uho
and a piece of tightly twisted hemp,
warranted not to stretch or break, got
on the warpath When the young man
heard they had blood in their eyes
he hurried to Sheriff Silvis for pro-
lection.
Starts Reign OF Terror.
Evans and Charles Cushman, his
father in-law, could not agree. He had
married the adopted daughter of the
latter who lived seven and a halt
miles east of Moline on the Colona
road" Evans lived with Cushman and
| the climax of the family dissension oc-
Cured on the morning OF Aug. IT, when
Evans is said to have secured a shot
gun and was attempting TO kill his
Young bride. Cushman tried tC
interfere but was fired at for his
trouble. the shot fortunately going
wide Armed with razor Evans die
succeed in slashing his wife on the
arm, and then picking up a club anC
!, threatening to beat out the brains OF
Cushman. he chased the latter about thu
farm. When the farm hands came t
the aid of Cushman Evans took car
. of oil and set fire to the barn. The
; mob was then formed but Evans fec
to the timber and went to his owl
home, where, on the advice Of his faith
: er. he came 10 Rock Island to give
himself up. being arrested on a stree
car.