CRIME IN INDIANA
Villany Rampant


New Albany Ledger; May 1, 1867

A daring and desperate gang of villians, men who do not hesitate to
burn and murder, are operating along the line of the Louisville, New
Albany & Chicago Railroad. It is believed that this gang is mude up 
of desperadoes from New Albany, Louisville and Lafayette, who are 
well acquainted in the towns along the road and who are adepts in the 
business of house "cracking", safe "blowing", etc. Lately a number of
daring robberies ahve been committed by these men in Owen, Putnam and
Montgomery counties, in which the loss of money and valuables taken by
them has been heavy, amounting to twelve or fifteen thousand dollars
in all.
At 10:15 o'clock on Tuesday night (would have been April 30th), the station
and telegraph agent at Gosport, Owen County on the line of the Louisville, 
New Albany & Chicago Railroad, Mr. James S. John, telegraphed the passage
of the freight train coming South. This was the last heard of him alive.
At an early hour in the morning some children in passing the depot looked
into the window of the office of the agent and saw Mr. John seated and 
leaning against the wall, with his skull crushed in, and the brains and
blood oozing from the wound. He was dead---murdered.
There is no certainty how Mr. John was killed but the supposition is that
the fatal wounds were inflicted with a heavy club or piece of iron. It is
believed that after he sent his report of the passage of the train, he was
in the act of leaving the office for his home, distant several hundred 
yards from the depot and that at about the time he was leaving the office
was entered by theives for the purpose of robbing it of about $240, 
belonging to the railroad company, which it was probably know Mr. John had
in his possession.
He doubtless resisted the thieves in their attempted robbery, as he was a 
man of known courage and nerve. In order to obtain the money, and dispose
of a witness to their crime, John was no doubt murdered in cold blood.
This terrible crime has created the most intense excitement at Gosport and 
in the neighboring country. Mr. John was widely known; he was a gentleman
of the most amiable social qualities, and was highly esteemed by all who
knew him. The murderers after killing him, broke open the drawers of the 
desk and carried off all the money they contained aobut two hundred and 
forty dollars, it is supposed. Mr John had thirty five dollars in a side
pocket in his vest which the murderers did not find.
The murdered man leaves a wife and two children. We understand that his wife
has been made almost a maniac by the sudden and terrible catastrophe that
has fallen upon her and her little ones. Suspicion attaches to certain 
parties who left Gosport Tuesday night and the most vigorous search is
being made for them. Mr. B.F. Masten, Superintendent of the Louisville, New
Albany & Chicago Railroad offers a reward of five hundred dollars for the 
arrest and conviction of the murderers.

Submitted by Debbie Jennings