USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > Carmel > Reminiscences of the long ago : being a historical sketch of the early settlement of Bethlehem, now Carmel and vicinity with an account of the Indians and of the doings and makeshifts of the early pioneers who have passed away etc > Part 4
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Then on the twentieth of May, 1898, was the suicide of Martin Lanham, by drinking wood alcohol.
The last and recent case was that of Hiram Minting, who hanged himself in his barn, on the 17th
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of August, 1908. He had lost his wife sometime be- fore, and I think he left a note saying he was tired of living.
Shooting Incidents Not Fatal
Along in the sixties and seventies, there were three cases of shooting, neither one fatal. The first was that of Carey Harrison, who was supposed to be a rebel sympathizer, and while preaching in the Hill Church, was shot in the arm from an open window, supposedly by some returned soldier, in 1863 or 1864 during the war.
The second case was in the seventies, when Sylvanus Comer, who was in the covered bridge over the river at Broad Ripple, on his way home from the city after dark, was shot by a robber. The shot nipped a little piece from the rim of his ear.
The third was that of some water melon tres- passers in the Poplar Ridge settlement, who were fired on from a shot gun.
The Tragedy
The only one to chronicle was the double and fatal shooting, which occurred in the John Jeffries livery barn, on the eighth of June, 1900. The victims being T. J. Johnson, an eccentric and defiant street preacher, called "Cyclone" Johnson, and William Frank Carey, the constable, who had arrested and
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taken him to this place for trial before Esquire Collins for some offense. In some manner a melee developed and shooting commenced with the above results.
Mr. Johnson was considered by many as only an adventurer, who among other things did not look askance at, or eschew, collections.
Drownings
The first case of drowning in this vicinity was that of Miss Harold, daughter of Samuel Harold, Sr. She was drowned about 1840, while trying to ford Cold Creek at the Wilkinson Ford, northeast of the cemetery. She had been away working for some family, and on Saturday started for home horseback, meeting a swollen creek. No doubt, her joyful anticipation of home caused her to run the risk of trying to cross over. But thy stream, Cold Creek, lay between her and the happiness of her home. She ventured in a little too far down where the water was deeper, and the horse swimming over, the empty saddle gave the alarm. She could not be found then, but was given up as drowned, and was not found for three weeks, when she was found in a drift.
In 1842 or 1843 there was a case of near drowning in Eagle Creek. My parents, returning horseback from a meeting, got into deep water, mother dropping the baby, which was carried under a log or drift, but was rescued.
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The next case was that of a Smith boy from this vicinity who was drowned in the river below the wagon bridge at Broad Ripple about 1857. He was the grand son of Jirah Smith. Joseph Lloyd, one of our citizens, came so near drowning in the same deep water, that he was bobbing under and his hat floating down stream, when William Pike swam in and rescued him.
The next case was in the sixties, when John Barker, a young man of Carmel, was drowned in White River east of here while in swimming, probably being seized with cramps.
The fourth case of drowning was that of Charles Harvey, a young man of Carmel and son of Henry Harvey, the wagon maker. It occurred in the sixties perhaps and in the same place where the Barker boy sank.
The fifth was the pathetic case of the drowning of Mrs. Mellie Hussey, wife of Frank Hussey, in the river near Broad Ripple Park, in 1907. She got into deep water, sank and was brought ashore after life was extinct.
Other Accidents and Happenings
Sometime in the forties, in tearing down our old log cabin, John Phelps, Jr., and another man were up on corners tumbling off logs, and the former was thrown down along with a log, but was not very badly hurt.
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About this time occurred the death of Mrs. Ursely Lanham, wife of Thomas Lanham, near the Robert Lancaster farm. She was in the garden gathering cucumbers, when a limb from a dead beech tree fell and struck her head. It was a pathetic case; so sudden. Her children gathered around crying, "Oh, my mother! Oh, my mother!"
Another accident, wonderful but not fatal, was the case of a daughter of William Slater, perhaps about 1845. She was riding a young horse on a road through the woods, and was thrown, her head striking the spur roots of a beech tree, scattering some of her brains. She recovered, but her physician said she must never go to school anymore.
In 1847 or 1848, Nathan Newby, residing about two miles southwest of Carmel, was badly hurt by his horse falling on him. A gathering in his thigh ensued and, after lingering a few weeks, he died.
There is one old citizen yet living in Carmel who in the past met with so many accidents, I will relate them. The first was about 1834 when a little boy sitting barefoot on the clay hearth of the log cabin before a large log fire, with the old cat in his lap, when the top log with its live coals rolled down upon the side of one of his feet. His mother pulled his foot from under the log, leaving some of the skin of his foot adhering to the log, and some live coals to his feet. He said to his mother: "It's a fine thing it did not roll on the old cat."
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After this, in walking near the edge of the floor where it was lain only partly across the room of the second story of a building, and looking upward at some object, he accidentally stepped off with one foot, falling head foremost on the edge of an upright barrel on the lower floor and cutting his head so his skull bone could be seen, and leaving a pool of blood on the floor. A few stitches brought the gash to- gether. Next he fell from a mulberry tree, and was not much hurt. At another time he had his hand burned in the flax fiasco previously related.
While yet a boy he stepped upon a rusty nail and took cold in his foot and lay abed quite awhile. Then in 1853, he again stepped upon a rusty nail, causing quite a painful wound. In 1847 he was acci- dentally shot in the hand with an iron pointed arrow from a cross-bow In 1853 a piece of timber flew out from a twining lathe, striking him on the mouth and breaking a front tooth out.
In the late fifties, he was experimenting with an empty two gallon tin can, from which alcohol had just been emptied. By holding a match above it, the alcohol adhering to the gummy inside of the can would catch and burn; then he held a match over it, and lowered it slowly to see how far away it would catch, not thinking of the fact that sitting on the stove hearth it had become hot. A mass of flame shot up to the ceiling, burning his face, locks, mus- tache, eyebrows and eyelashes off. He rubbed his face all over with flour. Wasn't he a pretty looking
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aspect? His wife was across the street and when she came in she cried: "Moral-Don't monkey with a hot alcohol can."
In 1898 he melted a lot of scraps of solder in a ladle on the cook stove, and the solder inadvertently contained a cartridge. He was bending over it after the solder melted when the cartridge let go, scattering the solder all over the room, his spectacles saving his eyes. He was knocked down and run over by a buggy at two different times here, and was struck by a street car in Indianapolis, and by an interurban car here without being hurt. Also, at one time, returning from the city, he was sitting on goods piled above the top of the wagon bed, when the wheels struck an ob- stacle as they were coming down hill and he was thrown forward to the ground without being hurt and not even letting go his hold on a bottle of Damar Varnish.
Later than this he came so near being run over by a freight engine at our Monon Station, that before he jumped from the track the cow catcher almost struck him. The engineer reversed the engine, and Thomas E. Carey shouted, "Look out!" either of which not having been done, he would have been struck. But when a small boy he climbed to the top of the ladder serving for the stairway in the log cabin and fell through, breaking an arm-but it was the arm of his mother's flax spinning wheel!
Along about the seventies, Nancy J. West, wife
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of Thomas West, was fatally burned by her clothing getting afire in some manner. She lingered awhile before dying.
About 1844, a boy on the farm now owned by Jonathan Johnson, was chopping the top of a stump when the ax glancing struck his nephew, William Clampitt, cutting a gash in his cheek, next to his mouth.
In 1853, Albert K. Warren, then about three years old, in some manner broke his left arm, and before it got entirely well, fell from a log breaking it over again. Then about 1868, when fifteen years old, he was thrown from a colt, breaking his other arm and gangrene setting in, it turned black and his physician said he would not live over forty-eight hours, but he is living yet. His arm rotted off at his shoulder joint, where there was for awhile but a little ligament con- necting it with his body, which they cut off, freeing him from the arm. The mortification got to his shoulder blade, which protruded so the doctor had to saw a piece of it off in order for the place to heal, which it finally did, leaving him with but his left arm, and it not quite straight, having been twice broken. When well, he paid attention to his education, be- coming a good pensman, and later graduating at Purdue University, after which his parents removed to Zionsville, and he was elected surveyor of Boone County two terms.
After this he went to California, where he was
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employed as surveyor for a large land irrigating company at a good salary and later was promoted to office work. He is now married and has an interest- ing family, and is in good circumstances financially.
During the time when a blacksmith shop stood on the Nicholas Quick residence lot, a man wanting a piece of gas pipe bent to a curve, tamped it full of as dry dirt as he could get, driving wooden plugs in the ends, sent it to that shop for the smith to heat and bend, and sending a boy after it, he came back report- ing that it shot! There being moisture enough to generate steam, it bursted the pipe, and the shop was filled with dust. Nobody was hurt, but the smith's face turned a little pale.
Elwood Rayl, west of Carmel, had a hand torn off or mashed, by a sorghum mill, so that it had to be amputated, perhaps in the nineties.
About 1866, Thomas Hamar met his death near Pleasant Grove, being caught between his wagon and a tree.
Perhaps at a later date than the above, Jesse Newby, son of Jacob Newby, was killed by a saw log rolling over him in the "big woods" north of Carmel.
Sometime in the sixties, Dr. L. S. Campbell was kicked by his horse, while out on the road, so badly that he lay in bed for some time.
In the sixties or seventies, Kearney Cotton, a colored man, while down in a well on the farm of Henry Harold, had a kettle of dirt drop down striking him on the head, but his skull bone was too thick to be crushed.
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Perhaps in the seventies or eighties William Huffman was badly hurt by being run over by a reaper, making some cuts.
In 1910 Gilbert Gray, while sojourning in the West, was kicked by a gun, breaking his collar bone.
In the early seventies William Hamar, son of James Hamar, living near Pleasant Grove, accidentally shot himself fatally. He was rabbit hunting and in climb- ing a rail fence let the hammer of his shot gun strike a rail.
Coral E. Campbell, son of Thomas H. Campbell, was killed in the "big woods" north of Carmel, about 1883 or 1884. In cutting a tree, a limb fell striking his head, though I believe he lingered a few days.
At John E. Buck's saw mill, while running here, Hiram Minting was crippled by being crowded by a saw log.
A few years ago, Albert Moffitt, a farmer in the southeast settlement, met his death by being thrown from his wagon.
Jacob C. Green having felled a poplar tree near old town run, southwest, and holding the ax on his arm, a limb broken from another tree fell striking the ax handle, throwing the ax against his leg and cutting quite a gash.
In the seventies Daniel Warren, Jr., was kicked by a horse and rendered unconscious for awhile.
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Sometime during the war, Sylvanus Carey had a leg broken by a saw log rolling from the wagon when about two miles south of Carmel.
At an early date a boy in the settlement west pinched the pith out of a piece of green alder and had his face over it while pouring it full of melted lead; it shot and he was badly burned.
In April, 1910, Nelson Wise had his hand hurt by some kind of machinery.
October 15, 1910, Mr. Ihndris was kicked by a colt at the time of our horse show.
On the 17th of March, 1910, the two following accidents occurred: Fred Brown had two fingers torn off while adjusting a seed sower and Artie Myers had a hand mangled while helping to manipulate a cross cut saw.
In January, 1910, Bert Parsley, living on one of the Kinzer farms, was severely kicked by a horse, which knocked him a distance of some feet.
In the early part of 1911 John Binford had both ankles hurt by the falling of a scaffold on which he stood.
Mr. George St. Clair, living on the Daniel Warren fruit farm, had a leg broken in 1910, when a cherry log, which was sawed off, rolled upon it.
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Lightning Strokes in Carmel
Sometime in the seventies the log residence of Jacob Newby, on the north side of West Main Cross Street, east of the William Peele residence, was struck by a strong charge of lightning during a very hard rain. The lightning entered a south window up stairs, going north and downward to the cook stove in the kitchen, where Mr. Newby's son, Job, was sitting, striking him and tearing off a shoe and sock, and leaving the latter fast, cramped in the crack of a board of the hard ash flooring which it made in going through the floor to the ground. The boy recoved.
Lightning struck our present High School Build- ing not long after its completion, but did not do very much damage.
A few years ago the front part of the hardware building of Newlin & Thomas, now occupied by O. W. Nutt, was struck twice in the same place; thus dis- proving the saying that "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place."
About 1905 lightning came down a tall shade tree at the residence of the writer, on lot ten, West Main Cross Street, a part leaping to a nearby kitchen stove flue, ran down the pipe to the stove and away to the ground, down the gas pipe. It was a terrific charge, and sounded like a magazine of dynamite had ex- ploded. The main part of it went to the lightning rod, directly under which myself and wife were; the
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latter being upstairs and near the rod, and neither one felt any effect. This shows the efficiency of lightning rods, if properly put up, and connected with the moist ground. The fact that a heavy charge passed over the rod was evidenced by some shingles being torn off where it made a bend to reach another roof. The stove pipe was bursted, and an odor like burnt powder pervaded the room. The rod was too far away to carry away the whole charge which came down the tree.
Great Wreck and Other Railroad Accidents
On the morning of January 27th, 1890, at 7:50 o'clock occurred the great wreck on the Monon, at the trestle bridge over the Wilkinson Run, about a half mile north of Carmel. The bridge has since been replaced by a fill. The train consisted of the engine and tender, combination baggage and smoking car, two coaches and a Pullman sleeper and was in charge of Abel C. Angle, conductor, and Thomas Kline, engineer, and was running south bound at the rate of thirty miles an hour. The ground being frozen and the rails on the convex side of the curve needing raising, it was done by "shimes" being placed under them.
A rail was turned over on that side of the track, derailing some part of the train, which by its momen- tum carried it over the ties on the trestle work,
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tearing up the track, and breaking down the trestle. The sleeper turned over, and slid down the grade just at the bridge, grinding a rabbit to pieces. The two coaches were precipitated, the ladies' coach into the run on the east side aud almost totally destroyed by fire from the stove; the other on the west side.
The baggage car turned over a little further south on the west side. The engine kept the track and passed on further south than the baggage car, carry- ing the tender, which turned on its side, wrenching the two near wheels of the engine off the track and it stopped. The dead were Mrs. Nettie Eubanks, of Broad Ripple, age 36 years; Charles O. Deming, age 55 years, of Frankfort, Ind., who lingered awhile here at John A. Haines'; Miss Mary E. Hoover, age 24 years, of Horton, Ind .; Miss Hattie Hensley, age 20 years, of Cyclone, Ind .; Madge and Lola Oldham, ages 8 and 6 years, of Sheridan, Ind. The mother of these children was pretty badly hurt, and several other persons to some extent.
When the Monon Railroad Company had finished laying its rails through Carmel in 1882, a party of our citizens, Dr. McShane, Elwood E. Hains, William W. Warren and some others had taken a small car used for moving rails in track laying, north of the "big cut," and were on it running back this way on the down grade, it struck a spike someone had driven between rails at a joint, after the car had passed up. The car, upon striking the spike, commenced turning
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over forward throwing some of them out who had presence of mind enough to catch and prevent it from deadfalling the whole party.
Soon after the Monon trains commenced running, William Hutton, in driving across the track at the Main Cross Street crossing, with his one horse wagon, was thrown from his wagon, which was struck by a fast train and knocked to pieces and scattered along the track north. His horse being freed ran on and Mr. Hutton not being hurt very much recovered in a few weeks.
Not long after the above incident John Kemp was struck by an engine or car, near our Monon station, but was not much hurt.
Later Henry Metsker, engineer on a freight engine, was killed a few miles south, by his engine being derailed by striking a bull on the track. After this, happened the near accident at the Monon station described on a previous page.
On the night of January 30th 1899; Harry Mor- ford's buggy was struck by a fast southbound train, at the Monon crossing on West Main Cross Street, and torn to pieces, his horse killed, and himself left unconscious, his legs being frozen when he was found next morning. He was taken to J. W. Morrow's and died that evening.
At a date not long after the Monon trains com- menced running, a freight running too fast, left the rails just south of where the "great wreck" occurred, but no one was hurt.
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On the night of February 15th, 1906, where the interurban track crosses the road near the cemetery, north of Carmel, Frank Cook a former citizen, and another man attempted to cross the track in a covered hack, not seeing and perhaps not hearing the car which demolished their wagon, killing them both, and I think their team also.
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The next accident was at West Main Cross Street crossing of the Monon, the same place where that of Hutton and Morford occurred. It was that of our citizen, Henry W. Henley, and wife, on the morning of March 2nd, 1906. They had started in a buggy to visit some of their children in the Poplar Ridge settlement, and when crossing the track, a Monon fast train, I think south bound, struck their buggy, killing them both and destroying the buggy, but I believe the horse escaped. They had anticipated seeing their children, but alas! Who knows his fate? Whether he shall meet his death by railroad accident, disease, or be stricken down by the flash of heaven!
In 1907 a citizen of Carmel was walking south- ward on the east side of the interurban right of way, north of O. W. Nutt's hardware store, intending to cross the track, but just before, and coming to a catch basin of the sewer and getting down to see if water was running in it, forgot the danger of cars and suddenly started to cross the track just in front of a north bound car, and was knocked heels over head on a pile of lumber rubbish. The car stopped, the motor- man and conductor came out, the latter with memo- randum book and pencil, and he was told by the
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victim to go along, that he was not hurt and would make no claim against the Company. He never found out where the car stuck him.
In June 1908, William E. Venable, of Carmel, an employe of the I. U. Traction Company, fell from the top of a car, severely injuring his back, and being otherwise bruised up by the breaking of a trolley he had hold of. He claimed the trolley was weakened by being already cracked where it broke off. I believe this occurred at Tipton.
On October 26th, 1910, an unknown man was struck by an interurban car near the cemetery, and bruised up some. On March 17th, 1910, Frank Rutherford, of Carmel, was struck by an interurban car breaking both legs. Sometime in the nineties a Monon locomotive turned over on its side on the switch opposite the William Peele residence. There were no fatalities.
The Great Natural Gas Explosion
The natural gas explosion in the Bond Block in Carmel happened March 31st, 1904. There were three adjoining buildings, and the furthest west had just been fixed up for a barber shop for the Mann boys and their stove plumbed for gas. It was not known that a connected pipe extending under the middle building to where a stove had set in the work part of Mr. Bond's furniture shop had been left open at that point. The escaping gas had filled the under floor
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spaces of all three buildings and the rooms to some extent, when Mr. Mann struck a match to light the gas in his stove, let off the whole explosion, throwing shattered glass from all three buildings on the side- walk and to the middle of the street, and his face was cut by flying pieces.
Mr. Bond in the adjoining and middle room was thrown up against the ceiling, one of his legs broken and he otherwise bruised up. In this same room a chair was thrown up against the ceiling with such force that one of the rounds penetrated a ceiling board and was left sticking there.
The third and east room was the grocery store of Alpheus Farlow. The stove was knocked down, up- setting the fire upon the floor, but it was extinguished. It was in this room that Miss Bessie Wickersham, lady clerk, not much hurt, was dragged out through a window. The explosion made quite a mix-up in this room, the floor was torn up and on the ground were onion sets, cranberries, etc., in confusion, and broken glassware and dishes. The stuff was removed, the floor relaid and the other goods straightened up. Mr. Farlow remained in this room for some time, till removing to the room of the Masonic Building, after which he died, and his stock was purchased by the Thomas boys.
The whole three buildings of the Bond Block were condemned by the Town Board, and it, along with the ground, was sold to Allen Myers, who tore down two
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of the worst damaged, but the third is still standing at this writing. The next building east is the present Post Office, and the force of the explosion blew the glass from a window of it into the room, and threw down and smashed an oil lamp, which might have caused a conflagration had it been after night and burning.
First Locomotive
The rails on the Monon were laid through Carmel and the first engine and cars passed through on the 21st of September, 1882, laying track.
The first electric car on the I. U. T. Company's line passed through Carmel about six o'clock in the evening of October 30, 1903.
First Natural Gas Well
Gas was struck eight feet in Trenton Rock, in the first well, which was east of the Follett Flouring Mill, February 16th, 1888. Here the limestone lay 96 feet from the surface. The second well, on the William Kinzer farm a little east of Mrs. Rosanna Phelps' residence, was drilled into gas November 12th, 1888. The depth to limestone rock was 124 feet, and through both limestone and shale 830 feet, and into Trenton Rock 29 feet, making the whole total depth 983 feet, striking salt water. This well was not very good.
In the third well gas was struck January 31st, 1891, through limestone and shale 797 feet, Trenton Rock 10 feet, total depth 807 feet, and was a fairly good well. Since the above three, very many in diverse places have been drilled.
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Justices of the Peace
The justices from first to present, as memory serves, were Esquire Wheeler, Samuel Campbell, Thomas Harvey, John West, of Carmel, Nelson Power, Isaac Wright, Isaac W. Stanton, the latter two in Carmel, T. J. Applegate, Jonah Fertig, Pleasant Nance, David W. Patty, Levi J. Small, Allison Ballard, Riley Craven, the latter four in Carmel, and John R. Collins, of Poplar Ridge.
The Soldiers
Following the bombardment of Fort Sumpter and when the brave and patriotic boys of this brave land offered themselves upon their country's altar to up- hold the "Star Spangled Banner" and flag of the free faster than they could be armed, this vicinity sent a goodly number, and Carmel was not a whit behind in patriotism and sacrifice, being represented by D. W. Patty, Isaac W. Stanton, John F. Nutt, Jasper Har- ris, Isaac N. Beeson, Sr., Thomas W. Patty, William Pike, William J. Hawkins, Henry H. Harvey, Frank A. Hawkins, David M. Connell, Shubel Hedgecock, Patrick Perkins, Clark Sheets, James Miller, Jack Crews, Elam Crews, Joseph Crews, George Crews, John W. Rayl, Jr., William P. Rayl, Elam L. Roberts, Asbury Anderson, Isaac Booth, Joseph Lloyd, Samuel Carey, James M. Hanes, William Langston, Joseph Keene, Samuel McQuarter, Henry Humes, Hamilton Bowers, Trav. Bowers and Enos Haines.
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