Police Shooting and Air Ships in St F

The Vincennes newspapers carried the news of St Francisville as often, if not more, than the Lawrenceville newspapers. However, the facts was not always the same. Here is a review of the news of November 1879.

The Vincennes newspaper reported that a horse was stolen from Mrs. Lucy Tougas of St Francisville. The Lawrenceville newspaper reported this incident as:  Felix Tugaw of St Francisville had a valuable horse stolen. The editor said it seemed to her that Lawrence County was blessed with an overabundance of horse thieving.

Another example of two articles about a shooting incident:

As reported in the Lawrenceville newspaper: On Wednesday night between 10 and 11 o’clock, in St Francisville, Patrick McDonnel, was shot by constable Wm Mathews.  The facts as near as known when the Lawrenceville paper was published was that McDonnel, McBride and some other employees of the new railroad were somewhat jubilant by reason of having too much of Carmody’s fresh whisky aboard.  But McBride became noisier and more abusive than the rest of the party. His arrest was attempted by the Constable when McDonnel tore the shirt and under garment of the Constable, at the same time using some threatening language.  Mathews became furious at the treatment his clothes had received and at once opened the battle by firing at McDonnel.  The first shot made a severe flesh wound in the right leg, the second struck him in the right breast, penetrating to this cavity and causing a severe and dangerous wound.  The third shot missed the mark and the Constable, probably becoming disgusted with his ill success in killing out right the drunk man who tore his shirt, turned his back upon his victim and left for parts unknown. 

A warrant was procured for the arrest of Mathews but up to the time of publication his arrest has not been made.  The opinions of the people of St Francisville were variously divided. Some blamed the fugitive for his hot- headed haste in the use of weapons, when mild manners and a degree of official sternness were all that would have been required to protect the dignity and quietude of the town, while the employees of the railroad were highly exasperated, and threats of revenge were largely heard from them.  Immediately after the shooting Dr Carter of Lawrenceville was telegrammed for and was placed in charge of the case.  McDonnel was said to have a fair chance of recovery.

And from the Vincennes paper:

A terrible shooting affray occurred at St Francisville between nine and ten o’clock Thursday evening.  Wm Mathews a constable of Saint Francisville, fired three shots from a pistol at Patrick McDonald, a resident of Lawrenceville who was one of the laborers of the new railroad between those two points.  The cause of the row is unknown, but it puts the officer in an extremely bad light for it was said he was wholly unjustified in the act.

Two of the balls took effect in McDonald’s body, one embedding itself in his left thigh, and the other entering the breast at the lower portion of the sternum producing wounds that will in all probability end in McDonald’s death.  Dr Carter of Lawrenceville was telegraphed to come attend McDonald. 

Had Matthews remained in town any length of time he would have been used as an ornament for the most convenient tree, as the railroad men were terribly excited and vowed vengeance and hunted for him with a rope. 

Mathews was about five feet, eight inches in height, light complexion, gray eyes, short dark beard and moustache, and auburn hair.  He was not very intelligent and never had much to say.  He wore a frock coat, jeans pantaloons, tight boots, with brass heal supporters, a cap with a velvet band and was left-handed.  The railroad boys offered a reward for his arrest.

A week later the Vincennes paper reported that Patrick McDonald was rapidly improving and was then able to walk around in his room.

In other news:  There was considerable talk around town about organizing a Ku-Klux band and a vigilant committee at St Francisville. It was said that certain parties have received notice to leave town, at the same time threatened if they did not depart, they would be dealt with.

Walter Buchanan of St Francisville published a notice that a strawberry roan mare, about eight-years-old, branded with a V on the left shoulder, had either strayed or had been stolen from Samuel Baker’s near Vincennes on November 13 179. He offered a reward for information or the return of the horse.

Miss Emma Chee was assistant in the St Francisville public school.  Billy Wendling was the new express agent at the Railroad in St Francisville. 

Then there was this interesting article.  William F Ellis of St Francisville invented an air ship capable of being guided like a boat in the water. He sent the following letter to the editor of the Weekly Western sun published in Vincennes Indiana.

“I pencil you a few facts in regard to my invention.  For three or four years I have at intervals talked air navigation and have invariably been scoffed at by every person that I have conversed with and now the very persons that hooted so loudly after seeing my invention deem it possible. 

“What I claim to make it do: Navigate the air with both passengers and freight.   When I say navigate, I don’t mean that it will ascend and drift with the wind, I mean that it will run square against the wind or to any point of the compass and that it can be raised and lowered at will with perfect safety.  I claim when put to test, that it will travel from 60-80 miles per hour with the wind and that it will travel 30-50 miles per hour against the wind, and that it will remain suspended in the air a sufficient length of time if necessary to cross and recross the Atlantic Ocean.  I will not give you the opinion of every man that has seen my invention.  Here follows several letters of recommendation from people who have witnessed the working of the model.” (The paper did not publish these letters.)

Ellis wrote that he would begin the construction of the machine in Vincennes about the first of December of sufficient capacity to carry fifteen men.  The newspaper editor said, that as “we desire to be on the safe side, at all times, so we urge the proprietors of the Petersburg railroad not to cease construction.”