LaPorte County, Indiana - Chapter 35: Morals, 1904

Chapter 35: Morals

The law may punish us, which only strives To take away excess; not the necessity Or use of what's indifferent, and is? made Or good or bad by its use.**

The term "morals" is used here in its broad sense, as including all the laws, rules and regu¬ lations which pertain to the enjoyment of Mine without injury to Thine. Some one has said, "Show me the laws on a people's statute books and how they are administered, and I will tell you their character." The saying is a true one and La Porte county has no cause to be ashamed of the general history of her jurisprudence.

In the Indiana state constitution of 1816 it was provided that the judiciary power, both as to matters of law and equity, should be vested in the supreme court, in circuit courts, and in such inferior courts as the legislature might from time to time direct and establish. Circuit courts were established, each having a presiding judge who must reside in the circuit, and two asso¬ ciate judges in each county of the circuit. The presiding judge alone, or he and one of the associate judges in the absence of the other, were competent to hold a court. The two associate judges in the absence of the presiding judge were competent to hold a court, except in capital cases and cases of chancery. This arrangement held until the adoption of the new state constitution in 1852. Up to this time the presiding judges of this circuit were Gustavus A. Everts, Samuel C. Sample, John B. Niles, Ebenezer M. Cham¬ berlain, of Goshen, and Robert Lowry. The as¬ sociate judges during the same time were Jacob Miller, 1832; Judah Learning, 1833; Gustavus A.

The records of the county commissioner's court at the November term of 1832 show that a session of the LaPorte circuit court was arranged for to be held at the house of Joseph Pagin, where the old brewery afterwards stood, near Clear lake. Pagin was allowed one dollar for getting his house ready, and the jurors who had been empanelled were allowed seventy-five cents each for attending. The reason why the session was not fixed for George Thomas' house was, that the county commissioners were to meet there on the same day. Oral tradition says that the circuit court convened according to programme, and that William Polke, the father of Mrs. John B. Niles, presided as judge; that there was no busi¬ ness, and the court adjourned. In harmony with this, Order Book A is entitled, on the inner fly leaf, "Minutes of the LaPorte Circuit Court, commencing at the November Term, 1832." But there are no entries for that term, the court record being absolutely blank except that a place was entitled for it. We leave the reader there¬ fore to draw his own conclusions. The descen¬ dants in the family testify to hearing William Polke refer repeatedly to having presided at that term of the court, and going through the form of opening and adjournment. It would seem that if this were so some record would have been

Order Book A, first page, begins with the minutes of the June term, 1833, "holden at the house of John Redding, in the town of LaPorte,,, "being a convenient place as near the centre of said county as can be had," Monday, June 10, 1833 ; present, Hon. Gustavus A. Everts, pre¬ siding judge of the eighth judicial circuit, and Jacob Miller and Judah Learning, associate judges, George Thomas, clerk, and Adam C. Polkte, sheriff. The said judges and officers presented their commissions and they were re¬ corded. The grand jury (the second empanelled in the county) was sworn and sent out to delib¬ erate, in charge of Christopher McClure as bailiff. This jury was composed of the fol¬ lowing names: Arthur McClure, foreman, John Stanton, Emory A. Brown, Noble McKinster, Garvis M unger, John Carter, Jonathan Sher¬ wood, Peter White, Josiah Bryant, Martin Baker, Elijah Stanton, Aaron Stanton, William Thomas, William Stanton, and James Higby.

On motion of C. K. Green, a name not found in any other connection, the following attorneys were sworn and admitted to practice : Samuel C. Sample, Martin Ray, Jonathan A. Liston, David H. Colerick, John B. Chapman, Albert S. White, William O. Ross, Hugh McCulloch. These were mostly from South Bend, Logansport and Fort Wayne, except Ross, who was lo¬ cated in LaPorte. Of these, Hon. G. A. Everts went to Texas and became one of the supreme judges of that state. Jacob Miller, Esq., re¬ mained in the county for many years. Judah Learning, Esq., went to the county of Wapello, Iowa. George Thomas died January 19, 1835, and William Hawkins was appointed by the associate judges to fill the vacancy of clerk caused by his death for the balance of the term, and afterwards, in August, 1838, elected for seven year$. A. G. Polke, Esq., the first sheriff, died while on his way to Oregon, in 1847.

The first criminal case was that of the state against Jacob Coleman, indicted for an affray with John Knapp. John B. Chapman was pros¬ ecutor, the plea was ''not guilty," the trial was by jury, the second petit jury impanneled in the county, and the verdict was "not guilty." John

B. Chapman presented his commission as prose¬ cuting attorney for the eighth district and was sworn. There was a divorce case, the first in the county - Nathan Allen against Sylvina Allen. An order for publication was entered and the divorce was granted at the October term in 1834.

There was also a petition for naturalization - the first in the county. Peter White, an English¬ man, mentioned in former chapters of. this work, was granted citizenship on the evidence of Sam¬ uel Walker, who said he had known him eighteen years, and James Andrew, who had known him five years ; both spoke highly of his qualifications. He signed the oath by mark and was described as "a man a little rising of five feet, fair complexion, about forty-five years of age, heavy built, and rather fullfaced;" he had lived in Indiana about one year.

Christopher McClure, afterwards county commissioner, was bailiff to this grand jury. Two of the attorneys of this court were afterwards honored with seats in the councils of the nation - Hon. A. S. White was elected to the senate, and Hon. S. C. Sample to the house of represen¬ tatives.

The first judgment rendered was on June 10, 1833, on appeal from a justice's court; it was affirmed, and the amount was $70.44 ; the parties were Jacob Coleman against Hugh McGiven.

At the December term, 1833, begun Decem¬ ber 16, at the house of William O. Ross, John B. Niles, Thomas D. Baird, John S. Lacy, Will¬ iam Hawkins and Herirv Cooper were sworn as practitioners. Other civil business was trans¬ acted, including an order to pay William O. Ross five dollars for the use of his house and for build¬ ing fires for the court during the three days of the term.

The April, 1834, term, was held at the house of Calvin Lilley, who had been fined at the pre¬ ceding term and who was indicted on several charges at the present term, and was also prose¬ cuted by the state for failure to pay certain staved judgments. There were several prosecutions for affrays, selling spirits to Indians, selling without license, and gaming, the latter including some of the leading business and professional men of the community. Among those arrested for selling spirits to Indians was Jean Baptiste Chaudonia, under the name of John B. Shadney, a friend of Arba Heald and preserver of Captaiti Nathan Heald at the massacre of Fort Dearborn.

The October term, 1834, was held at the house of Noah Newell. The April term, 1835, was held in the new court house; the grand jury inspected the "county prison" and reported its condition.

Mr. George Thomas, clerk of the county, certified to the county commissioners that the fines assessed by the circuit court of December, 1833, amounted in all to seven dollars ; five dol¬ lars against James Lockhart on an indictment for retailing liquor to an Indian, and two dollars against Calvin Lilley for retailing liquors without license; and the docket of Elisha Newhall, a justice of the peace, shows that the only fine he assessed during the year was one dollar against Willis Huges for profane swearing.

Hour

For some reason, perhaps the terrible finan¬ cial depression of the time and the sickly season, both of which are apt to breed general discour¬ agement and inability to meet obligations, the business of the court in 1838 was the greatest. The fee books show that the fees of the clerk for

,The legislature under the power which the first constitution gave to establish inferior courts established probate courts, which had original and exclusive jurisdiction "in all matters relating to the probate of last wills and testaments, grant¬ ing letters testamentary, of administration, and of guardianship/' and several other things ; and con¬ current jurisdiction with the circuit court "in all suits at law or in equity, upon all demands or causes of action in favor of or against heirs, devisees, legatees, etc., etc." The probate court was established in LaPorte county and its judges, up to the time of its abolishment by the new con¬ stitution or rather its mergement into the com¬ mon pleas court, were Chapel W. Brown, - ;

The probate court in this county commenced with the November term in 1832. It convened on November 12th, at the house of George Thomas, Jacob Miller and Judah Learning, as¬ sociate judges, sitting as a probate court ; George Thomas clerk, and Adam G. Polke sheriff. There was no business and the court adjourned.

The February term of 1833 began on the eleventh, at the house of George Thomas, Hon. B. McCarty, probate judge, presiding. The judge, clerk and sheriff presented their commis¬ sions and organized the court. Letters of admin¬ istration issued by the clerk in vacation to Martin Baker as administrator of the estate of James Madison Reeves late of St. Joseph county "hav¬ ing been duly weighed and considered," were confirmed. The court adjourned.

The May term of the same year opened at the house of George Thomas with the same judge and officers. The seal adopted by the county com¬ missioners for the circuit court was adopted as the seal of probate. Martin Baker, having been cited, appeared and filed inventory in the Reeves estate. There was no other business.

(The August term opened at the clerk's office on August 12. The same officers were present, save that David Dinwiddie acted as deputy sheriff. The sale bill in the Reeves estate was reported, but there was no other business. In the November term of 1833 and the February term

The May term of 1834 opened in the clerk's office, on the 12th. Jay Mix, a minor, petitioned for the appointment of a guardian for his estate. Hiram Todd was appointed, with A. P. Andrew, Charles W. Cathcart and Abram Harrison as bondsmen.

At the term beginning September 18, 1834, Clarissa Bunce was appointed administrator of the estate of Simon G. Bunce, who had been the court house contractor. This estate ran through several years, representing considerable property, including town lots probably taken as pay for the court house, and during its pendency the widow married a man named Teeple.

(On page 18 we learn'of the death of Antoine la Fromboise, a minor Indian owning the south¬ east quarter section number one, township thirtyseven, range two, recorded, with Globe la From¬ boise. his reputed father, as sole heir to the land which was granted by treaty of 1826. This is the first of a long series of Indian descents show¬ ing the names of fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, as heirs td the 1826 grants, from which it appears that most of the grantees, possibly all, were minors and many of them young girls.

At the term beginning March 10, 1835, An¬ drew Burnside and William Hawkins, with Adam G. Polke as surety, were appointed admin¬ istrators of the estate of George Thomas, late county clerk. Subsequent proceedings show that he left a widow and seven children, three of whom were married, and had some town and farm property (pages 20 and 46). The widow was Elizabeth. The children were Eleanor, wife of John Hews; Nancy, wife of Willard Ball; Mary, wife of Charles Egbert; Reynear, Ruth Jane, Perlina, and Joel, the last four being minors.

The November term, 1836, beginning on the nth, was the first term of probate court stated as meeting in the new court house. Page 61 of Order Book A, from which all the foregoing items are taken, shows the appointment of Joseph Bays as guardian for his daughter, under a bond of $3,000, with John Cissne as surety, and Asa M. Warren and Joseph W. Lykins as appraisers

On page 66 Joseph Bays and Joseph W. Lykins appear as affiants to prove the death of an Indian treaty grantee, Sos-wa, and are certi¬ fied as good and lawful citizens. They appear several times through the probate records as bondsmen, appraisers, affiants, etc. They have been mentioned in previous chapters in connec¬ tion with Hudson township.

Order Book C, pages 303, 305, 448, January term, 1855, shows that Joseph W. Lykins was appointed guardian for Andrew W. Lykins, owner of the undivided half of the northeast quarter section No. 5, township thirty-five, range one. Order Book E, page 309, October term, 1869, says, "The court being satisfied that John W. (undoubtedly Joseph W.) Lykins, guardian of said ward (Andrew W. Lykins), has gone to Missouri, this cause is ordered off the docket." These entries should be sufficient evidence of the existence and respectability of both Bays and Lykins, and of the final record of the latter. Ap¬ parently the judgments taken against him on surety debts, for he signed paper heavily, wiped out his property, and though beyond middle age he went west to retrieve his fortunes.

And now follow the five earliest executions issued in the county, including the first levy, the first levy on real estate, and the first payment without necessitating a levy. We give them somewhat technically: -

3. July 31, 1834 State of Indiana v. John Hop¬ kins: fine $2.00; cost $15,601-2; fi. fa. $ .50; returned Aug. 20, 1834: "I have levied on one brown horse and made the sum of fourteen dollars & twelve 1-2 cents. No other property found." This was the first levy made in the county.

4. State v. Jeremiah Bartholomew: fine $2.00; costs $8.54; fi. fa. $ .50. Returned: "Satisfied by payment without levying" This was the first judgment paid without levy.

leading business men of the county, during 1833- 34, were indicted for gambling, fighting or for selling liquor without a license to Indians. The foregoing may give some idea of the courts and morals of the county up to the time when {he new constitution was adopted. The old days when the lawyers, a jolly company, used to ride the circuit together, were great days.

With the adoption of the new constitution in 1852 - which was voted upon in 1851 - the probate court passed away, or rather was really merged into the common pleas court, which was established by the legislature in 1852. The com¬ mon pleas court was a sort of circuit court which was presided over by a judge who was elected in a prescribed district composed of certain coun¬ ties in which district he must reside. The first common pleas court was composed of LaPorte, Porter and Lake counties. In 1859 the district was changed so as to include Elkhart, St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties. In LaPorte county the court was held on the second Monday in February, June and October, and continued three weeks "if the business required it." This court was abolished by the legislature in 1873 and its business transferred to the circuit court. The judges of the common pleas court were Her¬ man Lawson, 1852 ; William C. Talcott, 1856 ; Elisha Egbert, i860, re-elected in 1864, and in

As to the conduct of the courts since 1852, we can only remark in general; The following, taken almost at random, will give names which revive old memories : -

At the session of the county circuit court be¬ ginning on September 20, 1861, the following attorneys were in attendance: J. B. Niles, Messrs. Hannah, Andrew, Hathaway, Bradley, Will¬ iams, Farrand, Seymour, Woodward, Noyes, Weir, Biddle, Trippe, Higgins, William Niles, and Bliss of LaPorte, Lawson, Thornton, and Bailey of Michigan City, Webber and Williams of Westville, Stanfield and Liston of South Bend, Church of Valparaiso, McDonald of Crown Point, Phil¬ lips of Plymouth, Keith of Rochester, and Fra¬ zier of Warsaw. The Civil war soon took sev¬ eral of these men away, some of whom were never to return ; but as yet they were present. Judge Osborne was on the bench and went through the docket which was unusually large, numbering two hundred and eighty-three cases, for the reason that there had been a failure to transact business regularly during the previous session. There were thirty-eight state cases, but many of them were old cases kept on the docket simply to prevent the return of the offenders who had fled, and the greater part of the remaining cases were for retailing intoxicating liquors, all of which were continued until the next term. The only case of much importance was that of the state against James Lawrence for grand larceny, who was charged with stealing two horses, a wagon and other valuable articles, the property of Charles M. Teeple. He pleaded guilty and declined any counsel. A jury was called which after deliberation brought in a verdict of six years* imprisonment, $400 fine, and twelve years* disfranchisement. The prisoner objected only to the fine, asking the judge where it was to come from. He was informed that he would be con¬ fined in the county jail until it was paid or re¬ plevied. Robert Smith, charged with stealing money at Michigan City, on plea of guilty was sentenced to two years* imprisonment. On the civil docket there were about twenty appeal cases brought on the premium notes of the defunct State Fire Insurance Company, and that of John P. Dunn against Offley Leeds for damages to the plaintiff by falling down in the cellar way of the Jewell House in Michigan City. It was sought to make Leeds responsible because he owned the building and knew of the defect in it, though the house was kept by a third party. There also was the case of Wakeman against Snavely, in which an action was brought to recover damages al¬ leged to have been sustained by overflowing the plaintiff*s land by a ditch of the defendant. The grand jury were in session during the first week and returned into court two hundred and eigh¬ teen indictments for retailing ardent spirits, and one for arson.

LaPorte county. The grant was contained in the term? of an Indian treaty made at the mouth of the Mississenewa river, in Indiana, and was coupled with this restriction, viz., that the land so granted should never be conveyed by the said Ann Sharp, or her heirs, without the consent of the president of the United States. U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. 7, pp. 295 to 299. Subsequently Ann Sharp married Luther Rice, and bore him a son named William M. Rice, in the Indian ter¬ ritory west of the state of Missouri. Rice died. His widow, once Ann Sharp, married William W. Cleghorn. Subsequently she died, leaving no child by Cleghorn. Cleghorn alleged that she made a will and procured probate of it in Missouri. He then came to LaPorte county, Indiana, and applied for an order to sell the land granted to Ann Sharp by the treaty above named. He made publication against William W. Rice, sole heir of Ann, then being a resident in the Indian country west of Missouri. The LaPorte common pleas ordered a sale, and it was made. In the meantime, William M. Rice, the heir of Ann Sharp, sold the land, with the approbation of the president of the United States, to Crews and Sherman. Subsequently Rice, Crews and Sherman appeared in court and applied to have the proceedings for the sale of the land set aside. Afterwards they dismissed their proceedings, and the court set aside the sale. Cleghorn then renewed his motion for an order of sale and Rice, Crews and Sher¬ man opposed it. Judgment for Cleghorn. Rice and Sherman appeal. Judgment reversed. The land involved was N. W. 1-4, sec. 8, Tp. 37, R. L

In general it may be said with confidence that the courts of LaPorte county have been conducted with ability, dignity and respect. In proof of this we instance the fact that there have been comparatively few appeals from their de¬ cisions.

As to civil appeals the earliest case appear¬ ing in the supreme court reports as appealed from LaPorte county is found in 4 Blackford, page 226, decided Saturday, January 7, 1837, and is entitled Harrison and another v. Hixson and another. The plaintiffs shipped 413 bushels of wheat from Michigan City to Buffalo by the schooner Post Boy, which was owned by the defendants. The wheat was lost in some man¬ ner on the voyage and plaintiffs brought an action on the case, after the old common law forms. The circuit court, by error of law, re¬ fused to admit the bill of lading in evidence and the plaintiffs lost the case, which they appealed and on the appeal won a reversal. C. Fletcher,

No other case was reported as from La¬ Porte county until Tuesday, May 21, 1839, when the decision in Davis v. Graniss and others was handed down. C. B. Graniss sued Henry Davis and John Allison on a promissory note. Davis appeared and answered, but Allison did not ap¬ pear, and judgment was taken against Davis. The supreme court held that judgment should also have been taken against the other defendant by default, he being a joint contractor. W. Quarles was plaintiff's attorney, J. A. Liston defendant's.

May 25, 1839, the case of David Burr v. Dunham and Ward, on land floats, was re¬ versed, in Burr's favor. W. Quarles for Ward and Dunham ; C. Fletcher and O. Butler for Burr.

Three appeals from LaPorte county were de¬ cided in 1840, all on promissory notes. Har¬ rison, assignee of Wyatt, sued Clark and C. McClure and got judgment. Clark and Mc¬ Clure appealed and won a reversal, May 30. J. B. Niles for plaintiffs, C. Fletcher and O. But¬ ler for defendant. In Wells v. Teall the decision of May 30 was an affirmance of the circuit court. Darlington v. Evans was reversed June 2.

And as to criminal appeals, LaPorte has a most remarkable record, unapproached by any other county in the state. LaPorte county has no criminal case reported in the supreme court until the May term, 1874, forty-two years after the county was organized. Men tried in our courts must have been well satisfied with the results and the trials must have been fair.

At the November term, 1876, (53 Ind. 555), two men were tried on an indictment for as¬ sault and battery with intent to kill, having in a neighborhood quarrel shot at a neighbor. The parties are all living and are respectable people. They were found guilty of assault and battery, but not of felonious intent, and were sentenced to one month in the county jail and a fine of $1,000. On appeal the verdict was sustained.

Gastner was tried on a charge of knowingly receiving stolen goods and was convicted, but the supreme court set the verdict aside for fail¬ ure of essential proof. This was the first crim¬ inal case.

At the May term, 1868, of the supreme court (29 Ind. 308, 312), were tried two cases of usurpation of office, statutory offenses tried on the criminal side of the court, involving a disputed election in the city of LaPorte. (See also 28 Ind. 248 for a civil case involving same election).

In December, 1903, the Chesterton Tribune contained the following while speaking of a re¬ cent criminal, and the statement is a distinct compliment to the courts of LaPorte county: "It is a strange fact that whenever Porter coun¬ ty took a murderer to LaPorte county for trial he was convicted, and when it took one to Lake county he was not convicted. This holds true from the days of Page, who killed his wife and mother and shot Rickey Ludolph, down to Beam. If Beam is tried again he had better be tried before a LaPorte county jury."

In the foregoing paragraph the Tribune re¬ calls a noted crime which up to that time was the worst ever committed in northwest In¬ diana. It was about the first of the wholesale or family murders which have become so com¬ mon since. It occurred on Wednesday night* January 16, 1867. Page, a jeweler, had mar¬ ried in Valparaiso, and the union being an un¬ happy one, a divorce was pending. His wife had gone to her mother, a Mrs. Long. Mr. Long was absent for the night in Buchanan. Page went to the home and shot Mrs. Long, Mrs. Page, and Miss Fredericka Ludolph, an intel¬ ligent Lutheran girl about eighteen years of age, who lived in the family. Seeing she was not yet dead he emptied the chambers of his revolver into her body, dashed the kerosene lamp to the floor, touched a match to the oil, and left for Chicago. But Fredericka lived and her testimony sent Page to prison. A party of young people returning home discovered the flames and rescued the girl. Page was ar¬ rested, brought to Valparaiso, and spirited away to LaPorte to avoid a lynching. There his trial was held.

was attorney for the state and Judge M. K. Farrand and Hon. James Bradley of LaPorte for the defense. Judge Osborn of LaPorte occu¬ pied the bench. The judge delivered his charge Saturday afternoon, which was short and con¬ cise, and at ten minutes past four the jury re¬ tired to the jury room to deliberate. At six o'clock they changed their quarters to the Myers house, where they had excellent quarters until 3 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, when they returned to the court house for the purpose of delivering their verdict. On their appearance crossing Main street there was a grand rush for the court room to hear the result. The judge asked the jury if they had agreed on a verdict. The foreman replied that they had. The paper was handed to the judge who at once in a clear voice, while all was still as the grave, read the following: "We, the jury, do say and find that the defendant, Chauncey F. Page, is guilty of murder in the first degree, in manner and form as he stands charged in said indictment, and that he be imprisoned in the states prison for and during his natural life." W. A. Place, foreman of the jury.

Thus ended one of the most exciting trials ever held in LaPorte. A long array of promi¬ nent people of Valparaiso as witnesses : Thomas Bushore}, Columbus Pierce, Martin Ludolph, Fredericka Ludolph, Hon. M. L. McClellan, Dr. Jones, L. H. Mandeville, George Longshore, Thomas A. E, Campbell, Miss 'Vine Sperry, Anna Kitchall, Walter DeCourcey, A. R. Gould, R. L. Caldwell, Elias Goss, (Mrs. Page's broth¬ er) Col. I. C. B. Suman, S. L. Bartholomew (the county sheriff), Champ Buel, T. A. Hogan, Azariah Freeman and perhaps others. The jury did not seem to disagree about the guilt of the prisoner, but the contention was over the pun¬ ishment to be given him.

LaPorte has had murder cases of her own. The first in order of time if not of interest was in 1836. An inhabitant of New Durham named Pelton started for the west with a considerable sum of money. Soon after starting he was waylaid, murdered and robbed. A man named Staves was arrested and tried for the crime and being found guilty was hanged at Valparaiso, the murder having been committed in Porter county.

One of the most exciting crimes ever com¬ mitted in the county was the murder of James M. Coplin by Scott in 1838. Coplin had a sum of money due him in Virginia, amounting to $500 or $600. Scott wishing to visit Ohio, the two young men started east together. Scott stopped at the house of his mother in Lucas county, while Coplin went on to Virginia, the state of his nativity; and having procured his money, four hundred dollars of which was in silver and the balance in gold, he undertook his return. Coplin stopped at the house of Scott's mother on his return and remained over night, and the next day started for LaPorte county. Scott followed and overtaking Coplin rode with him, each being on horseback. Strange to say, either because he could not bring himself to commit the awful deed or for some other rea¬ son. he rode with Coplin until within less than a mile of Coplin's house, when he shot him dead, took possession of the money, and fled. But he was soon arrested and lodged in the jail at La¬ Porte. The murder took place February 2, 1838, within half a mile of Jedediah Austin's farm, at about eleven o'clock at night. The re¬ port of the pistol that did the deed was heard by several. The body was found the next morning by James Andrew, who lived in the vicinity - not the brother of A. P. Andrew. Scott was soon after tried, found guilty, and hanged just east of LaPorte, June 15, 1838. Coplin's age when murdered, as inscribed on his tombstone, was nineteen years, three months and twenty days.

Of course the whole county was stirred up over it. There are those living to-day who took part in the trial and saw the execution. One lady, now living in Chicago, from a distance saw the crowd and the criminal as he stood on the gallows. After Scott was arrested his grandmother said to him, in harmony with the old Scotch superstition in such cases, "Can you put your hand on Coplin's body and say you diil not kill him?" And Scott had the boldness to say, "Yes," and he did so. This was the only execution that ever took place in the county under the authority of the county. Sutton Van Pelt was sheriff.

excitement, not only in the town but all over the county. Charles Egbert had formerly been a merchant in Hudson and an active business man. He had a tavern stand at one time on the road which runs along the south part of the township line. This hotel had done a good bus¬ iness, but Smith had made efforts to get a direct road through to LaPorte and had succeeded. This cut off all travel from Egbert's place. The parties had disputes about it at different times thereafter. There has been much dispute about the date and circumstances of the murder, but the writer has ascertained that on the even¬ ing of Saturday, December 4, 1841, Egbert went into Smith's bar-room. He had on the same day purchased a knife at the store of John Reynolds. The two were intoxicted and quar¬ reled. Much crimination and recrimination passed between them. Smith ordered Egbert to leave the house. Egbert went towards the door ostensibly to go out but apparently for the pur¬ pose of opening his dirk, and then returned toward Smith, who raised a chair. Andrew Fos¬ ter, who was present, not seeing the knife, caught the chair thus preventing Smith from striking, and Egbert stabbed Smith twice, once in the arm and once into the heart. Smith died immediately. Egbert was arrested and taken tc LaPorte and examined before two justices of the peace. Nine-tenths of those who heard the examination thought that Egbert was guilty of willful murder. The examination was pro¬ tracted and adjourned over. Bail was first set at $25,000 and then at the solicitation of counsel reduced to $5,000, and Egbert was bound over to appear at the next session of the circuit court. But he never appeared. He fled to Texas, then not a part of the United States, where he lived until after the close of the re¬ bellion. It is said that he deeply repented his rash act and became a religious man and a Methodist class leader. His bondsmen made an arrangement with the administrators of Eg¬ bert's estate, but by tortuous legal windings the matter was not settled until 1853.

In October, 1843, there was a great scare in LaPorte from the fact that the body of a male and one of a female were found boxed up in Clear lake. Such was the excitement that Dr. Meeker had to come to the rescue and sav that they were anatomical specimens which he himself had placed there for maceration. The La Porte medical school was here at that time and it should be remembered that there was a dissecting room in it. Several gruesome inci¬ dents might be related along this line, but they would be somewhat forbidding.

Several other murders have been commit¬ ted in the county. There is the Drapier and Carr case of i860, a case of manslaughter. There was the murder of Fred Miller in New Durham township, about two miles north of Westville. Miller's wife accused one John Pos¬ ton of the deed, but the evidence at the exami¬ nation was not sufficient to bind him over and he was released. The Michigan City Enterprise was fairly* savage over the acquittal. There was the case of Wednesday, October 16, 1862, at the Lake Shore station. Several drafted men were waiting to take the train to go to Indianapolis, when an Irishman named Thomas Callahan who had been drafted from Pleasant, township, stabbed and killed a German named Charles Swartz, drafted . from Clinton township, for which he was sentenced for life. November 27, 1865, James Woods shot and killed John Lohn, a German residing in the west part of Clinton township. William Fulton was accessory. Woods was sentenced for life and Fulton for thirteen years. In 1867 Patrick Dunn struck Patrick Daily with a woodrack stake in New Durham township and killed him, but the plea was selfdefense. and he was acquitted. The circum¬ stances of all these might be related and other instances might be given, ending with the mur¬ der of Wesley Reynolds, the young lad who was killed by burglars while so bravely defending Smith's bank at Westville a few years ago. La- Porte county has had its tragedies, but many of them are in no wise to be laid to her own citizens, and therefore do not reflect upon her morality; and, considering her population and the long period of seventy years which is taken into view, the county has been comparatively free from such crimes. There are of course many things in her cities and towns, and even in the country, which are not as they should be, and by parting the veil of appearances a little, one can find them. But it is certainly safe to say that there is as little drunkenness, as little of the social evil as, and probably less than, exists in other counties of her class. Occa¬ sionally there has been an epidemic of some crime. There was one in 1848 when the citizens were compelled to form a society against horse¬ stealing, of which A. L. Osborn was president, T. D. Lemon secretary, who with William An¬ drew, John L. Frye and John M. Lemon, Jr., constituted a general committee. And the society directed its committee to furnish all persons who might be sent after a stolen horse and the thief, with arms and ammunition suited to the emergency. At Rolling Prairie in the summer of 1861 there was an epidemic of petty thieving. On one occasion goods were found in a field by James Drummond, marked "A. N. Miller," and "D. W. Miller." The goods were evidently secreted there. Drummond and his wife watched. There came a team with two men who stopped near the goods, but seeing Drummond they went on. Drummond notified the constable who raised a posse consisting of T. D. Brown, Jesse Shellenberger, Mr. Drum¬ mond's hired man, and John Kierstead, who pur¬ sued the thieves. The younger of them shot at Kierstead. They went through Hudson toward Hamilton, and finally got away by cutting loose, mounting their horses and riding through the woods. Many stirring incidents of a somewhat similar nature might be related, which have hap¬ pened in different parts of the county. In 1861 there was an epidemic of burglary. Some, and occasionally a prominent citizen, have been tried for crimes which should not be mentioned. A chapter might be made of them ; but the reader does not like carrion, and a brief glance in that direction is sufficient. And on the whole the standard of morality in the county has been high. There have been times, as for instance in No¬ vember, 1861, when for quite a period there was not a prisoner in the county jail.

Besides the regular constituted authorities there have been societies which have been guard¬ ians of morality. Not only in the two cities but in Rolling Prairie, Byron, Springville, and other villages there have been temperance societies which w^ere enthusiastically sustained. The Sons of Temperance were once strong in the county. The. order used to have its picnics, attended by great numbers. Springville was a great cen- ter for these gatherings. The Hon. Gilbert Hathaway and others of the county's most dis¬ tinguished citizens were staunch supporters of the cause. There was a county temperance society. The local papers used to take up the subject and discuss it with a dignity and earn¬ estness and lack of fanaticism which have not appeared in these later days. There was a Young Men's Christian Association in LaPorte. There is a wealth of data upon these subjects, though here we can only make a brief reference to them.

The county has been without its race war, and without bank failures and financial un¬ soundness. The most serious trouble the writer has learned was that of the old Branch Bank at Michigan City, mentioned elsewhere, which was soon adjusted. Among many things the ethics of which may be questioned, is the conduct of many with reference to the land claims of the early settlers, an account of which must close this chapter: -

During the early settlement of the county, land speculators were the curse of the pioneers. The possessors of the Michigan Road lands had nothing to fear, as their dealings were with the state alone. Not so those who settled on United States government lands. If there was no one to bid against them at the land sales, the settlers had the right to purchase the land which they had entered for $1.25 per acre. At first there was no pre-emption law, and specu¬ lators could go to the land sales and overbid the settlers and thus despoil them of their im¬ provements. But in many instances the settlers were more than a match for the speculators. Many an Indian scare was gotten up to frighten the speculators away. After a time the settlers came to understand this and ceased to be alarmed at Indian scares. On one occasion when a party of speculators were riding toward a settler's claim, he jumped upon a horse and without saddle or bridle rode furiously toward them shouting "Indians, Indians, Indians! Ter¬ rible uprising ! They'll soon be upon us ! They are killing and scalping all before them." They paused, and as he sped by still yelling, they turned anud followed him. The whole neighbor¬ hood for miles around was alarmed. But the set¬ tler by round-about way rode home, collected some money, and quietly slipped down to the land office at Crawfordsville and entered his land. In Lake county the settlers formed a squatters' union and pledged themselves to stand by each other, and the speculators dared not bid against hundreds of determined, armed men. The instance where John Walker threatened to shoot the man who dared bid against the widow Benedict, has already been related.

During the land sales in LaPorte in 1835, the settlers had a raised platform fully as con¬ spicuous as that of the crier of the sale. There they posted the stoutest man they had, a giant in strength, who promised to give any man a thorough thrashing who dared to bid upon the claim of an actual settler. There was present a little doctor from Philadelphia, quite a dude as we would say now, who was foolish enough to bid upon a tract on which a poor man with a large family had settled. But before the cham¬ pion could get down from the stand, the crowed had pitched the little doctor into a ditch of prairie mud near by, which rendered the efforts of the giant needless and gave the victory to humanity and liberty.

Even after the pre-emption act there was a way by which speculators could dispossess set¬ tlers of thier claims. By treaty with the Pottawottomies certain lands were reserved to the Indians, which had to be located by government commissioners. These reserves or Indian claims were negotiable, and they came into the pos¬ session of speculators and Indian traders. Un¬ fortunately these reserves could be located on lands which the white settlers had claimed and improved, if those white settlers had not secured the right of pre-emption, as few had. Active business men, politicians and others who had become possessed of these Indian claims or "floats," were anxious of course that the claims should be located on the best lands, and they could afford to pay the commissioners for locat¬ ing them there. Here, then, was an opportunity for the commissioners to make money, and in many instances they located those claims on the best lands, even though these lands had been greatly improved by the settlers. Like many other wrongs which have been committed, it was a legalized system of robbery.

danger of losing their homes, and in 1835 they applied to Charles W. Cathcart to give them counsel and help if possible. He drew up a memorial which stated the case, had a number of duplicates made, and circulated not only in this county but throughout the northern part of the state. They received many signatures. Armed with these, Mr. Cathcart went to Washington to see President Jackson about it, for the treaty gave the president summary control over the locations made by the commissoners. On the way Mr. Cathcart fell in with an old friend of the Cathcart family, an old member of Con¬ gress, who knew the president well and who promised to present Mr. Cathcart to him. Ar¬ riving in Baltimore Mr. Cathcart 's hunting shirt attracted so much attention that he purchased and put on a conventional suit of clothes. At Washington his old friend presented him to the president and vouched for his honesty.

President Jackson read the memorial, heard young Cathcart's story, and then said with much feeling, "My dear sir, place this matter in a tangible form and I will settle it in thirty min¬ utes." During the interview the president's private secretary quietly left the room, and soon after the commissioner of Indian affairs entered. The president informed him of the occasion of Mr. Cathcart's visit, and the commissioner took charge of the memorial, saying that the case would be examined and acted upon by his bureau, and then remarked, "Mr. Cathcart, you understand that this subject comes properly be¬ fore my bureau for settlement." Mr. Cathcart said, "I understand." And he did. He made a request for a copy of the instructions given to the locating commissioners, and the commis¬ sioner of Indian affairs promised to furnish it at 2 p. m. the next day.

After leaving the president Mr. Cathcart went before a notary and made an affidavit af¬ firming all the leading facts in the memorial, and with it called upon the president early the next morning. The president had not yet risen, but consented to see Mr. Cathcart, saying that his time belonged to the American people. He read the affidavit, declared that it was plain enough, looked up the Indian treaty to be sure that he had authority in the matter, and then wrote on the back of the affidavit an order to raise the floats ; that is, remove the claims from all lands where improvements of any value had been made by settlers, and to offer at public sale the lands upon which those claims had been located. He ordered that duplicate instructions be made, of which Cathcrat should have one, and signed it simply, A. J., and ordered his col¬ ored waiter to take it to the secretary of the treasury, to which department the general land office then belonged.

Mr. Cathcart expressed his gratitude on be¬ half of the settlers, and bade the president fare¬ well ; and with much feeling the old man wished Cathcart God speed. Cathcart then went to see another old friend, the chief clerk of the general land office, and told him of his success, and re¬ quested that the copy of instructions which the president had promised be given him as soon as possible, and in a short time the young man had in his pocket the order to the land officers at LaPorte to "raise the floats from all lands upon which improvements of any value had been made."

At 2 p. m., according to appointment,- Cath¬ cart called upon the commissioner of Indian af¬ fairs to get the promised copy of that officer's instructions to the locating commissioners. He was shown into the anteroom of the department to await the commissioner's entrance. That dig¬ nitary soon hurried in and exclaimed excitedly, "Why, sir, need you have troubled the old gen¬ tleman about your matter ? I told you it belonged to my bureau and you said you understood." Cathcart told him that he understood more than the commissioner thought he did. The officer gave the memorial back to him and refused to redeem his promise of giving him a copy of the instructions to the locating commissioners. Cathcart coolly told him it was a matter of minor importance as he already had in his pocket instructions for the relief of the settlers, and so took his leave.

He traveled night and day towards home, and arrived in LaPorte while the land sales were going on. He was back several days before he was expected. With his new clothes on, covered with dust, weary and worn by the nervous strain to which he had been subjected, and with the great excitement prevailing at the prospective loss of their homes by the settlers, Cathcart at first was not recognized. Unknown he stepped up to a group of people and found an old gen¬ tleman pleading with one of the locating com¬ missioners to raise the float which had been placed upon his claim, as with other improve¬ ments he had built a grist mill upon it. The old man even offered the commissioner a large sum of money to do so, but the commissioner mock¬ ingly refused, saying that nothing but a rise in Deep river could raise that float.

Cathcart coolly said, "We have fall freshets sometimes.,, The commissioner inquired, "It this any of your business, sir?" "Somewhat," said Cathcart, and then he stepped aside and shouted to the people. Immediately he was recognized and the cry went up, "There's Old Charley." They eagerly crowded around him to hear the news. He told them to follow him to the registrar's office. There the door was locked, but Cathcart, calling through one of the win¬ dows, handed in his copy of orders from the general land office, to Major Robb, the registrar, who after reading it himself gave it to the crier of the sale, David Dinwiddie, who read it aloud from a raised stand which he had used while selling the land. The locating commissioner, just referred to, stood by and looked very blank.

The sale was adjourned until the next day, but the crowd would not disperse without a speech from Mr. Cathcart, He gave them a circumstantial account of his visit to Washing¬ ton and of its success. The order was to raise the floats on all lands where improvements of "any value" had been made by the settlers. It was the duty of Major Robb, registrar, and of John M. Lemon, receiver, to carry out tha£ order. But a difficulty at once arose as to what interpretation should be given to the expression

"any value." The registrar contended that it should be construed as .meaning $300. The re¬ ceiver on the contrary contended that it meant a mere nominal sum. There was no time to refer the matter to Washington. To do so would render useless all that had been accomplished, as meantime the land sales would be concluded. Indeed, the speculators had shrewdly gotten the locating commissioners to postpone their work of locating the claims until a very short time before the land sales, so that there would be no time for the settlers to appeal to Washington before the sales transpired. A compromise was soon effected and $75 was the sum agreed upon as the value of improvements necessary to have an Indian float removed from any settler's claim, and to bring his land into market so that the set¬ tler could buy it. As there were few settlers who had not improved their claims more than $75 worth, nearly all were enabled to keep their homes. Some compromising was done between the speculators and the settlers, the former buy¬ ing the latter off and retaining the float, but every bona fide settler either got his home or pay for his claim.

The foregoing shows that human selfishness was the same then as now; rings and combina¬ tions to defraud others for the benefit of a few schemers, lack of regard for the rights, feelings and sufferings of others - these things existed then as now. The only difference is that to-day such selfishness manifests itself in different ways from formerly. Advancing civilization has pro¬ vided new channels through which human selfish¬ ness as well as benevolence may accomplish its object, but at the root it is the same, and there is no difference from age to age save a gradual improvement.