Custer County, Nebraska - Chapter 8: A Chapter in Black, 1919

Chapter 8: A Chapter in Black

If there is a skeleton in every closet, there are tragedies in every life and dark pages in every history. The people of Custer county are neither better nor worse than other Nebraskans or other people of the middle west. Their story is about the same, their experiences very similar. If crimes have been committed, if human life has been taken, and human blood shed, it is only incidental to the settlement of a country by hardy pioneers, no matter what sterling traits of character the majority of the people might possess. There are sheep of shaded wool in every flock and in every early contingent that settles upon a virgin soil there are desperate characters. This cannot be avoided. It is one of the handicaps of humanity. Adventuresome spirits always flock to the west and front. Men of temper and reckless disposition are apt to consort in the sparsely settled frontier, where dispositions have no governor and law is but slight control. A lawless character may make niore local history in the unbridled orgy of one night-hour than a dozen men of sterling worth in a lifetime of probity. The peaceful pursuits of life are devoid of the spectacular and are generally too commonplace to be recorded in a country's annals.

If recorded here are episodes that reflect small credit on law-abiding people it must be remembered that these are the crimes and deeds of the ill-starred few who are neither typical

The early settlers of Custer county were on the whole as fine a group of men and women as American homes of the east and north could produce. Nowhere among the children of men could you find a better people, stronger in virtuous traits or more sensitive to honor and rectitude. They were intelligent, law-abiding, conscientious, and God-honoring. The marvelous development of Custer county, the establishment of its splendid homes, schools, and churches are due to this fact. No people could have wrought better, nor under the circumstances accomplished more.

When the size of the county is considered, the number of people who have moved in to tread awhile the maze of chance and rounds of fortune, Custer's record is exceptionally good. Blood and thunder do not run riot in the pages of its history, notwithstanding the fact that in an early day a witty brakeman on the Burlington Railroad used to shout to the passengers, "We have now crossed the line into Custer county. Prepare to meet your God." A faithful record of the past demands that crimes and felonies be chronicled, and the historian must obey.

Butcher's History of Custer County devotes twelve pages to the lynching of "Kid Wade." It seems that Kid Wade, without over much ceremony, appropriated a fine race horse be- longing to a man named PuUiam. who resided in West Union township, and made his esca])e into the north counties. John Roth, a neighbor of Pnlliam. organized a posse and started in pursuit. The chase was long and lasted for months. Concerning it many e.xciting and almost romantic incidents are recorded, but as all happened outside of Custer county they are not germane to this history, other than to record that the horse was found and returned to Pulliam, that Wade was captured and while lodged in the Bassett jail was taken out by a band of masked men and hanged to a telegraph pole. It was severe thousands of cattle that roamed over the valley of the South Loup river and adjoining country. In common with other men in the same line of business, he had suffered heavy losses from the depredations of cattle thieves. For this reason he became the prime mover in an attempt to drive the cattle thieves from the country. Olive resided in Lexington, Daw- .son county, but his ranch was on the South Loup river, about four miles east of the present town of Callaway. While in a general way he was a good sort of man, and very generous and courteous to those with whom he was on good terms, he was an implacable enemy and

During the year 1877 a number of settlers located on Clear creek, near the east line of the county, among the number being Luther Mitchell and .Ami Ketchum. Mitchell came from Merrick county, was a farmer about sixty-five years of age, and married. Ketchum was a blacksmith by trade, but had decided to become a farmer, although he still worked at his trade for the neighbors. He was unmarried and was living with Mitchell at the time of which we are writing.

an adept in the use of firearms. His brother, Robert Olive, was a bad man when aroused. It was reported that Bob Olive had previously killed several men in Texas, and to conceal his identity had assumed the name of Stevens and skipped to Nebraska, where his brother I. P. had already established a ranch, and it was under the name of Stevens that he was known during his career in Custer county.

A short time previously to the events which led up to the killing of Bob Olive, or Stevens, one Mauley Capel had been arrested on a charge of cattle-stealing in Custer county, and in his confession he seemed to implicate .\mi Ketchum in the nefarious business. This, with the information obtained from a man by the name of Mclndeffer. who was acting as a sort of spy for the cattlemen and who, by the way, was hanged as a cattle thief in No Man's Land, a few years afterward, so it is said, so impressed the OHves that they determined to arrest Ketchum. Notwithstanding the enmity that was known to exist between Bob Olive and Ketchum, Sheriff David Anderson, of Buffalo county, made Olive a deputy to arrest Ketchum.

In the company of two rough and reckless cowboys, named Barney Armstrong and Pete Beaton, Bob Olive started for the home of Mitchell and Ketchum on the 27th day of November, 1878, with Mclndeffer as a guide. When they arrived at the homestead of Mr. Mitchell, the latter and Ketchum were preparing to go to a neighbor's, by the name of Dowse, to return a borrowed animal. Mrs. Mitchell was preparing to go with them. Before they started, a stranger rode up and asked if he could have his horse shod. Ketchum explained his plans for the day and asked the man to come the following day and he could shoe the horse. The stranger agreed to do so and rode away to rejoin Bob Olive and the other two men. who were hidden behind a small hill to the south of Mitchell's house. Having failed to get ]\litchell and Ketchum separated by the ruse of getting the horse shod, the men now rode boldly up toward the settlers, who paid no particular attention to them, as men on horseback were the rule and not the exception in those days. Mrs. Alitchell had already taken her seat in the wagon, and the men were tying the animal to the hind axle of the vehicle.

The Shooting

When within a short distance the cowboys made a dash on their horses, four abreast, and Bob Olive shouted to Ketchum to throw up his hands, as he was an officer of the law, at the same time presenting his revolver. Ketchum threw up his right hand with a fortyfour Colt's revolver in it, and both men fired at the same instant. Several shots' were exchanged, resulting in the breaking of Ketchurn's left arm. As soon as the shooting commenced the older man, Mitchell, grabbed his Winchester and took deadly aim at Olive, who discovered him and shouted : "My God, old man, don't shoot!" but it was too late. Mitchell's finger had already pressed the trigger and the bullet sped forward to do its fatal work. Olive reeled in his saddle and the cowboys prevented him from falling. He gasped: "Boys, I am done for." Supporting him on his horse, they turned and rode rapidly away, followed by bullets from Ketchurn's Winchester, which was loaded by a girl named Tamar Snow, a step-daughter of Mitchell, Ketchum being unable to load the gun himself on account of his broken arm. He fired the last shot at a range of 200 yards, just as the cowboys dropped out of sight behind the rise of ground previously referred to. One of Ketchum's bullets cut a scarf around Beaton's neck in two, drawing blood, and another shaved off one side of the rim of his hat, close to the head. Another went through Armstrong's foot. Mclndeffer, who afterward described the encounter, declared that Ketchum came as near being the devil as any man he ever saw, and that he believed he would have killed every one of them, even with one broken arm, if they had not gotten out of the way. As soon as the cowboys got - out of reach of the flying bullets, Olive was laid on the ground and a consultation held. The wounded man was then taken to the dugout of one Harrington, who lived about a quarter of a mile further down the creek, where Olive made his will and sent for his wife. He died three days afterward.

As soon as the cowboys disappeared from sight Mitchell and Ketchum packed up their few movable belongings and started for their former home in Merrick county. As soon as the news of the shooting spread over the country there was great excitement among the cattlemen and cowboys, and the same night a large force returned to the Mitchell house, undoubtedly to wreak vengeance on the two men, but finding them gone they set fire to the house and burned up the roof, that being the only part of it that was combustible.

The Arrest

When they arrived in Merrick county Mitchell and Ketchuni went to the house of George Gagle, and a Dr. Barnes was sent for to attend to Ketcluim's broken arm. The next morning, acting upon the advice of friends, and having found a place of safety for Mitcheirs family, the two men started back to Custer county to give themselves up to the authorities for the killing of Stevens. On their way they passed through Loup City and consulted with Attorney Aaron Wall, who advised them to proceed no farther, as the cowboys would certainly lynch them. They remained several days in Loup City and then went to the house of J. R. Baker, on Oak creek, in Howard county, where they were arrested by William Letcher, sheriff of Merrick county, and E. W. Crew, sheriff of Howard county - giving themselves willingly into the custody of the ofiicers.

I. P. Olive had offered a reward of S700 for their arrest and several officers, among whom were Crew, of Howard county, Anderson, of Buffalo county, Gillan, of Keith county, and Letcher, of ^Merrick county, were an.xious to capture them in order to secure the reward. But after the capture. Crew and Letcher were unwilling to assume the responsibility of taking the prisoners to Custer county and* £)f turning them over to the cowboys. They were finally taken to Buffalo county and lodged in the jail at Kearney, in charge of Sheriff Anderson, for safe keeping. The prisoners were at first held without legal authority, as Olive had given the warrant for their arrest, issued in Custer county, into the hands of Barney Gillan, sheriff of Keith county, to serve.

The prisoners had engaged Thomas Darnall. of St. Paul, and E. C. Calkins, of Kearney, as counsel. Their attorneys endeavored to have the prisoners retained in the jail at Kearney, having reasons for believing they would be lynched if taken to Custer county. The feeling at Kearney was against Mitchell and Ketchum. as the people had been led to believe that Olive had been shot while fulfilling his duty as an officer of the law. A dispute arose among the sheriffs as to a division of the reward oft'ered by I. P. Olive for the arrest, but Olive declined to pay the money until the prisoners were delivered in Custer county. A proposition was finally made to Sheriff Anderson to take the men to Custer county, for which service the others agreed to pay him fifty dollars. This proposition was declined by Anderson, unless he were paid enough to enable him to employ a sufficient number of men to guard the prisoners. It was at last arranged that Gillan should take the prisoners to Custer county, as he held the warrant for their arrest, and he promised to notify their attorneys, Darnell and Calkins, so that they could accompany their clients. As Gillan was a sheriff, and his desperate character was unknown to Darnell and Calkins, they thought everything was all right. Nevertheless they kept their eyes on the jail to prevent any attempt to remove the prisoners by stealth.

Esc.Vped The Kearney Mod

On the forenoon of December 10th, Darnell, fearing that the prisoners were about to be taken away, kept close watch until the westbound emigrant train came in. After its arrival at Kearney he waited at the depot until he thought it was about time for it to pull out, when he started to leave. In the meantime Gillan had taken the prisoners from the jail and hustled them into a car just as the train was pulling out. Darnell telegraphed to Gillan at Elm Creek, asking him if he would hold the prisoners at Lexington until the next train. Gillan replied that he would do so. Darnell also telegraphed to Captain r^lcXamar, an attorney at Lexington, requesting him to see what was done with the prisoners when they got off the train at that city. Lexington was the home of I. P. (Jlive. and here he was surrounded by many friends and employes. The train pulled into Lexington about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Olive and his friends were waiting at the depot with wagons, into one of which the prisoners were immediately loaded, and a start made for Custer county. Captain McXamar was unable to prevail on Gillan and (^live to wait for the arrival of Darnell from Kearnev, and believ- ing it was the intention to mob Mitchell and Ketchum, he followed the wagon train for some distance. Seeing that they were being followed, the wagons separated, but McNamar kept after the one containing the prisoners until it became so dark that he lost the trail among the hills. The Olive party kept on all night, until they met Olive's men from the ranch on the South Loup, about five miles from the Olive ranch, where the transfer of the prisoners from Gillan to Olive took place. The names of the men who received the prisoners were Dennis Gartrell, Pedro Dominicus, and Bion Brown. After the delivery of the prisoners to Olive's men, Sheriff Gillan and Phil Dufrand walked away a short distance while the Olive men started with the prisoners to a place known as the "Devil's Gap," in a wild canyon about half way between the Loup and Wood River valleys, some five miles southeast of where Callaway now stands. O'.ive and Gartrell drove the wagon containing the prisoners, and they stopped under a small elm tree. A couple of ropes were passed over a limb and Gartrell tied one of them around Ketchum's neck, while Pedro Dominicus fastened the other around the neck of Mitchell. Ketchum was first drawn up. Olive then took a rifle and shot ^Mitchell, after which the latter also was drawn up until he dangled beside his companion.

The bodies of the two unfortunate men were found at about three o'clock in the afternoon of the following day, by a party of men, among whom were Captain McNamar, Anton Abel. Louis Wambsgan. George Sandford, AI Wise, County Judge Boblits, and perhaps others. When found the bodies were frightfully burned - that of Ketchum still hanging to the limb, while that of Mit:hell was resting on the ground.

After hanging ^Mitchell and Ketchum. the Olive gang rode about one mile toward the Olive ranch, where two of the men were given fresh horses with which to return to Lexington. It will probably never be known who did the burning of the bodies, or how the same was done, but it is generally supposed that these two men, crazed with drink and fired with the thought of revenge for the killing of one of their number, resolved to put the finishing touch on the terrible night's work by pouring the contents of their liquor flasks over the hanging bodies of their victims and setting them on fire, as they had to pass along that road to get back to Lexington. The evidence at the trial was convincing that the bodies had been burned, although an attempt was made to prove that Mitchell's clothing had caught fire from the powder of Olive's gun, and that although the fire had been put out, it caught again after the men departed from the spot. A careful examination of the spot disclosed the fact that the fire had been carefully whipped out for quite a circle around the bodies, thus proving that some one must have been present during the burning; otherwise the whole country would have been burned over, as the grass was as dry as tinder. It does not appear, however, that Olive was a party to, or had any knowledge of, this part of the crime.

Steps were immediately taken to arrest the perpetrators of the crime and bring them to speedy justice. The whole state was aroused by the tragedy, but the well known desperate character of most of the men concerned in it made the question of apprehending them a very serious one.

"I first heard of the lynching of Mitchell and Ketchum while on a train on my way from Nebraska City to Sidney, where I was to open court the next morning. When I opened court there was such an excitement that there was no disposition or readiness to do business, and upon seeing an article in the newspaper published at Kearney by the Eatons, denouncing the governor for not taking active steps to bring about the arrest of the murderers, and complimenting me by saying that there was one man in Nebraska who would see that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice, and the man was Gaslin, I called my reporter, F. M. Hallowell, who resided at

Kearney, and instructed him to proceed to that city on the first train and tell Eaton not to make further mention of my name in connection with the matter, as I had a plan to capture the desperadoes and did not want my name mentioned for fear of putting them on their guard. Late that afternoon I adjourned court and took the train east for Lexington, where quite a number of the Olive gang lived. I found assembled at the residence of Attorney General Dihvorth a number of the law-abiding citizens of the city, armed to protect themselves against the outlaws who had threatened the lives of those who should attempt to bring them to justice. Among these I now recall Captain [McNamar, an attorney, and Jack Mac- Coll, clerk of the district court. I learned that the officials of Custer county, where the lynching was done, could not be expected to render much assistance. I left on the first train for Kearney, to look up the law and see if L as an examining magistrate, could not issue warrants for their arrest, which plan I divulged to no one. I was in constant touch with General Dihvorth, soon satisfied myself that I had the authority, and set to work preparing complaints and warrants to have the outlaws arrested. After I had matured my plan I met J. P. Johnson (then residing in Kearney, three score and ten, hale and hearty), and in conversation he remarlted that if the officers were afraid to arrest the criminals he would furnish men to do it if I would deputize them. I informed him that I had confidentially arranged for a meeting of the sheriffs of Dawson and Buffalo counties, General Dihvorth and a sacred few others, and invited him to attend. There were present at this meeting, in Judge Savidge's office, the Judge, J. 1'. Johnson, General Dihvorth, the two sheriff's, and myself. I told these men the conclusion I had come to, and the complaints having been filed before me, I made out the warrants for the arrest of the criminals and offered them to Sheriff' James of Dawson county, and Sheriff Anderson of Buffalo county, both of whom declined to take or serve them, on account of a fear of their lives, as they said.

"I then turned to Johnson and asked him to give me the names of the men he agreed to furnish, which he did, and I deputized them, there being, I think, five or six of them, and gave them to Johnson for delivery. One of the men deputized was Lawrence Ketchum, a brother of the man who was lynched, and another was a powerful young fellow by the name of Young, a deputy sheriff' of Clay county. A third was named Pingree, and the fourth was a man from Illinois. A plan was arranged, in strictest secrecy, for a part of the deputized men to go across the country to Custer county to arrest part of the gang who were at the Olive ranch. Another party was to board a freight train at Kearney about midnight, which arrived at Lexington a little before daylight. The railroad people were in the secret and stopped the train a little before Lexington was reached, where the officers left the train and walked into town, where they eft'ected the arrest of all the gang who were ir the city. Lawrence Ketchum, Bob French, and others went from Kearney, and were assisted by some of the constables of Lexington. When the other party arrived at the Olive ran;h they found that the men they were after had fled the country. Among them was the delectable Barney Gillan, sheriff of Keith county, who had delivered Mitchell and Ketchum over to the murderers, and who secured the $700 blood money paid by Olive. On the afternoon of Sunday the parties who arrested the desperadoes at Lexington landed them in Kearney on a freight train, where they were put in jail and a strong guard placed over them. Thousands of people were at the train when it arrived with the prisoners. Some of the prisoners, I think, were subsequently taken to the state prison for safe keeping until the term of the district court in Adams county, where the trial had been set, the prisoners waiving preliminary examination before me.

for ability and legal lore, and some to insult and bulldoze tbe court - for which they occasionally got fined for contempt. The trial had not progressed long before the prosecuting attorney secretly informed me that he had made a secret arrangement with one of the prisoners, Bion Brown, to turn state's evidence, and to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Brown was in jail with the other defendants, heard and knew all their plans, and daily communicated the same to General Dilworth, the prosecuting attorney. He said at one time that they talked of having their friends, who were in disguise in the town, shoot General Dilworth and me and have horses ready for the prisoners, who would be enabled to escape in the excitement. I then gave orders for no one to occupy the gallery opposite where I sat, and I had a large number of bailiffs secretly heavily armed scattered over the court room, with nothing to indicate they were officers. One day it was reported that a number of the Texas friends of the prisoners were secreted in the hills near the Platte river, armed to the teeth and provided with good horses with which to swoop down on the court and liberate the prisoners. Other things came to the knowledge of Sheriff Lewis Martin of Adams county, a most excellent officer, which induced him to procure a company of regulars from Omaha, which was sent by the commanding officer as soon as possible. The soldiers were tented on the public square of Hastings, opposite the hall where the court was being held. The legislature appropriated $20,000 to be expended in the prosecution of the case, to be paid out on vouchers approved by me, a part of the money being paid for the subsistence of the soldiers. Bion Brown and Pedro, the Mexican, were used as witnesses for the prosecution, the latter testifying through an interpreter. A better witness I never heard testify. On cross-examination he testified almost, if not exactly, to what he did in direct.

"The trial commenced in Hastings in April and continued almost through the month. Some of the ablest lawyers of the state were engaged on the case, among them being General Dilworth, the prosecuting attorney; District

Attorney Scofield and John M. Thurston, for the state ; and F. G. Hamer, General Connor, and Hon. James Laird for the defense. An indictment was found against Ira P. Olive and eleven others for the murder of Luther Mitchell, and I. P. Olive and Fred Fisher were placed on trial to answer for the crime. There were about 100 witnesses, among whom we find the names of Captain McNamar, Anton Abel, Louis Wambsgan, James Kelly, Phil Dufrand, George Sandford, A. C. Woodworth, David Blackman, George Arnold, Sheriff O'Brien, Dan Haskell, James Gray, H.' C. Stuckey, S. C. Stuckey, John Myers, Andrew Pancake, E. S. Finch, W. H. Kilgore, and S. R. Ritchie. Phil Dufrand and Bion Brown, two of the defendants, turned state's evidence and testified against their associates in the crime. The witnesses for the prosecution testified to the facts substantially as heretofore related, while the witnesses for the defense confined themselves to testifying as to the good character and reputation of I. P. Olive." The arguments of the attorneys were lengthy, able, .and eloquent, and the case was given to the jury on the evening of April 16th. Before morning the jury arrived at a verdict, to the effect that I. P. Olive and Fred Fisher were guilty of murder in the second degree, Judge Gaslin immediately sentenced the two men to the penitentiary for the rest of their natural lives, and they were taken to the penitentiary forthwith.

Immediately after the sentence of Olive and Fisher their friends began proceedings for their release. The following year their efforts were successful, the supreme court handing down a decision to the effect that the prisoners had a right to trial in the county where the crime charged against them was committed. This not having been done, the prisoners were sent to Custer county for trial. Custer county had recently been organized from territory that had formerly been in two different judicial districts. The court held that the county was not now in any judicial district, and consequently the prisoners could not be tried before any district judge. This was the decision of two of the supreme judges, but Judge Samuel Maxwell, the third member of the court, dissented from this view, in what is said to be one of the ablest legal documents ever prepared in the supreme court of Nebraska.

Under this decision the only court having jurisdiction over the case was the county court. Accordingly Olive and Fisher were brought before Judge E. J. Boblits, but from some mysterious cause no complaining witnesses put in an appearance and the prisoners were discharged.

The county judge's docket at that time was kept in an account book, and the court proceedings are mixed up with notes of sales and purchases of calves, steers, and cows, together with memoranda of expenses for hay. barbed wire, and other ranch requisites. The following, which we find on the same page with some items of expense incurred in the plastering of the judge's house, shows the disposition that was made of the celebrated Olive case :

1. P. Olive, W. F. Fisher, in custody of Sheriff O'Brien, the court finding no complaint on county docket and no complaining witnesses, the court orders that the prisoners be discharged till further proceedings can be had.

The decision of the supreme court of course put an end to the proceedings against the other defendants, but in the meantime most of them had been allowed to escape from the various jails in which they had been confined, and as far as we know Olive and Fisher were the only ones that ever had to do any time in the penitentiary for ])articipating in the Alitchell and Ketchuni tragedy.

Thk Iiaunstink Tragkdv

The story of the Haunstine murder and execution, which occurred in the latter part of the '80s. is given by James Whitehead, uho was a resident of Grant precinct, where the

"The murder of Hiram Roten and William Ashley by Albert E. Haunstine occurred November 9, 1888. It was regarded, and time has failed to change the sentiment, as one of the most unprovoked homicides known in the history of this county. The murderer and his victims lived in the same neighborhood - Roten valley. Toward the latter it was not shown that Haunstine had the slightest resentment or enmity. He had, in fact, for a time made his home with Hiram Roten, at whose hands and those of his young wife he had received the best of treatment. Mr. Ashley, who was a relative of Roten's, and lived close by, was not so well known to Haunstine, yet they were on friendly terms. The school-house of the district of whicli Roten and .Ashley were officers, was located near their homes. A clock and some lumber had been taken from the school-house, and the fact of the missing goods was discovered while yet the tracks of the wagon and team of the supposed purloiner - were fresh and easy to trace. As this was but one instance in many of recent occurrence in the neighborhood, IMessrs. Roten and Ashlev determined they would thoroughly investigate, and, if possible, detect the culprit.

"We are not certain as to the length of time they were absent before their friends became uneasy and instituted a search. Some days, however, had elapsed, when a searching party visited Haunstine's home, which was back from the road and isolated, and found it unoccupied. In looking around they discovered the bodies of the missing men. near the house, partly covered by hay. Subsequent events disclosed the fact that on reaching Haunstine's house and making their business known, he delivered to them the clock, which he confessed to having taken from the school-house ; that while they remained within no words or truulile occurred, but when they left the house and started for their wagon he took dciwn his rifle and shot them while their backs were turned, killing them instantly. He then searched them and secured about fortv dollars in money, their watches and a rifle and revolver. Their team he tied in an old deserted sod house on an adjoining claim, and, gathering together a few household effects, he and his wife started to get out of the country. They went to Arnold, changed teams, and drove down the South Loup river to near Madison, where Haunstine hired out to husk corn. He worked three days, sold his team and then started for Columbus, where his wife had already gone. Just as the train was Hearing town it was flagged by officers who were on his track, and he was taken by surprise and captured while sitting in the smoker with his rifle across his lap.

"He was tried at the ^larch term of the district court. H. AI. Sullivan, who was county attorney, had been consulted by the prisoner prior to his election, and had. therefore, some scruples against acting as prosecutor. As a substitute, however, he employed Judge Wall, of Loup City, who, with the firm of Blair & Campbell, represented the state. The defense was conducted by C. L. Gutterson, A. R. Humphrey, both of Broken Bow, and X. \'. Harlen, of York. Haunstine was found guilty and was sentenced to be hanged on September 6th following. The case was appealed to the supreme court, and he was again sentenced to be hanged, April 17, 1891. His defense was insanity, and before the date fLxed for his execution he acted so strangely that a jury was called to determine his mental condition. The trial lasted three days. Public sentiment against the prisoner was so strong that a good deal of trouble was experienced in selecting a jury. The following named persons were finally agreed upon : J. I. Dillenbeck, T. A. Thum, James Dinwiddie, Frank Newbeck, J. C. Hunter, C. U. Richardson, John Curry, Nolan Webb, A. R. Huckleberry, A. Cross, T. H. ]\IcCarger, and J. L. Compton. The witnesses for the defense were Airs. Dr. Talbot, Miss Anna Crawford, Mrs. William Blair. O. M. Kem, William Blair, William Hartsell, John Miller, Charles Parkhurst, and Robert Norcutt. For the state were : Dr. Carter, physician at the state penitentiary ; Dr. Knapp, superintendent of the insane asvlum at Lincoln; Dr. C. Pickett; Dr. J. J. Pickett, county physician ; Dr. C. H. ^^lorris ; Sherifl:" Jones ; and Rev. O. R. Beebe, - all of whom with the exception of Dr. Knapp (Who said that without a more extended observation he was not prepared to state whether Haunstine was sane or insane), pronounced him sane, and believed that his condition was a feigned one. The prosecution was conducted by the attorneys who had managed the case from the beginning, while to the defense was added H, AI. Sullivan, whose term of office as county attorney had expired. It was one of the hardest fought and most ably conducted legal battles ever witnessed in Custer county. Air. Campbell (then county attorney) was a lawyer of long practice ; he was familiar with every turn and detail of the case, and his associates were men of exceptional ability. Judge Wall, especially, ranked high as a trial lawyer, was keen and resourceful, a good reasoner and an eloquent pleader. Gutterson, Humphrey, and Harlan were experienced and well informed practitioners, and the addition of Sullivan made a quartette that combined the qualities well nigh invulnerable. They were, however, placed in a most trying position. The prejudice against the prisoner was marked and universal. No circumstance connected with the killing of his victims could be urged in palliation. It was a cold-blooded, unprovoked butchery of two respected and highly esteemed citizens, and public sentiment demanded his execution. The date of hanging was fixed for the following day, and a vast multitude had assembled from all parts of the country and from dift'erent portions of the state as well. The determined expression and sullen silence of the crowd was ominous. Representatives of the press from Lincoln, Omaha, and elsewhere were present, awaiting the hour when the prisoner should atone for his crime. Adjoining the court house and facing its south door, the gallows was being erected and the din of the workmen's hammers was distinctly heard in the court room. None was more keenly alive to the situation and the odds against him than the prisoner's counsel. By mutual agreement the principal plea in his behalf was made l)y ]\Ir. Sullivan. He remained calmly in his seat until the proper moment arrived. \\'hen he arose to address the jury no sound save the breathing of the audience could be heard. With a few preliminary remarks, in which he avowed his belief, and that of his associates, in the irresponsibility of the prisoner, he pushed eagerly forward into the very heart of the matter. The scene that followed was bewilderingly rapid in transformations : his appeal seemed absolutely to swell with indignation. Every look, word, and gesture showed the intensity of his feelings. Those who wure opposed to him in their belief as to the mental condition of the prisoner were forced to admire the determined and intrepid courage manifested in the face of all opposition. As by the legerdemain of some skilled magician, that vast audience was swayed and moved by the passionate appeals of the orator and the dramatic episodes that marked its delivery. The prisoner alone sat unmoved. The veteran judge, who for years had sat upon the bench and listened to the most powerful pleadings of attorneys of note and orators of national renown, was visibly . affected by the eloquence and earnestness of the young lawyer, and afterward, in conversation with the writer, paid high tribute to his splendid eilfort. But no power on earth could save his client. The sword of justice, so long suspended, was about to descend. The judge delivered his charge and the jury retired to their rooms for deliberation. They returned to the court room several times for further instructions, and for the reading of different ])arts of the testimony. They also examined the cell, and appeared to be according the doomed man every chance. At two o'clock in the morning they came into court with a verdict of sanity. The prisoner received the verdict with the same stolid indifference that had characterized his a])pearance during the wlmlc inquiry. When, however, the time arrived that had been designated by the court as the fatal morning, the doomed man seemed to have thrown off the mask and was, apparently, trying to fit himself for his impending fate. He requested Sheriff Jones to call in Father Haley to administer the necessary consolation in the last moments of his earthly career. At half past ten o'clock the priest visited the jail and learned his wishes. He requested the priest to come early next morning and prepare him to die a sincere Catholic. At the appointed hour Father Haley visited the jail, explained the doctrine of his church, and stated the necessary conditions for one who embraces the Catholic faith. Being satisfied as to the prisoner's sincerity and disposition to become a Catholic, he heard his confession, had him make the profession of faith, and administered the sacrament of baptism, according to the rites of the church. "In the meantime a rumor had been floating about that a telegram had been received by Sheriff Jones from Governor Boyd, grantiiig to the condemned a reprieve for thirty days, which, upon investigation, proved true. After the fact became generally known, great indignation was freely expressed. About three o'clock in the afternoon the immense throng became restless, and muttered threatenings began to be heard on all sides.

"Just at this critical moment, before the thunder cloud of discontent and distrust of the law could burst forth, the calm, digtiified person of Judge Hamer appeared upon the stone steps at the front door of the court house, and he briefly, in a clear, ringing voice, addressed the people as follows:

"Fellow Citizens of Custer County: I have been trying to administer the law in this county, as I interpreted it, fairly, carefully, and candidly - so carefully that no decision handed down by me upon this bench has been reversed. Have patience ; the majesty of the law will be maintained. I have always found the people of this county law-abiding citizens ; I have always found them ready to defend the innocent and ])unish the guilty. If. as I have been informeci, there seems to be a disposition to murmur at the law's delay, arising among you, I pray you be patient. Pause ; make no mistake. This man whom you would have expiate his offense upon the gallows to-day was tried by a fair and impartial jury of his countrymen and found guilty. As he had a perfect right to do, lie apjtoaled his case to the supreme court, and there the verdict of vour jurv was sustained and he was again sentenced to be hanged. Where there is a question of the sanity of a prisoner under sentence of death, the law provides that upon notice from the sheriff of the county it becomes the duty of the district judge to cause a jury to be empanelled to make inquiry as to the sanity or insanity of such prisoner. I received such a notice. Such a jury was called, and, after careful inquiry, pronounced him sane. I desire again to call the attention of the people to the fact that, as to the prisoner, he stands in this position : He was tried and convicted. He was again convicited and is now ready for execution. I therefore ask you to do your duty as law-abiding citizens. I want to say to you that the arm of the law is all powerful if it can have the support of honest men. [ know Governor Boyd, and I believe that he is an honest man. He must have had good reason for granting this reprieve. We do not know what showing may have been made to him. There are always two sides to a question, and I believe that we should have patience and trust the man that your ballots have placed in such a high position. You have yet no reason to complain. Wait. You will be protected. Telegrams have been sent, but as yet wc have received no answer. You have no reason to doubt yet. I am aware of the fact that the burden of taxation upon you is already heavy - no one knows this better than I - but the expense has already been made. No further expense is to be incurred. I therefore ask you, as honest men, as law-abiding citizens, that you do nothing rash. Let it be said that the law has triumphed in Custer county, and that justice reigns.

"James Whitehead, James S'tockham. and Judge Wahl each addressed the crowd and succeeded in quieting them. Judge Hamer, James Whitehead, and James Stockham later called upon the Governor, to obtain assurance tliat no further obstacle would be offered to the execution of the sentence, and they were informed that as far as any action of his might be concerned, their trip was utterly useless. He intimated that he proposed to offer no further delay than that provided for in liis order of respite, and should not have offered that had he been informed in time of the result of the investigation of Haunstine's alleged insanity.

The Executiox Takes Pl.Xce

in the morning, the streets of Broken Bow began to fill with people from the surrounding country, to witness the closing ceremonies of the doomed man's career on earth. The center of attraction for the crowd appeared to be the enclosure of rough boards adjoining the south end of the court house, which hid from public gaze the scaffold from which the murderer was to be dropped into eternity. The doors of the court house were closed against the admission of all except those who had a permit from the sheriff, and a wire fence was placed about the shed containing the scaft'old, at a distance of about twenty feet. It had been decided to have the execution at one o'clock, but this was not known to the public generally. Accordingly as early as nine o'clock in the morning the crowd began to gather, in order to be on hand when the time came. The scaffold was fenced in by a high board wall. Time wore on slowly until noon ; the crowd gathered until fully 2,000 men, women, and children blocked the street on the south side of the court house. Noticeable among the number were many women with babes in their arms. Prominent among those present were many relatives of the men murdered, all eager to witness the doomed man pay the death penalty. We would add here that the relatives of the doomed man were esteemed and highly respected citizens, well known to our people, who sympathized deeply with them in their great trouble, whi;h. through no fault of theirs, had come upon them.

"About 12 :30 o'clock a thrill of excitement went through the crowd when Eli Roten appeared on the top beam of the scaft'old which projected above the fence, and threw a block of wood over into the yard. This was a signal which had, seemingly, been agreed upon, whereupon about fifty men sprang over the wire fence, shoved the guards aside, and in less time than it takes to tell it, the high fence was lying flat on the ground and the gruesome gibbet stood in plain view of everybody. It was a moment of intense excitement, but Sheriff Jones stepped upon the scaft'old and exacted of the crowd a solemn promise to remain outside the fence and interfere no further with the proceedings. Haunstine. accompa- nied by Father Haley and Slieriff Jones, mounted the scaffold. He looked for a moment over the sea of upturned faces and in a full, steady voice, without a tremor, he said :

"Ladies and Gentlemen - I desire to ask forgiveness from any one here whom I have offended. I also want you to forgive me for all the trouble and expense I have been to the county. I also ask all to take warning from me, and learn to do right before it is too late. Remember that little things grow into large tilings and the committing of little sins led me on to the commission of the crime which has brought me where I now stand. Again I ask all to forgive me, and hope you will not neglect to seek salvation.

"Father Haley then whispered a few parting words of consolation, pressed the crucifix to the doomed man's lips, placed a cross and a string of beads around his neck, and exactly two minutes before one o'clock the trap was sprung. The strain of the shock was too much for the rope, which parted like a thread, letting the unfortunate man fall in a licaj) to tlie ground. The second fall broke his neck and in thirteen minutes he was pronounced dead, by the physicians in attendance. His body was taken into the sheriff's office, where it was prepared for burial by W. J- Woods, after which it was turned over to his brother, who, in the silence of the night, took the remains to his home in the southwest part of the county, where they were quietly interred. Thus ended the tragedy which opened that bright November morning in 1888. It was an impressive, a horrible scene, and one which few who witnessed it will ever care to see repeated.

The Only Execution

"In prcjiariiig the alx)ve account of the first and only legal execution that has ever taken place in Custer county, years after the committal of the crime, we have had access to the records, and from the attorneys engaged have sought additional information ; but it is to the local papers that so faithfully chronicled the events and daily happenings in the community that we are principally indebted for the details given, prominent among which we mention the Custer Leader, the KepKblieaii. the Meriia Keeord. the CalUncay Courier, and the Stale Journal"

Some time in the early spring of 1885 Joseph Y. Province and his family, in which there were several boys, settled on the South Loup near the mouth of Spring creek. He had homesteaded a quarter-section in the Tirighton ranch and one upon which pre-emption papers had been previously taken out. He had hardly established his residence before a man named Stephen Long claimed the place by right of relinquishment papers from the man who had made the former pre-emption entry and began building a house on the place, not far from the Province home.

Concerning the feud that followed, and that later ended in a gun fight and the death of Province, an early writer tells the story as follows :

"This man Long was a single man and an employe of the Brighton Ranch Company. The feud thus started between the rival claimants to this land ended later in the kilHng of old man Province.

"It will be remembered that the land within this immense pasture, comprising some fifteen square miles of territory, was government land subject to entry by homesteaders, and was simply appropriated by the cattle men without warrant of law. As soon as settlers began to file on claims within its fence the ranch company had as many of its employes as possible file on claims, in order to retain for its use the claims thus taken. Long is said to have been one of these employes, and from this time on constant quarrels occurred between him and Province, pending the decision of the land office as to the rightful owner of the claim. There were charges and counter charges. At one time, we believe, the ranch company had the Province boys, George Sickler, and John McDermott, arrested on a charge of cattle stealing. John McDermott demanded a separate trial, and the company proved that he helped to kill a 1,600-pound beef and carried one hind-quarter two miles in a two-bushel sack. Jcilin S. Kirkpatri:k (now a member of the Nebraska supreme court commission), then a young man. just starting in business in Custer county, had John's case in hand. He took advantage of this evidence, made an eloquent plea, showing that his client was a man who weighed but 110 pounds, yet had been charged with carrying one-quarter of a 1,600-pound beef two miles in a two-bushel sack. The jury was out about fifteen minutes, and it is said they agreed among themselves that they believed the prisoner was not guilty, but if he had done as the testimony said he did, Mac had earned the beef. The cases against the Province boys and Sickler never came to trial.''

On Thursday morning. April 9, 1885, Mr. Province started to Broken Bow, leaving two sons, aged about twelve and fourteen respectively, to plow. Shortly after the departure of Province. Long appeared where the boys were at work, armed with a Wincliester, and ordered them to quit or he would shoot. The boys immediately quit work and started after their father, overtaking him before he arrived at Broken Bow. Mr. Province came on to town and contemplated getting out a warrant, but being advised not to do so, returned home -during the evening. The next morning he went out and commenced plowing where the boys had left off. A few hours later John McDermott came galloping into Broken Bow with the news that Mr. Province had been shot down by Stephen Ijong or Charles Powell. Dr. Daum immediately started for the scene of the tragedy and found that Province was dead.

On Saturday morning. Dr. Hull, county coroner, summoned a jury and, in company with a large number of citizens of Broken Bow and the surrounding country, visited the place where the murder had been committed. There all the available testimony was taken. The first witness examined was ^laria Powell, wife of Charles Powell, who lived in the house with Long. In her testimony Mrs. Powell said that she was in the house when the shooting occurred; Mr. Powell and Mr. Long had gone out of the house; Mr. Long had a Winchester and Mr. Powell a needle gun ; did not see the men when the shooting commenced, and did not see outside until after Mr. Province was shot; heard Province call for Mr. Long to come on. he was ready for him. She thought Province had fired five shots, Long two, and her man the last shot. When the shooting was over she saw Long and Powell in the dooryard, and Mrs. Province coming down to where her husband was lying. I asked Mr. Long: "Did you hit him?" He said: "I guess I did, for he fell." The men stayed about the house until after dinner and then went down to Allyn's lower ranch.

Philip S. Province, a son of the deceased, said he was plowing with his father ; that Steve Long and Charley Powell came out of the house and shot two or three times, and that his father then shot at them several times with a revolver. The men were about seventy-five yards distant when the firing commenced, and he was sure his father did not commence shooting first. After they had fired several shots he saw Long behind a wagon and Powell on the west side of the house. They kept on firing and Province fired several shots at them with his revolver, and also with a shotgun which he had with him. He then started for the house and had gone about twenty feet when he fell. The shooting took place about eight o'clock in the morning.

S'tephen D. Long, and, I think, the man living in the house with said Long, on the 10th day of April, 1885, about eight o'clock in the morning, came out and commenced shooting at me, with repeating rifles, as near as I could make out. I shot back at them. I was in my field plowing, about fifty yards from said Long's house, when the firing commenced. After they had shot once or twice I shot back. I shot five times, one with a single-barrel shot gun and balance with a revolver. Buck shot No. 3 was in the shot gun. They shot a dozen or more shots. After I had shot all in my weapons, as I thought. I called to them to stop shooting ; I would give up ; but they kept on shooting until one of them hit me. I do not know which one hit me. When said Long came out I said: "Xow draw your revolver on me if you want to." I was on my way to my liouse when I was shot. I was about 100 yards from said Long"s house when I was shot. Joseph Y. Province (His (X) Mark) ^Vitness to his mark. Jasper X'^ewlan.

Sworn and subscribed to before me, in the town of Custer, countv of Custer, and state of Xebraska, this 10th day of April. A. D. 1885. Ben'Jamix L. Brisbane, Town Clerk for the Town of Custer.

At an inquisition held at the late residence of Joseph Y. Province, in Custer county, Xebraska, on the 11th day of April, 1885, before W'yman Hull, coroner of said county, upon the body of Joseph Y. Province, lying dead, by its jurors, whose names are hereunto subscribed, the said jurors, upon their oaths, do say that the deceased came to his death by means of a gun-shot wound, inflicted by a bullet discharged from a gun in the hands of one Stephen Long or one Charles Powell, whom the jury find made a felonious assault upon the said deceased, on the morning of April 10, 1885, with repeating rifles, each of said parties firing several shots at deceased, one of which shots struck and produced the death of said Joseph Y. Province.

Shortly after the shooting Long and Powell hid themselves in the hills. When the sheriff, C. P. Foote, arrived on the spot on Saturday he found about seventy-five armed men there in a state of great excitement, vowing vengeance against the murderers. The sheriff tried to reason with them, but thev were not disposed to listen to him. He said they had a perfect right to be there if they were there to see the law carried out, but if they were there to commit another deed of violence he advised them to disband and go home. This enraged the mob the more, and a petition was gotten up on the spot, calling upon the sheriff to resign, which was signed by about fifty persons on the butt of a musket. A messenger came from the murderers that they would give themselves up if they were guaranteed protection against violence at the hands of the citizens. This assurance was given and Long and Powell were arrested and taken before T. B. Buckner, a justice of the peace, where they waived examination. A mittimus was issued and the prisoners taken to the jal at Lexington. for safe keeping until their trial in the district court, a number of citizens having declared that the men would never be tried in Custer county, but that they would be hanged without a trial.

As soon as the sheriff had left with the prisoners, the mob which was left behind, instead of returning to their homes, proceeded down the river to the \\'hite House, the headquarters of the Brighton Ranch Company, where lived \ irgil Allyn, the foreman. Mr. Allyn was absent at Lexington at the time, and the citizens set about sacking and looting the place, from cellar to garret, helping themselves to everything in the shape of eatables and drinkables they could lay their hands on. As Mr. Allyn was one of the highest livers in the country, it is needless to say that the hungry mob had a feast the like of which few of them had enjoyed since they came to the county. Among his other supplies the foreman had a cask of rare old wine, which he kept for the especial entertainment of the guests at the numerous banquets that were held at the White House. The discovery of this treasure was hailed with a shout by many of the mob, and a goodly number of them began to load up on liquor.

At this stage of the proceedings an old, grayheaded man, who was among them. realizing the danger of adding intoxication to the already inflamed passions of the men, seized a hatchet and knocked in the head of the cask, letting the contents run out on the ground. This brave act probably saved Custer county from an added blot ujwn her already blackened record, and for his timely interference at this critical time the name of Isaac Merchant should be revered for all time to come. After having satisfied their appetites, the raiders loaded up all the canned goods and other provisions they could find about the place and carried them to the widow Province, the cooler heads only preventing the others from burning the house before they left. On their way back a log house belonging to the Brighton Ranch Company was burned. The house was of cedar logs and was valued at $1,000. By this time Allyn had heard, in Lexington, of what was going on, and started at on:e for Iiome to protect his property. Fortunately, before his arrival, the mob dispersed, else there would, in all probability, have been more trouble of a serious nature, as he brought a posse of armed cowboys with him.

The session of the district court in which Long and Powell were tried convened on Monday, July 6, 1885, with Judge Francis G. Hamer on the bench. A special venire of 120 were summoned to try the case. The empaneling of the jury commenced before noon on Monday and was not completed until ten o'clock on Tuesday. The following jurors were chosen : L. Sutton, West Union ; John K. Cooper, Ortello ; S. H. Read, Merna ; William Hyatt, Myrtle; C. A. Wetherby and J. Snell, Keota; H. Gage, A. C. Blakeslee, W. H. Henderson, Wood River ; H. C. S'tuckey, Georgetown ; J. L. Oxford, Lillian.

The attorneys for the state were H. ^I. Sinclair (district attorney), Aaron Wall, and Thomas Darnell, while the defendants were represented by Attorneys McNamar, Greene, and Chapman. After a hard-fought battle the jury returned the following verdict :

We, the jury in this case, being dulv empanelled and sworn, do find and say that we find the defendant, Stephen Long, is guilty of manslaughter, as charged in the indictment, and recommend him to the mercy of the court ; and we find the defendant, Charles Powell, not guilty. Louis Sutton, Foreman.

It is therefore considered and adjudged by the court that the said defendant, Stephen Long, be imprisoned and confined in the penitentiary of the state of Nebraska, at hard labor, for the period of four years and six months, and that he pay the costs of this prosecution, and that he stay committed in the hands of the sheriff of Custer county. Nebraska, until the sentence of this court be complied with or he be otherwise legally discharged.

Making An Honest Mexican

For some time past numerous complaints have been made of robberies committed by unknown parties in unoccupied houses. Everything seemed to be acceptable to the thieves. Monday afternoon Mr. Simon Landis came into town and swore out a warrant before Justice Deems for the arrest of two men, names unknown, who had robbed him of harness and other articles to the value of thirty-six dollars, and had also stolen some carpenter tools from the house of Henry Schuette.

The warrant was placed in the hands of ^Ir. Fred Jephcott, constable of Noel, and L. ^I. Holman, constable of Callaway, for service. These gentlemen immediately started up the valley in pursuit, struck the trail at Finch- Hatton's ranch and followed it to Arnold, where they got a fresh team and were joined by the Arnold constable, Mr. Brown. The party followed the trail north to Hackberry canyon, and all along the road heard of the depredations committed by the robbers. They had at one place left their old wagon and taken a better one, but the trade was to their injury, for the wagon they stole had wire wrapped around a loose tire and left on the road a distinct mark that was easily seen. They also stole a gT.m, four silk handkerchiefs, and a revolver. The Callaway constable held the trail while the Arnold contingent scouted around. After finding the search in the canyon useless, the party went on up the road to

Anselmo, where they again changed horses. From there the pursuers followed traces of the robbers to a point three miles north of Dale, when thej' found the robbers had doubled in their road and gone to Luce's canyon. When the constables got there they found that the robbers had gone to Merna the night before (Monday) and stopped there over night.

By this time the constables were tired out, having traveled a day and a night without rest or food, so they went on to Broken Bow. having sent out scouts to scour the country around.

Sheriff Penn being absent from Idwu. the con.stables. with some deputies, started out with two teams. The Callaway constable, L. M. Holman. the Noel constable, Fred Jephcott, and Joseph Trout, with a driver, were in one wagon, and the rest of the party were in the other. At about dusk they met a man on the main road at the mouth of the canyon, who told them that the robbers were coming. The officers then separated into two parties, the Callaway party taking to the riglit and the others to the left.

This canyon is si.x miles north of Broken Bow, one-half mile north of Peter Mohat"s stock farm, on land belonging to the Hunter ranch, since known as Dead Man's canyon. At the edge of the canyon they met the robbers in a wagon with bows but no cover. Mr. Jephcott, who took command, immediatelv on seeing them shouted "Halt!" telling the robbers to surrender, as his party were officers come to arrest them. No attention was paid by the robbers, when Mr. Jephcott ordered them to halt three times more.

.\t the fourth warning the officers saw a flash through the dusk, and could plainly see the men reaching for their Winchester rifles, which were hanging on the bows on each side of the wagon. The word to fire was then given and the Callaway party opened upon the robbers, being immediately followed by the Arnold party. At the first fire, one of the men who was sitting on the side of the wagon furthest away from the Callaway party, sprang from the wagon to the ground, dead. A rifle bullet had passed through his body, entering at his left side and passing out at the right. The other man fell to the bottom of the wagon box and the horses went tearing down the canyon.

The officers at once followed and overtook the team a mile and a half away, but the other man had escaped, on a saddle horse that had been tied to the wagon. Half an hour after the slaying Sheriff Penn arrived on the scene. He at once took passession of the wagon, the team and the corpse of the dead man. and brought them to Broken Bow.

The half-breed Mexican was about twentyfive years of age, si.x feet tall and well built. Inside his shirt, covered with clotted blood, was found a badge of the Cincinnati detective force.

The wagon-box was half full of miscellaneous articles, which they had probably stolen. Among them were several guns, revolvers, saddles, clocks, carpenter tools, silk handkerchiefs, and other articles. A coroner's jury was empaneled and immediately brought in a verdict that the killing was justified and that the officers were blameless.

It was April 1, 1887, "all fool's day," an appropriate date for the fool escapade pulled off by Billy Degan and Hugh Fitzpatrick at Anselmo. They boarded an early freight train out of Linscott. and. not being able to restrain themselves until they reached Anselmo, commenced their gun play in the caboose. They pulled off a series of cowboy stunts calculated to terrorize the passengers. The late L. H. Jewett was on board that morning and afterward stated that the crowd was a little too rough for him. Wlien Anselmo was reached the two cowboys left the train and lost no time in ])reparing to give the town an exhibition of high life in the far west.

The Anselmo people had been warned that a visit from the cowboys was on the program, and thus they were in a manner prepared to receive their expected guests. Billy Frischauf, a saloon-keeper, came to C. D. Pelhani and asked him what he should do. ^Ir. Pel ham advised him to close his saloon, and be it said to the credit of Frischauf, he fohowed the good counsel of his adviser, and not a drop of whisky was sold in his place during the whole of that fatal day. John Anderson, another saloon-keeper, also promised to shut up his place during the stay of the cowboys. Anderson did close his saloon in the morning, but having some business out of town, he turned his keys over to his brother, Frank, who unlocked the door and ran the place wide open all day. Things soon began to assume a lively aspect in the little village, and A. F. Mc- Knight, the man who pumped water for the railroad company, using horse power, brought his team over to the livery stable, saying that he had told the company that their locomotives could get no water at Anselmo, as cowboys were painting the town and he did not propose to run the risk of getting shot. The boys were using the pump-house as a target.

A noticeable feature of the occasion was that one of the cowboys appeared to be a gentlemanly sort of fellow and took no active part in the shooting, but apparently tried to keep his companion within bounds. The other, however, crazy with bad whisky, determined to have all the fun he could get out of the spree. One of his antics was to place old tin cans on the tops of hitching posts in the street and then shoot them full of holes, regardless of the danger to passers-by, who had to seek safety by getting behind buildings. When he got tired of this diversion he shot a hole through the stovepipe inside a furniture store, the bullet almost grazing the head of Mr. McDowell, who was managing the business for J. H. Brandebury, the proprietor.

In the meantime some of the citizens had had a conference to discuss the advisability of sending for the sheriff, but they decided to wait a little while, hoping that the rowdies would cool off and behave themselves. The boys went to Anderson's saloon, where Degan, the tougher of the' pair, was having a fine time marching around in drunken gyrations and shooting holes in the floor and ceiling, when a bullet from his revolver accidentally penetrated the toe of a young man by the name of Murray. The report immediately flew about town

Charlie Huntington let the cowboys have an old dray horse, and another was procured at a livery stable kept by one Bassey. Mounted on these steeds the two rode into Pelham's store, helped themselves to cigars, rode out and across the street to the store of Weander Brothers, where they got something else. By this time it was getting along in the afternoon, and the citizens were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the sheriff', who was expected every moment. After visiting all the stores in town, Fritzpatrick and Degan returned to the saloon, where they attempted the novel feat of playing a game of pool on horseback, Degan firing off his gun occasionally to emphasize his points. It was in the midst of this diversion that Sheriff Penn and his deputy arrived, pulling up at Pelham's barn. Tom Kimes and Charlie Murray rode out of the barn and Penn, mistaking them for the cowboys, brought his Winchester to his shoulder and commanded them to throw up their hands. Pelham apprised Penn of his mistake, much to the relief of the frightened young men. At this juncture another report from Degan's revolver rang out and Penn inquired ; "What shooting is that?" "Cowboys in the saloon," was the reply.

The cowboys were soon given a tip that the sheriff was in town, when they immediately rode out of the saloon into the street, where they got a glimpse of the officer, surrounded by a crowd of citizens, in front of the livery barn. They fired a parting salute from their six-shooters and rode out of town to the northwest. Penn and his men followed them to a house situated on a triangular piece of ground on the outskirts of the village. From this house a road went directly north and another ran parallel with the railroad track in a northwesterlv direction. The latter road was taken by the cowboys, who proceeded as far as the hand-car house and then came to a standstill. Penn and his men halted at the dwelling house above referred to, where they waited to see what the boys were going to do. After about fifteen minutes Fitzpatrick and Degan turned the heads of their horses around and slowly approached the sheriff's party. Penn placed his deputy, Jones, and Humphrey Smith, who had volunteered to assist him, at the northeast corner of the house guarding the road from the north, which passed on the east side of the building. He gave them strict orders that in case the cowboys came their way to first demand them to halt ; then, if they did not stop, to shoot their horses ; and finally, if they still refused to surrender, to shoot them. Penn took his station near the southeast corner, that being the point to which the boys were apparently approaching. When within a short distance from the house they turned and rode directly east, striking the road running north and south, and were rapidly nearing the deputies. One of the men shouted out: "Here they come!" and Penn rushed over from his corner and commanded : "Throw up your hands ; I am the sheriff of Custer county !" The boys paid no attention to the command. Eye witnesses say that the horses were shot first, Fitzpatrick's animal becoming frantic. He held the bridle rein with his left hand and was reaching behind to grasp the saddle to keep from falling off, when Smith, thinking he was reaching for his revolver, fired and shot him through the heart. It was afterward learned that Fitzpatrick was unarmed, having thrown his revolver away before he rode back to town, possibly thinking that in case he was arrested it would go easier with him if it was found that he did not carry a weapon. Degan"s horse was also shot, and refusing to surrender, the rider then and there met the same fate at the hands of Penn. An inquest was held and a verdict returned to the effect that the two cowboys had been killed while resisting arrest at the hands of officers of the law.