Are They The Men?

Last Saturday three young Plymouth men were arrested on the charge of murdering James Richards, in Superior. The arrests were made by Marshal Peterson and the men were brought to this city by hira and Deputy Sherififs Sweet and Eldert. The three men were William Larkins, Rupert Jones and Edward Lyons. The evidence against the men, of course, is circumstantial as all evidence against the murderers must be. The known evidence may be summed up as follows : The three young men hired a livery rig at Tenney's stable, in Plymouth, on the night that Richards was murdered and were absent from the village from 9 :30 to 2 a. iu. Sauday. ThiB gave ample time to drive the ten miles to the Richards farm, murder and rob the old man and drive back. Larkins owns up to wearing rubber boots, Lyons to wearing pointed shoes with pointed rubbers, and Jones pointed shoes without rubbers. At the Richards house were found tracks of a man with robber boots, and of another with pointed shoes and rubbers, and where the horse was tied were tracks of a third man with pointed shoes and no rubbers. Larkins was the owner of a dark lantern and a 44 calibre Smith & Weston revolver, the kind of a revolver from which the shot which killed Richards was fired. He cleaned this revolver up on the day before the murder and one barrel was empty when Marshal Peterson secured it by a neat piece of detective work, getting a nuruber of damaging admissions out of Larkins' wife. The horse which the three men drove was rather sharp sbod. It wjll be remembered that the farmers around Dixboro claimed tnat the cutter driven by the three men was drawn by a livery horse. When seen, the three young men accounted for their absence by saying tbey had been to Northville, Novi and Farruington, but at flrst differed in their reasons fot going. They claim that they had been drinking and were out on a lark, that when they reached Northville the hotel was closed and the lights out and they weut on to Novi, where they knew the bartender. Pinding this hotel closed, and being unable to arouse anybody, they drove on to Farmington, where they tried unsuccessfully to get in the hotel there, and so returnei to Plymouth, not meeting anybody on the road. This route oovers a distance of 25 or 26 miles. Northville, on the route taken, is four and a half miles from Plymouth, Novi, five miles from Farmington, Farmington five miles from Novi and eleven miles from Plymouth. Marshal Peterson and es-Sberiff Brenner drove over the route Monday, and report that the clerk at the hotel at Northville, was up until one o'clock, that at Novi the lights were not put out nntil 11 :30, and the proprietor and clerk were sure nobody could have tried to get in without their knowing it. L. D. Owen, the proprietor of the hotel at Farmington, says he was up until 1 :30 o'clock that night, and was sure these men, whotu he knows, made no attempt to get in bis place that night. The tollgate keeper on the road to Farmington is sure no snob rig passed that night and a man who drove from Novi to Plymouth, starting at the same time the young men olaim to have started, did not pass them on the road. The three men are from 20 to 23 years of age. Larkins was married ast Thanksgiving, to a girl who worked for John Shankland, whose farm is near Richards'. He knew Richards well and had been to see him several times and had driven stock out of bis farm. Lyons, the marshal says, was the owner of a false mnstaohe. Considerable friction has developed betweeu the sheriff 's torce and the marshal. As the stories of the three men conflicted, the marshal on leaving them at the jail says he requested that they be kept separate. When he called there Sunday morning, be found them turned in together. Jones was removed Tuesday to the Ypsilanti lockup. The tbree young men were arraigned before Justioe Gibson yesterday, large delegations from Plymouth and Superior being present. The prisoners were represented by Randall & Jones, of this city, and Lawyer Starkweather, of Plymouth. At the instance of Prosecuting Attoroey Kirk, who accompanied Marshal Peterson to Plymouth, Wednesday, to look into the case, tbe examination was adjourned uutil March 9, and the prisoners were rumanded to jail to await examination.