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ciRrrnrriNTiAL bvidmci.^ I ,v4P “*I ipoa what Hoppe w»« I'envlcleA »fRobber) A Letter 10 (ho JHfe from «h* Pri*An*r Mflnre Ills ^«ii4€uct.The circumstantial evidence that led tothe conviction of Charlts E. Hoppe for thetlimiFt•Probbing of Mr. Joseph Pfiffuer ot Wape- veton, in August last, is of about as peculiar non and interesting a character as that which acU led to the conviction and execution of ecProfessor Webster for the murder of Dr. 01n Parkman.m The evidence at the trial disclosed this I camchain of circumstances. On the evening Hof the 211 th of August, Mr. Pflffner, whom keeps a store at Wapeton, closed his storem and went to his residence, near by, tommtake his tea. This did not occupy but aslight interval of time, and after partakingm I of his supper, he at once returned to hisinmstore. It was then dark, or dusk. Ashe entered his store, he stepped on some- kthing that felt soft to his foot. He picked it up, but not being able in the gloom ~ I of the store to tell just what it was, put it^ I in his pocket until he could strike a light.He then sought for a candle, |found one,lighted it, and found the soft feeling allyin*•» • indar■]yierTl-ticle was a fish line rolled up in a bundle.By the lieht of the candle he saw anotherobject on the tloor, which upon examination proved to be a used gingham pockethandkerchief. Mr. Pfiflner, being assured in his own mind that those articleshad been dropped on hi* store floor duringhis absence from the 'tore, hail Ins suspicious aroused. He at once walkedaround his counter to his money drawer,aud on opening it found that a sum of Imoney he had left iu it, on going to hissupper was gone. He next went to investigating a small box w here he also keptsome money That too, he found depleted. These abstractions led him to be-rscome interested in an examination ol hissite. It was found to have been alsotampered with and some $500 taken. InAt all, the robbery anionnted to in the neighborhood of $700 in money. Mr. Pfiflnerl’shad no idea wdio the robber could be, nordid nis efforts that night give any clue ortrace of him- The next day, however,P. the fish line w as identified as one that beJw longed to Hoppe, and the haukerehief aslooking like one he carrd bait inortfon the day of the robbery. A stain in them.odcenter ot the liankerchief, which looked asif it might have been made with bait, carried the conviction they were now on thetrail of the thief, particularly when it wasremembered he had t een in aud outof the store several times on the day of thendlaltelullspti if1.robbery. The fish line was identified ashis, by a woman from whom he procuredit, by the uuality of the line and the peculiar way in which the “sinker” was attacked to it. Steps were immediatelytaken to confront Hoppe and charge himwith the tkett. He was stopping with aMr. Diehas, on the hill at Waepeton. withwhom lie sometimes worked. When arrested, tie admitted that the fish line audhandkerchief were his, but he alleged heherfhad forgotten them in the boat he usedwhile fishing. A 3earch of his personro-st.Die-tfthe’s’*Uyfound only some seventy or eighty cents.A further investigation led to the information that Hoppe, iu going to ilia home atMr. Dieka»’ on the evening of the robbery, did not take the u-ual road, but a moredifficult and round about way, by going aconsiderable distance up the river andthen ascending the hill by the way of aVt-rallraviue. It was concluded to paas overthis way, to ascertain whether any addi-iar2et,I hethetional links could be tound to fasten thegudt on the now prisoner. In doing so atdifferent places in the path, and in the grassby the way, money was found, to the aggregate amount of $25, as if it had beendropped at the places where found,in11a-sn-ue.from the careless and insecure manner-suggested by a hasty thrusting it into pockets by a thief who had no .time to spare toplace it away carefully. An after searchof Mr. Diehas’ premises found the furtherlink in the chain ot circumstantial eviingingods00 wrapped up in one bundleand secreted in a haystack.amOn the above circumstances, in the main,,malanwas Hoppe, indicted, convicted and sentenced by the Court, and we venture theassertion that it is seldom so plain a caseanturnFhe:er-1 asige.is made out by only the tracks that a thiefleaves behind him.A LKTTEIi FROM HOIM'LAfter Judge Wilson, on Friday, sentenced Hoppe to the penitentiary for two years,he was remanded to jail when he indictedthe following letter and forwarded it to theJ udgethen al‘•Uul* ! It is said: Love one another like sisters and brothers. Are the penitentiaries only built for poor criminals, murderers ami r* gues like the ho-pitals for the sick and diseased, or insane asylums for the insane? This question is generally an*swered w ith “yes” by the unreflecting.But I say to all of you, who enjoy liberty, who sit around your family table, who can, without hindrance, go forth under Cod’s free sky and can in spring time listen to the songs of birds in the green forest: Remember for one momentthe poor imDrisoned, upon his face rest fhe look of despair. There he sits, staringr ahislits,tf■c of
Newspaper Details
Daily Times
Dubuque, Iowa, US
Sun, Dec 21, 1873
Page 4
Full Page
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USA 22 Sep 2020
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