DESPERATE MEN.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 490, 19 July 1890, Page 6

DESPERATE MEN.

The Work ok a Baku of Whitecaps.

This city, says a Findlay despatch to the New York paper, was greatly excited to-day over the sudden and, mysterious death of Henry Sbrickler, a detective,, who, at the January term of court, succeeded in having indictments found against, eight prominent and well-known citizens as print cipals in the celebrated Oman robberywhicb occurred on the night of February, 1890, and the subsequent death by poison of a detective who traced the crime to them.

This was one of the boldest arid most _ sensational crimes that ever occurred in Ohio. About 9 o’clock on the night mentioned, Wesley Oman and his family, con- 1 sisting of his father, brother, his wife.arid children, were sitting around the fire in. ' their farmhouse when, without a note of warning, the sitting-room door was broken in, and eight men with white masks on • their faces rushed upon the family. Wesley Oman yelled, ‘ The White . Gaps!’ . ‘ Yes,’ answered the leader, *we are . White Caps ;’ and before any resistance could be made all were securely bound and gagged. A demand was then made for •$2,000 which Oman was known to have received a day or two befoie from the sale of some land. Oman assured the White Caps that tho money was in a bank in Findlay, but this was not believed, and in order to make him disclose its hiding place his four-year-old son was seized and held over an open fire until his screams of agony could have been heard a mile away. Again and" again the father begged that the child be spared, as the money was not in the house. A thorough, search was made by some-of the robbers, and with this they took their departure. . Oman employed John R. Lowe, a wellknown detective from Toledo, to iook op; the case, which lie proceeded to do, and ; was about to cause the arrest of eight prominent citizens of the county, when b© was suddenly taken ill and brought to: theHumphrey House in this city, where.:,he. shortly afterward died in great agony. He was poisoned. His note books and effectsdisappeared during his ehort illness, and: with them all the evidence he had secured against those suspected of the robbery. Oman then placed the matter in the hands of Henry Strickler, the young man whose sudden death has caused such asudden sensation. Strickler followed . thesame lines Lowe had pursued, and accumu- • lated evidence to secui-e the indictment of Henry Kibler, Jerome Kibler, George Morgan, Levi Fox, Albert Docker, John Long, ‘Tuck’ Hughes and Charles Bates',all well-to-do citizens. All were arrested and immediately gave bonds for their appearance on the 19th of this month. In the meantime Strickler was repeatedly warned to leave the States. A few days ago he became ill much in the way as did his predecessor, Lowe, and this morning died. 'a