CHAPTER XXI

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A CHAPTER OF EARLY INCIDENTS—GRAVE AND GAY

FALSE IMPRISONMENT.

    There is no class of unfortunates more deserving of sympathy than those who have served sentences for crimes they did not commit. A noted prosecutor is authority for the statement that there are now in the criminal asylums of the state many prisoners who are there for crimes committed by others, roughly estimated the number at one-third of all the convicts. It is not often that the real criminals confess, so that the number of innocent men who have been sentenced to prison cannot be known, but those familiar with criminal practice will agree that the estimate is not too high. Occasionally a man is hung for a crime he did not commit, as in a case in Nebraska several years ago and one in Pennsylvania recently.

    The state furnishes practically no defense for those charged with crimes. Our statutes provide that when brought before a magistrate, the prisoner is to be informed of his right to counsel, etc., and it seems that this bare right is all he has. There is no provision for paying the counsel, and unless some lawyer takes the case upon the theory that the man will afterwards be indicted and that he will secure the paltry ten dollars allowed in cases where the crime is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, the prisoner gets nothing but the knowledge that the great State of Iowa has given him the privilege of being represented by an attorney—provided he has enough money to employ one.

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    It is often an impossiblity for a person without means to secure anthing like a fair and impartial trial. Everything is against him. The prison officials are prejudiced by years of association with real criminals. They treat the suspect as the do the man serving time. His diet and privileges are the same. His associates may be men charged with every crime known to the criminal calender, from simple assault to murder. The rich are not exempt, although they have a better chance, their chance being in proportion to their money. If the offense charged by murder, however, where ususally the defendant is not admitted to bail, the rich man must take his place by the side of the poor man.

    Many men are in the penitentiary today who are there because some slovenly witness has fixed on them a crime they did not commit. A notable instance of this kind occurred in this county twenty-five years ago. A man, afterwards proven innocent, was legally convicted by a Montgomery County jury of the crime of obtaining money under false pretenses, and the strangest part of it all is that the evidence upon which he was convicted apparently proved his guilt beyond any reeasonable doubt. The record is clear. He received as good a defense as the money paid by the state will buy—which may not be saying too much—and within seven days from the time of his indictment was wearing the striped suit of a felon, and sentenced to serve three years at hard labor in the penitentiary at Fort Madison, Iowa. His name was George Bennett, and the state which treated him so roughly has never yet had the decency to apologize, to say nothing of reimbursing him for his time, mental suffering and work.

    Bennett was arrested on the complaint of one A. Crittendon, a grain dealer, who swore that Bennett represented to him that he lived on a farm north of Red Oak and that he had one thousand bushels of corn for which he was willing to take twenty-five cents per bushel. A contract was drawn up and seven-

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five dollars paid down to clinch the bargain. Bennett did reside on Kennedy Packard's farm near Red Oak, but he had sold his corn to other parties. He answered the description given by Crittenden of the man and the transaction with the exception that in making the contract he had signed his name "Chas. Benit." There was evidence that the Bennett arrested was sometimes called Jack Bennett, and it was inferred from this that it would be as easy to change a name for "Chas." to "George" as from "George" to "Jack." Crittenden swore at the trial, "I have seen this man Bennett in jail and say that he is the same man"—meaning that he was the one who defrauded him in the corn deal. One J. T. Wickersham, also a grain dealer, testified that the man arrested had called at his place on the day the contract was drawn and wanted to contract to sell some corn. Another witness named Alexander swore that he was present when the contract was drawn and that the person in jail was the person who signed the contract.

    Something in the prisoner's looks and actions—possibly the dumb appeal in his eyes—had such an effect on the then newly elected sheriff, H. H. Palmer, that he immediately started an investigation which resulted in the arrest of a man in Scotland Co., Missouri, who promptly confessed the crime when told another man was imprisoned for it. Accompanied by his father, he returned to Red Oak and demanded trial. Crittenden still refused to admit he was the man, saying he was sure it was Bennett. This was done, likely, as a protection in case suit should be brought for malicious prosecution. However, the man told such a straight, detailed account of the crime that, in spite of Critenden's denials, Bennett was released after serving eleven months of his sentence. The strangest part of this case is that Bennett and the real criminal were as unlike as two men could be, the former having a protruding chin that amounted almost to a deformity, while the latter had regular features. Both were young men.

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    No state as yet has passed legislation for the reimbursement of men who have been falsely imprisoned or put to the necessity of a defense when innocent, although within the past two years, in the state of New York, bills have been introduced along this line, the theory being that the injured person should be paid the actual cost of defense. J. C. Cooper, Bennett's attorney, tried to get a bill through the Iowa legislature for Bennett's relief, but for want of influence, it failed.

A FRANKFORT "SOCIETY MAN."

    During the winter of 1859-60, a young man by the name of Frank Bates came to Frankfort for the ostensible purpose of clerking for Solomon Stout, a merchant. He was courteous an dagreeable and, while he made himself conspicious in many ways, he was modest and unassuming. He was of medium stature, had a round face and rosy cheeks, blue eyes and auburn hair; he dressed neatly and was noted fo rhis pleasant manners and general good conduct. He attended the school described in another place, and was always attentive, well-behaved and gracious. At all the parties and neighborhood gatherings, he was always welcome, being a general favorite. Altogether, he was well calculated to charm the gentler sex; would accompany them home and linger long at the doorway for a parting word as long as the climate or the individual would permit. He was actually engaged to be married, it is said, to one of the fair maidens of the town. His attentions were not confined to any one lady, however, and he caressed all who would permit, according to approved methods. One day he departed, as suddenly as he had come, and moved to Council Bluffs, the metropolis of the slope, where he exhibited all of the graces that had endeared him to the young society at Frankfort. There he had a wider field and better opportunities in which to exercise his talents. After spending a season there, he again suddenly disappeared, when the report became current that Frank,

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"the dear young man," was in reality a woman. Indeed, this fact was soon afterward admitted by all. At that time there was no more communication between Frankfort and Council Bluffs than there now is between Red Oak and Nome, Alaska. She never returned to console the ladies or to apologize to the gentlemen whose acquaintance she had so rudely violated.

HOW THE "Q" RAILROAD EARNED $2.00

    (The following, copied from the Creston Gazette, is one of Major Wood's stories, and therefore a true one.)

    "About two weeks ago a Burlington freight train struck a horse near Stanton and the animal was killed as dead as a smelt. The engineer of the train promptly wired in a report of the accident and the Burlington claim agent hastened to Stanton to square the matter. The agen learned that the horse had belonged to an old Swede farmer named Peterson, and at once drove out to see him about it. 'Mr. Peterson,' remarked the claim agent, 'I've come out here to settle with you for the horse that was killed by one of our engines. I have learned that your horse was a very breechy andimal and that it jumped the right-of-way fence and wandered upon our tracks. Now, Mr. Peterson,w e could go into court and prove contributory negligence, malicious trespass and breach of the peace on the part of your horse, but we do not care to have any litigation. We are willing to settle this matter out of court if possible.' 'Ay tank we make settlement pretty quick,' said the old farmer, 'I ban wanton dat old hoss killed for yar. Ay tank you have pooty gude. Ay pay you two dollar.' The claim agent was thunder stuck. 'Pay us for killing your horse?' he exclaimed. 'Ay tank you earned dat money.' 'Mr. Peterson,' said the claim agent in an awe-struck tone of voice, 'That is the first worthless horse the Burlington Railroad ever killed. It has always been our misfortune to kill Morgans, Hambletonians, Clydesdales and Percherons. With your permission I will have

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that horse's hide stuffed and placed in our museum of curiosities and we must have your photograph; and when you want to travel through any point reached by our lines, let me know and we will carry you free of charge and feel under obligation to you'. "

WASHTUB A DEADLY WEAPON.

    According to an indictment in our District Court, this useful household utensil is so styled. Undoubtedly many a poor woman, in an effort to protect helpless ones under her care, and to keep soul and body together, pressed by necessity, has come to her death through exhausting labor at the washtub, but it is not generally classed as a deadly weapon. However, it was so designated by the District Attorney in a certain criminal prosecution wherein a certain party was charged with an assault with intent to commit great bodily injury. The men had quarrelled and engaged in a personal encounter. The defendant was thrown, his head coming in contact with the edge of a tuib, making an ugly wound. The indictment was something like the following: "The defendant, did then and there wilfully, maliciously and with malice aforethought, assault _________ with a certain deadly weapon, to-wit: a washtub."

A TENDERFOOT

    About 1858, a man by the name of Bowen, a tenderfoot, observing the lack of improvements and the forlorn appearance of the country, inquired of one of the settlers, John Bolt, the reason for the lack of enterprise and why everything seemed to be at a standstill. The answer was given without hesitation: "Stranger, there is something about that has a tendency to make a man lazy. This feeling will come on him in about two years, and in five years he will steal." He then referred to the universal custom of getting timber and wood from land owned by the railroad company and speculators with no expectation of paying for it excepting by indirectly enhancing

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the value of their lands by building bridges and school houses and maintaining courts. The pioneers would respect the rights of each other, for they were bound together in the fellowship of common sympathy in what at the time was considered hardships.

FEVER AND AGUE.

    One of the serious obstacles in the way of the early settlers in building their homes and making improvements,w as the prevalence of the malady, chills and fever, or the shaking ague, rendering them unfit for hard labor. The cause of this condition was due to the malaria that came from the rotting, overturned prairie sod. Old and young were brought under its baneful influence and held in its grasp for weeks and months.

    The prmonitory symptoms of fever and ague was a chilly sensation creeping along the spine, a warning of what was to follow. The next movement was to get into the sunshine or near artificial heat. But this was no help. The teeth would chatter, then the whoel frame would be convulsed with an uncontrollable, spasmodic action so violent as to cause the pots, kettles and tinware to vibrate, if within the sphere of its influence. This paroxysm would last for an hour or two, followed by joint-torturing pains and a fever which, for its intensity, is indescribable. The fever would, in time, gently and entirely subside to give time for the renewal of the first attack, which would occur periodically every twenty-four or forty-eight hours. During the summer and autumn seasons, the auge was more prevalent than in the spring and winter, but its baneful effects would last the entire year. Its only antidote in those days was quinine and whiskey. The former, a staple article of commerce, was a necessity in every family and was taken in heroic doses. Gradually the disease became less prevalent as the country became improved, so that today a real case of the old-time "shakes" is a rarity.

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EARLY ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

    R. S. Hanley, the first mayor of Red Oak, administered justice in accordance with the demands of the period. An offender was brought before him who had lingered too long at the wine. The man's attorney claimed in defense that his client was not intoxicated but sick, which the client proceeded to prove by "feeding the fishes" in the mayor's presence. The mayor immediately ordered him to jail and the next morning fined him ten dollars for "puking on the court." Upon payment, he was discharged.

"SINGLE TAX" IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

    The Henry George theory of single land tax was put to a practice test in Montgomery County long befoe that noted man was known to fame. In proof of this, one has only to examine the assessor's books in the first decade of our history. He will there discover that it was the invariable custom to list all of the land belonging to resident or non-resident owners at the same price. They did not take into account the enhanced value caused by the improvements theron. They reasoned that the labor and skill required to enhance its value, such as buildings, fences, trees, etc., should not, under existing circumstances, be taxed for the reason that such taxatin was in the nature of a penalty upon industry and had a tendency to retard improvements, and that all their surplus energy should be spent in building bridges across streams an din erecting schoolhouses on the hilltops. While they were law-abiding citizens and had a wholesome respect for authority, they became judges in equity upon their own acts and justified themselves on the ground that self preservation was the first law to obey and first to be obeyed—after that the laws of the state. The ideal was at last gradually merged into the actual. This rule of reform met the fate of every innovation upon long established custom, and the laws of the state as laid down in the "Blue Book," a cheap edition of the Iowa Statutes,were read and obeyed.