The Stranger at the Oriental Hotel

Last evening, a stranger calling himself Harmon stepped into the bar-room of the American House and engaged in conversation with those present. Something in the stranger's manner attracted the attention of a young man named Perkins, who believed he recognized the newcomer as a murderer named Lewis. Perkins stated that two years ago, Lewis, then residing at Coos Bay, Oregon, had seduced his own daughter, and upon being charged with the crime by his brother, murdered the latter and fled. Haley and Perkins observed Harmon closely. They followed him to the Oriental Hotel, where he had gone to his room. One of the men then went to the residence of Sheriff Wyckoff, while the other remained on guard. When the Sheriff arrived, the three men entered the room; Haley held a lantern up and saw a large knife lying on the pillow, which he picked up. Mr. Wyckoff then arrested the man. When the Evening Dispatch reached Justice Scott's office, a man picked it up and read the account; an old gentleman named O. H. Mitchell, who had sat by the stove, jumped up and remarked, 'That man is Sevier Lewis.' Mitchell went to Sheriff Wyckoff and subsequently identified Lewis in his cell. Mitchell claimed Lewis had lived on his farm near Eugene City in 1862 and had become a source of fear and annoyance due to his criminal acts toward his own family. The prisoner will remain in jail until officers come from Oregon for his removal.