Natrona County, Wyoming - The whole text, 1923 (part 9 of 15)

Accordingly, in the afternoon, the sheriff made a confidant of Conductor Hines and secured a key to a passenger coach, standing near the engine house on the railroad track. He then postponed the burial of Tidwell's remains until almost dusk, so that the cowboys, who intended to follow the corpse to the grave, would be detained until after dark. The body was buried in the cemetery about a mile east of town. (All the bodies buried there have since been removed to the Highland cemetery.) Rev. Macomber of the Congregational church conducted the burial service by moonlight, and the cowboys and citizens stood about the grave with bared heads, while no sound was to be heard but the minister's solemn voice and the champing of bits by the cowboys' ponies. The lid of the coffin was raised, and it was an aff"ecting scene to see the band of cowboys, many of them in their rough clothes just as they had come off-duty, and with belts and six-shooters on, take a last sad farewell of the remains of the comrade whom they had all known and esteemed so highly. Tears were in the eyes of many, and all were deeply aff"ected, while no doubt some of them then and there vowed to be avenged.

But while this was going on and the cowboys were out of town, the officers were not idle. SheriflF Jaycox went to the funeral, well knowing that the boys would mistrust nothing if he accompanied them. However, the officers in town were posted as to the part they were to perform, and the cowboys were no sooner out of town and darkness settled down, than the prisoner was hurried from the jail to the passenger car, where he was guarded during the night.

The cowboys came in town after the funeral, but contrary to their custom they did not remove their six-shooters, wearing them throughout the night. A committee soon reported that the prisoner had flown, or at least was not in the jail, and after fruitless efforts to

The people who were not aware of the prisoner being removed from the jail, when they arose the following morning, expected that Conway had been lynched. However, when the hour set for the preliminary hearing had arrived the prisoner was produced. He waived examination, and was hustled from the court room to the train and taken to Douglas, where he was lodged in the Converse county jail.

Regarding the tragedy, the Wyoming Derrick, which was being published by W. S. Kimball at that time, said: "Ever since her escapade last spring, wherein Lou Polk was forcibly abducted by 'Dogae' Lee, a reckless adventurer with whom she had been cohabiting and who had become jealous of her, and who cut off her nose upon being compelled to abandon her owing to the close pursuit of officers, she had imagined herself a heroine, or ' badman,' as it were. She assumed entire control of the dance house which she and Dogae had formerly owned in partnership, and set herself up as 'Queen of the Demimonde.' Her word was law in the establishment, and she delighted to show her authority. She breeds more discontent and trouble than any other dozen characters in the town, and when she finally obtained the services of John Conway, it is said she boasted that she had a man killer, and would like to see the person who dared to kick up a row in her house. On the afternoon of the killing she purchased the weapon with which the murder was committed, and it is probable that Conway had been encouraged to use it in case a row should occur.

"Human life must be protected, at any cost. Jack Tidwell was killed out of pure cussedness, by a man of whom it had been boasted that he was a man killer, and who evidently wanted to show his mistress, the dance house queen, that she had not overestimated him. If we must have a dance house, let it pass into the hands of some one who will at least keep an orderly place. There was never, perhaps, a more excuseless murder than that committed Saturday night, and Conway should stretch hemp."

An attempt was made to burn the dance house Wednesday night, September 24, at about 9 o'clock. During the absence of the inmates kerosene had been poured over the front door and floor, and a lighted match applied to it. One of the men connected with the house discovered the fire just as the oil had been burned off and the wood was beginning to blaze, and he extinguished it, but it was freely predicted and generally believed by the citizens that the house would be burned within a month.

Hodge Kills Warren 279

Conway was held in the Converse county jail at Douglas for just one year, waiting trial in the district court to be held in Natrona county. On September 10, 1891, he was brought to Casper, where court was in session, with Judge Blake on the bench. F. H. Harvey of Douglas and Walter Stoll and A. C. Campbell of Cheyenne appeared as attorneys for the defendant, and Alex T. Butler, the prosecuting attorney for Natrona county at that time, and Judge Davidson were the prosecutors. The trial consumed three days, and after the state's evidence was adduced the attorneys for the defense held an all-night consultation, and the next morning at the convening of court Mr. Campbell made the announcement that his client desired to withdrew his plea of not guilty of wilful murder, but desired to enter a plea of murder in the second degree. The plea was accepted by the state, and the prisoner was sentenced to serve a term of twenty-five years in the penitentiary. He served four or five years and was pardoned by the governor. Conway went to Colorado after being released from the Wyoming penitentiary, and it was not long until he was in trouble again of a similar nature. At his trial he was convicted and was sentenced to serve a term of fifteen years in the penitentiary at Canyon City. His sentence was commuted to eight years, and after gaining his liberty he went to Denver where he adopted the profession of petty thief and hold-up, for which he was arrested, tried and convicted and sentenced to serve fourteen years in the penitentiary.

William Hodge, town marshal, in the performance of his duty, shot and killed William Warren, a cowboy in the employ of the CY, on Sunday morning May 10, 1891. Warren, with a number of other cowboys, rode into town from the CY ranch and patronized the saloons so liberally that it was not long until Warren became thoroughly drunk, and while in this condition he marched up and down the street declaring in a boisterous manner that he was a fighter, and that he was anxious to demonstrate his ability. Citizens objected to the language being used by the man, and they urged the town marshal to do his duty and preserve the peace. The marshal told Warren to go inside one of the saloons, and if he appeared on the street again in his drunken condition he would take him to jail. Warren went into a saloon but in a short time came out, mounted his horse and commenced to whip and spur the animal. The horse commenced to buck and came near going into the Windslow store. The marshal ran across the street, calling twice for Warren to stop, but he did not stop. The marshal then fired and Warren started his horse down the street.

Sentiment was about evenly divided as to whether the marshal was justified in the shooting, some of the citizens declaring that the officer should be upheld as a lesson to others who might want to march up and down the street swearing and cursing, and then endanger the lives of innocent people by making a horse buck on the main thoroughfare, while others declared that the action of the marshal was hasty, rash and not justifiable and that he exceeded his authority. Some of the cowboys and friends of Warren were inclined to avenge the death of their comrade, but they were advised not to make a bad matter worse, and they concluded to allow the law to take its course. Hodge was arrested and held to the district court for trial, and the case came up on Friday, September 4, 1891, immediately following the Conway trial. Alex T. Butler was attorney for the state and C. C. Wright was for the defendant. The trial was long and drawn out, requiring several days before it went to the jury, and then the jury deliberated forty-seven hours and was discharged without being able to reach a verdict, but it was said at one time the ballot stood eleven for conviction to one for acquittal. The case was continued until the next term of court and the defendant's bond was placed at $3,000, and at the second trial the defendant was acquitted.

On Monday, September 21, 1891, at the V - V ranch, DeitlefF Kramhoft, aged 35, was shot by Virgil Turner, aged 14. The man and boy were in the cow corral doing the evening chores when the man threatened to whip the boy, and called him some vile names. Turner left the corral in haste and went to the bunk house where he waited with a .22 target gun for Kramhoft to come along. The boy demanded that Kramhoft retract the vile names he had called him. With an oath on his lips the man jumped forward and grabbed the muzzle of the gun, and during the struggle the boy pulled the trigger and the bullet entered the man's left side. The injured man was brought to Casper and placed under the care of a physician. The day following the shooting Kramhoft made an ante mortem statement, giving the facts as above stated and requested that the boy be not punished. The boy was arrested, however, and taken to Douglas, where he was placed in jail to await the result of the wounds inflicted by the shooting. On October 14 it appeared as though Kramhoft was going to recover, and the boy was brought up from Douglas and his trial was had before Justice G. E. Butler. G. B. McCalmont appeared for the defendant and the prosecuting attorney asked permission to change the information from felony to assault and battery. Permission being granted to change the information, the boy pleaded guilty to the charge, and he was sentenced to three months in the county jail, and he was accordingly taken to Douglas where he served out the sentence of the court. Kramhoft lingered along until the first of November when he died early in the morning, and his remains were buried in the evening of the same day. Kramhoft conveyed all his property to the county for the payment of medical attendance and burial expenses. Nothing more was done with Turner, and he made his home in Casper until about 1900, during which time he was a good citizen.

On Tuesday night, April 12, 1892, about nine o'clock Lewis Adams, a colored man, and several others were playing poker in Carter & Brenham's saloon. Wm. Dunbar was running the game and Jeff, his brother, was sitting near the table looking on. Adams, known as "Juaquin," after losing his money, tore up the cards and the dealer protested. Hot words followed and a fight seemed imminent, but they were parted by Jeff, and the dealer had taken his seat again when Adams commenced cursing and calling him vile names. Jeff then hit Adams, knocking him against the door, then pulled a gun and struck the negro over the head. "Pecos" Hughes here interfered, grabbing the gun, and Adams grabbed it about the same time. A scuffle then ensued. After scuffling a few minutes Adams let go of the gun and grabbed a billiard cue. Dunbar then said to "Pecos": "Turn me loose," which he did. Dunbar then told Adams to stop. "Don't you take another step," he said, pointing the gun at the colored man. Adams said: "Shoot away, it's fine music to my ears," and kept coming toward Dunbar with the billiard cue. Dunbar fired three shots in the wall and one in the floor but Adams kept on coming, and then Dunbar shot Adams and killed him.

After the shooting Dunbar coolly reloaded his revolver and walked out of the saloon the back way, going to the stable where he and his brother stood talking, when the sheriff and his deputy came up. Dunbar said: "Who are you?" Sheriff Rice replied: "It is me, and I want you." Dunbar answered: "All right, I intended to give myself up.

A preliminary trial was held and Dunbar was held to the district court for trial, without bail, and he was taken to Douglas and remained in jail to await trial. At the trial in the district court

The Dunbars left Casper after the trial, going to Dixon, Carbon county, then a new town on the Union Pacific railroad. In 1895 the brothers got into a fight with a man named Jim Davis. JefF Dunbar shot Davis' right thumb off and knocked the gun out of his antagonist's hand. Davis picked up the gun with his left hand and shot JefF and killed him. Wm. Dunbar then went from Dixon to Montana and that is the last that has been heard of him.

At about 9 o'clock on Wednesday evening, April 3, 1895, Joel J. Hurt, state senator from Natrona county and then mayor of the town of Casper, shot and killed William Milne, a sheepowner who had been in business with Hurt. The shooting occurred on Center street, in front of the Senate saloon, and the evidence showed that Hurt was prepared for the tragedy and that the shooting of Milne was undoubtedly premeditated, for he w^alked up behind the man, touched him on the shoulder and said: "Turn your face around." Milne turned, and the men were separated nine feet apart when Hurt fired the first shot, striking Milne in the left arm; Hurt fired a second shot and the ball pierced Milne's heart. At about the same time Hurt fired the second shot Milne had drawn his gun from the inside of his coat, and he fired, but Hurt was not hit. Milne then ran into the Senate saloon and fell upon the floor with the exclamation: " My God, I'm shot," and immediately expired. The shooting was the outcome of a scandal in which Mrs. Hurt and Milne were the principals. Hurt had left his home six months previous to the shooting on a plea of ill-health, and returned only about ten days before the tragedy. During the absence of Hurt, Milne made his home at the mayor's residence and stabled his horses in Hurt's barn when he came to town from the range. Hurt sent the man word to keep away from his home, but no heed was paid to the warning, but threats were made to the eflPect that Hurt himself would be punished whenever the two men met.

After the shooting Hurt was taken to the county jail and on Saturday the preliminary trial was commenced before Justice of the Peace Wm. Ford. Chester B. Bradley and E. D. Norton appeared for the defense and George Walker and Alex T. Butler were attorneys for the state. The preliminary trial was concluded on Tuesday, and after all the evidence was adduced and the argument of the attorneys completed, the defendant was held to the district court for trial on

Robert Gordon Killed On The Range 283

"The court instructs the jury that if the jury believes from the evidence that at the time the said defendant is alleged to have shot the deceased, the circumstances surrounding the defendant were such as in sound reason would justify, or induce in his mind, an honest belief that he was in danger of receiving, from the deceased, some great bodily harm, and that the defendant, in doing what he did, was acting from the instinct of self-preservation, then he is not guilty.

"The court charges you that no wrong which the defendant may have suffered at the hands of William Milne constitutes any lawful pretext for his taking vengeance into his own hands, and slaying the man who has wronged him.

"The court charges you that no matter what wrongs the defendant may have suffered at the hands of William Milne he was thereby not justified in becoming his slayer; but if you believe from the evidence that as a result of these wrongs and of brooding over them this defendant was wrought up into a condition of frenzy and emotional insanity which rendered him irresponsible for his acts, the defendant is entitled to a verdict of acquittal at your hands."

The jury retired and in five minutes returned a verdict of not guilty, on the grounds of "emotional insanity, which rendered him irresponsible for his acts." Mr. Hurt's mind soon was "restored," however, and after several years he moved to South Omaha. The family soon divided and scattered to different parts of the country.

On Sunday morning, May 30, 1897, at about 7:30 o'clock Robert Gordon, a man about twenty-seven years of age, was shot and killed at Kenneth McRae's sheep camp on Fales creek, about sixty miles southwest from Casper. The body was brought to Casper by Mc- Rae on the Wednesday following the tragedy, and he reported that the man came into the sheep wagon where he, McRae, was lying in bed, and only a minute or so after Gordon had come in he heard the report of a gun, which was lying on the foot of the bed, and he felt the force of the explosion. Gordon jumped out of the wagon and cried "I am shot! I am shot!" A sheep herder named Peter Keith was sleeping in a camp bed under the wagon when the shooting occurred, and he sent word to Casper that McRae's statement was not true and that a thorough investigation of the tragedy should be made. A coroner's jury was appointed and McRae was placed under arrest. After an investigation, the coroner's jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to his death from a gunshot wound from a gun in the hands of Kenneth McRae. A preliminary trial was had and the evidence was sufficient to warrant the defendant being held to the district court for trial upon the charge of murder. The trial in the district court was had at the November term of court. E. D. Norton was the prosecuting attorney, and he was assisted by M. C. Brown of Laramie. Chester B. Bradley appeared for the defendant. The trial was commenced January 14, 1898, but the jury failed to bring in a verdict, the ballot standing eight for acquittal, and four for murder in the second degree. The defendant was then released upon a bond of thirty thousand dollars. A second trial was immediately called, and on Friday morning, February 22, 1898, a verdict was returned finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. A motion for a new trial was made and Judge Bramel set March 11 as the date for the hearing of the argument. On March ii a postponement was taken until April 5. On that date Attorneys Norton and Brown were ordered to present proof of the charges against the court of bribery and corruption which they had made or show cause why they should not be in contempt of court. The attorneys apologized and said they were mistaken, and the court accepted the apology but reprimanded them.

The hearing of the motion for a new trial occupied two days, and on the 7th of April a new trial was granted, and the matter of the bribery and corruption charges against the court, and the attorneys being in contempt of court were dismissed. The defendant was taken to Carbon county and there placed in charge of the sheriff of that county, but the sheriff of Carbon county at first refused to accept the prisoner on the ground that Natrona county was insolvent and Carbon would not be reimbursed for the prisoner's keep, but after being guaranteed that Natrona county was not bankrupt, and that all indebtedness would be liquidated, the officials of Carbon county accepted the charge. The trial was commenced in Rawlins on May 2, and on June 2, a verdict of not guilty was returned, and the defendant was discharged without prejudice. The three trials cost Natrona county more than six thousand dollars and much bitter feeling ensued for a dozen years after the trial. At the trial in Rawlins the attorneys for the state were E. D. Norton of Casper, C. E. Blydenberg of Rawlins and M. C. Brown of Laramie. The defendant's attorneys were C. B. Bradley of Casper, J. W. Lacey of Cheyenne and F. Chatterton of Rawlins.

Dee Blair Murdered 285

Dee Blair, a boy about ten years of age, was murdered on the Platte river bank about a mile west from Casper on or about the first of July, 1901, but the body was not found until July 17, and then it was in such a decayed and wasted condition that it could not be recognized except by the clothing and a gold ring which the boy wore on the middle finger of his right hand. A coroner's jury was impaneled and a verdict was returned to the effect that the lad had come to his death from causes unknown. The remains were interred in Highland cemetery, and the general public was of the opinion that the boy met his death by accident, but a brother of the lad who came to Casper from the Big Horn mountains, upon making an investigation of the premises, found a number of human teeth, some hair and several blood spots; there were numerous tracks in the low lands which showed that the boy had been chased by other boys, and there was evidence of a struggle in a clump of brush near the river bank, and from the brush it was evident that the boy made his escape to a small knoll and it was there that the lad was shot in the back with a shot gun, the tracks indicating that the person who did the shooting was about four feet from the boy. The murdered boy was wearing shoes, but the three boys who chased him and the one that evidently shot him were in their bare feet.

After this discovery had been made the body of the boy was exhumed and as the body was raised from the grave to the earth's surface, shot fell from the skeleton and the wad from a shot gun shell was found in the cavity of the boy's heart. The body was again interred and a further investigation was made of the premises where the tragedy occurred. An empty shot gun shell was found about seventyfive yards from where the body was found, and the murdered boy's hat was found about ninety yards distant. A man's tracks were found leading directly to where the body lay on the knoll, and this man had evidently moved the body about four feet from where it first fell, but why it had been moved could not be conjectured.

The governor of the state offered five hundred dollars reward for the apprehension of the murderers and the board of county commissioners of Natrona county offered a like amount.

Suspicion pointed to Charles, Roy and Archie Walker and Harry Guy as the guilty parties. These boys and the murdered boy had had trouble concerning some set lines in the river, and the man's tracks leading to the body of the murdered boy were thought to be the tracks of the Walker boys' father. The four boys were placed under arrest upon the charge of carrying a gun without a license.

An old single-barrel shot gun was found in the Walker residence, and loaded shells were found in which there was the same size shot as were found in the murdered boy's body, and the shells were of the same kind as the empty shell found on the ground where the murder was committed.

Every effort was made to get a confession from the boys who were placed under arrest, but they all maintained that they knew nothing about the tragedy, and they were discharged without a trial.

The Walker family and the Guy family soon left Casper and none of them has ever returned. The murdered boy's mother also left the town shortly afterwards, and Amos Blair, the brother of the murdered boy, went away with a vow that he would avenge his brother's death, but whether he has vet fulfilled his vow no one here has ever heard.

Vigilance committees and "lynch law" are terms of similar and familiar meaning in the American vocabulary. But this summary method of dealing with offenders who would otherwise go "unwhipped of justice," sometimes is excusable and a public necessity. Such was the condition in Natrona county when, goaded and outraged beyond endurance, well-disposed citizens determined to become a law unto themselves and to administer that law in the interest of justice and self-protection with promptness and decision. Numerous coldblooded murders had been committed in Natrona county and not once had the assassin been required to pay adequate punishment and in a number of cases they were turned scot-free.

The first and only case where the extreme punishment was meted out by an organized body of men to a person with whom the law seemed too lenient occurred on Friday, March 28, 1902, forty minutes after midnight when twenty-four masked men went to the county jail, knocked on the door of the sheriff's office and told Sheriff Warren E. Tubbs they had a prisoner to be put in the jail and when the sheriff appeared at the door he was overpowered, bound and gagged and taken into one of the private rooms where two men stood guard over him. The keys to the jail were taken from him and Charles F. Woodard was taken from his cell and hanged to the gallows which had been built for his legal execution. Woodard had been given a trial in the district court, found guilty, and sentenced by Judge Charles W. Bramel to be hanged on the day the vigilance committee did its work, but the condemned man had been granted a stay of execution by the supreme court in order that it might

Vigilance Committee Hangs Woodard 287

Woodard made no outcry or resistance when the masked men appeared at the door of his cell, but when he was being taken out he asked to be allowed to put on his clothes. He was told that he would require no clothmg, that he need not be afraid of freezing to death. A tight-fitting flannel shirt was all that covered his body and this was considerably shrunk from frequent laundering and left the nether man exposed to the biting blasts of the severe March weather. There were several inches of snow on the ground.

The gallows was constructed on the north side of the jail and a stockade had been built around it. The condemned man had to walk about twenty yards in the snow from the door of the jail to the gallows. A rope was placed around the man's neck as soon as he was taken from his cell, and, surrounded by the men, he was thus led up to the death trap. The other end of the rope was thrown over the cross-bar and it was then the trembling and frightened man cried out:

"These are the last words to my blessed little wife: Tell my dear little wife that I loved her dearly. Won't you tell her that, boys ? I pray that you have the papers print this. O, God, forgive me for my sins. I pray for myself and I pray for Charley Ricker. I never had any grudge against him in God's world.

"Don't choke me, boys. For God's sake, you are choking me. Don't choke me to death. O, God, have mercy on me. God have mercy on my soul and I pray for my blessed little wife. Don't choke me to death, boys! You are choking me. Please don't choke me. I did not shoot Charley Ricker on purpose. Lord, have mercy on me and my dear little wife."

With the rope tightly drawn about his neck he was then lifted on the trap, but he gave a spring off from it before the lever could be pulled and in making the jump, he slipped and fell. He was then picked up by several of the men and thrown over the railing on the north side of the gallows. When the rope was drawn to full tension, there were a few fearful struggles and nervous twitches of the body dangling in the air, and two of the men caught hold of his feet and gave them several hard jerks. They then drew the body toward the north and letting loose the dangling and almost lifeless form of the wretched man, it swung back and struck the framework of the gallows.

being ever heard. He was choking to death. Everybody was silent for a moment and the gurgHng sound kept getting fainter and fainter, until life was extinct. A card was pinned on the man's shirt which read as follows:

The men then filed out of the stockade and scattered in all directions. It was just one hour from the time Woodard was taken from his cell until his lifeless body was cut down from the gallows and taken to the town hall. E. H. French, Steve Tobin and John Grieve were impaneled as a coroner's jury and they returned a verdict to the effect that Charles Francis Woodard met his death from strangulation by being hanged by the neck with a rope by a vigilance committee, the names of the men being unknown to them.

Governor Fenimore Chatterton the next day wired Prosecuting Attorney Alex T. Butler to make every effort to ascertain the names of the men of the vigilance committee and vigorously prosecute them for "debauching the state's fair name." The prosecuting attorney could no doubt have easily discovered who most of the members of the vigilance committee were, but he, like most of the citizens, considered that the vigilance committee had done a good job and the matter of an investigation was overlooked entirely.

Woodard was arrested during the month of November, 1901, on a charge of grand larceny. He was bound over to the district court for trial, and being unable to procure bondsmen, was incarcerated in the county jail. On the night of December 30, he, with several other prisoners, escaped from the jail by sawing off one of the bars in the corridor window and crawling through.

Sheriff W. C. Ricker and a number of deputies went to the Woodard ranch, near Garfield Peak, about seventy-five miles west from Casper, in search of the escaped prisoners, reaching there on the evening of January 2. The sheriff and his men put their horses in the stable and went to the house. Woodard arrived at the ranch shortly afterwards, and seeing the horses in the barn, he knew the officers were waiting for him. He went into the barn intending to take a horse belonging to one of the officers and ride away. Sheriff Ricker told his men he thought he heard a noise in the barn and that he would go down and investigate. When the sheriff was within ten feet of the barn door, Woodard fired at the officer, shooting him through the body, and while the sheriff was lying on the ground in a dying condition, Woodard emerged from the barn and struck him in the face with his six-shooter, thus knocking the last spark of Hfe out of the already dying man. He then robbed the dead officer of forty-five dollars in money and took his six-shooter and a belt filled with cartridges. The deputies at the house by this time commenced shooting toward the barn and Woodard fired at them, preventing them from coming to the rescue of their fallen comrade.

During the night, Woodard made his escape from the barn on one of the officers' horses. He traveled over the country for about ten days, sleeping in some abandoned cabin when he slept at all and his sustenance consisted of rabbits that he killed and half-cooked. A posse of more than one hundred men was organized to apprehend him, but he managed to elude them. A reward of $1,000 was oflFered by the county for his capture and cards giving a description of the criminal and announcing the reward were sent broadcast.

He reached Arvada, a small station on the Burlington railroad In northern Wyoming, after about ten days and there abandoned his horse, and mounting a freight train went to Billings; from Billings he went to Laurel, Montana, where he met a man named Owens and went to the Owens ranch to work, giving his name as Bill Gad. Owens had read about Woodard's crime and recognized him, but promised to protect him. However, after writing to the authorities in Casper and being assured that he would receive the reward if he captured Woodard, he and a man named Berkhelmer set about to turn him over to the authorities. One day as the three men were eating their dinner, Berkhelmer got up from the table, pretending that he was sick. He went behind Woodard's chair, and at the same time Owens arose and pointing a gun at Woodard ordered him to surrender. Woodard started to get up and he was struck on the head with a gun by Berkhelmer and a terrible fight ensued. Woodard's head was cut open In three places, both eyes were blackened, and his face was bruised and cut In such a horrible manner that he could hardly be recognized by the people who knew him. He was taken to Billings and there placed in jail. The authorities of Natrona county were notified of the capture and Sheriff Tubbs and Deputy Sheriff James B. Grieve went to Billings and brought him to Casper. They arrived here at 11 o'clock on the night of January 29. There were over 300 people at the depot, most of whom were bent on taking the prisoner from the sheriff and lynching him. About thirty men formed a V at the steps of the passenger coach when the officers and the criminal emerged and they surrounded the three men and escorted them to the county jail, but the large crowd followed the party to the jail determined to lynch the murderer if they could get hold of him.

District court was in session at the time, and Woodard was given a speedy trial. Judge Bramel appointed C. de Bennet and John M. Hench to defend the prisoner and Alex T. Butler prosecuted the case. The trial was held in the town hall which was then located on Center street directly opposite from where the Consolidated Royalty Oil company building now stands. The little room was filled to overflowing every day of the trial. After all the evidence was adduced and the attorneys made their arguments, the court gave his instructions. It did not take the jury long to return a verdict of "Guilty of murder in the first degree," and in pronouncing sentence upon the condemned man, Judge Bramel said:

"To pronounce the dreadful sentence which is to cut a fellow mortal oflF from society, to deprive him of existence, and to send him to the bar of his creator, and his God, where his destiny must be fixed for eternity, is at all times, and under any circumstances, most painful to the court. But to be compelled to consign to the gallows a man in the full prime of manhood presses upon my feelings with a weight which I can neither resist nor express.

"If, in the discharge of this most painful duty which can ever devolve on any court, I should in portraying the horrid circumstances of this case, make use of strong language to express the enormity of your guilt, and the deep depravity which it indicates, I wish you to rest assured it is not with any intention of wounding the feelings of your relatives, nor for the purpose of adding one pang to your own afflictions which the righteous hand of an offended God is pressing so heavily upon you. But it will be for the purpose, if possible, of awakenmg you to a proper sense of your awful situation, and to prepare you to meet the certain and ignominious death which shortly awaits you. It is to endeavor, if possible, to soften your heart, and to produce a reformation in your feelings; that, by contrition and repentance you may be able to shun a punishment infinitely more dreadful than any that can be inflicted by human laws - the eternal and irretrievable ruin of your guilty soul.

" From the testimony which was given at the trial, there is no room to doubt the certainty of your guilt, and the aggravated circumstances of the bloody deed. The man you murdered was an officer of the law, and treated you kindly while you were in his custody. In following you up after your escape from jail, he was simply performing a duty imposed on him by law. On the evening when you perpetrated this crime, he was unconscious of the hatred for him which found lodgment in your heart, and walked towards the stable where you were lying in wait for him, he believed that his treatment of yourself as well as the other prisoners who escaped with you, insured him protection at your hands. Instead of this you waited his approach, concealed by the darkness of night, you prepared for the crime, and as he approached the stable door you deliberately shot him down. Following this, and while he was in the throes of his death agony, you struck him with your six-shooter to finish him, as you yourself have expressed it, and then you robbed his remains like a ghoul. While in your own statement upon the stand you have denied doing some of these things, the conclusion that you did do them is inseparable from the evidence.

"The punishment of death has been pronounced against the crime of murder, not only by the laws of civilized nations, but also by the law which was written by the pen of inspiration under the dictation of the unerring wisdom of the Most High. And as God himself has prescribed the righteous penalty for this offense, so there is strong reason to believe that very few murders are committed which are not ultimately discovered, and the wicked perpetrators thereof brought to justice.

" Wretched and deluded man; in vain you have attempted to escape the consequence of your act; in vain have you ridden through the winter storms to elude the vigilance of your pursuers; in vain have you attempted to impress upon the hearts of twelve good and true men who sat upon your trial, that you should have clemency.

Murphy Murder Case 29I

"One can almost see the hand of God, in the weaving together of the remarkable chain of evidence, that makes your escape from the punishment that waits you impossible. The sword of human justice trembles over you, and is about to fall upon your guilty head. You are about to take your final leave of this world and enter upon the untried retributions of a never-ending eternity. And I beg of you, do not delude yourself with the vain hope of pardon or executive clemency, which can never be realized. Your destiny for this world is fixed and your fate is inevitable. Let me, therefore, entreat you, by every motive, temporal and eternal, to reflect upon your present situation, and the certain death that surely awaits you.

"There is but one who can pardon your offenses; your creator. Let me, therefore, entreat you to fly to him for that mercy and that pardon which you must not expect from mortals.

"When you have returned to the solitude of your prison, where you will be permitted to remain for a few short weeks, let me entreat you by all that is still dear to you, in time, by all that is dreadful in the retributions of eternity, that you seriously reflect upon your present situation and upon the conduct of your past life. Bring to your mind the horror of that dreadful night, when the soul of the murdered sheriff was sent unprepared into the presence of his God, where you must shortly meet it as an accusing spirit against you.

" Bring to your recollection the mortal struggles and dying groans of the man who had been kind to you and yours. Think of the situation of your wife, and your aged mother who nursed you in the lap of affection and watched over the tender years of your infancy. Then think of the widow and orphan children of the murdered sheriff, left alone as they are to battle the storm of life, by your hand, and when by such reflections as these your heart shall have become softened, let me again entreat you, before your bloodstained hands are raised in unavailing supplication before the judgment seat of Christ, that you fly for mercy to the arms of the Savior and endeavor to seize upon the salvation of the cross.

"Listen, now, to the dreadful sentence of the law, and then farewell, forever, until the court and you, with all this assembled audience shall meet together in the land from whence no man returneth.

" You, Charles Francis JVoodard, are to be taken from hence to the county jail of this county, and therein confined, under proper guard as provided by law, until the 28th day of March, IQ02, at which time, between the hours of g a. m. and 5 p. m. you are to be taken to an enclosure, specially prepared within the jail yard of said county, and that at said time and place you be hanged by your neck, until you are dead.

At the head of Deep creek in the Big Horn mountains, on June 14, 1902, at about 9:30 at night, at the sheep camp of E. S. Murphy, Fred Kassahn, twenty-three years of age, was shot and killed and Van Ferris, eighteen years old, was shot in the right arm by a posse of men composed of E. S. Murphy, Elmer Roe, W. F. Edgerton, J. B. Okie, William Griffin, Harry Martin, T. J. Hicks, and Fred Urine. Kassahn's head was shot off and it was necessary to amputate Ferris' arm at the shoulder. The two men had been working in Murphy's sheep camp and a quarrel resulted when the men were paid off. Kassahn and Ferris had caused considerable trouble and had made numerous threats against Murphy and his men. On the day they left Murphy's employ they beat the camp mover with a quirt, tried to run Murphy down with a horse and threatened to kill him and burn his property. They then went to Murphy's sheep wagon on Deep creek and took possession.

The posse organized in the evening and went over to the wagon where the two men had taken possession. The posse surrounded the wagon and called to the men to come out. The men arose from their bed and Ferris ran out, but before he got out of the wagon he was shot in the arm. Kassahn secured a gun before he attempted to get out and his head was shot off while he was yet in the wagon.

Criminal complaints were issued against Murphy and Martin, charging them with the murder of Kassahn and at the preliminary trial, held June 21, Murphy was held to the district court for trial and his bond was fixed at $10,000. Martin was also held and his bond placed at $2,000. At the preliminary trial, Murphy and Martin took the full responsibility of the shooting, but when the trial came up in the district court, which was held the latter part of November, the names of all the men who participated in the affair were brought to light. The first trial resulted in a disagreement of the jury. Court was then adjourned and the case came to trial again in July, 1903, and again the jury could not reach a verdict, the vote showing eleven for conviction against one for acquittal, while in the previous trial, the jury stood nine for acquittal and three for conviction. These two trials had cost the county in the neighborhood of $12,000 and there were but about 250 men left in the county qualified to act as jurors in the case. At this time, Murphy made an affidavit to the effect that he was bankrupt and destitute; that he had no money, no property, and no credit, and that he could not secure counsel to defend him at another trial and he asked that the court appoint an attorney for his defense and that the county provide the fee for said attorney.

The court adjourned and the case was set for January 11, 1904, but at the meeting of the board of county commissioners held October 6, 1903, the following resolution was adopted: "Be it resolved that the board of county commissioners request the county attorney to dismiss the case of the State versus Edwin S. Murphy." The resolution was adopted by the following vote: E. L. McGraugh, aye; P. C. Nicolaysen, nay; T. S. Steed, aye. This ended the case. Murphy disposed of what interests he had left in the county and returned to his former home in the east where he has been content to remain ever since.

The first two trials were held before Judge C. W. Bramel. Alex T. Butler was prosecuting attorney, E. D. Norton, F. D. Hammond, of Casper, and T. F. Burke, of Cheyenne, were the attorneys for the defense. At the last trial, C. E. Carpenter was the trial judge and J. M. Hench was the prosecuting attorney, while the same attorneys acted for the defense. In accordance with the resolution adopted by the board of county commissioners, a nolle proseqtii was entered at the January, 1904, term of court. The case against Martin was also dismissed and no charge was ever preferred against any of the other men who participated in the shooting.

James M. Carey was found dead in his ranch house in the Muddy country seventeen miles east from Casper on the evening of October 19, 1903. In the barn were two dead horses which had starved to death. The body was discovered by Hugh Atkinson, Oscar Creel and Myron Spencer. It was badly decomposed, and it was evident that death had resulted two weeks before. It was evident that the man had died from natural causes and a verdict was so rendered by a coroner's jury. A grave was dug a short distance from the house and the body was interred where it remained several months, when relatives caused it to be disinterred and brought to Casper.

Some people seemed to be of the opinion that the man had been murdered, and to satisfy them before the body was interred in Highland cemetery Drs. A. F. Hoff and T. A. Dean made a post mortem examination, taking out the heart and stomach and sawing the skull open. They also made a thorough examination of the body. They were unable to find any indications of violence, bullet holes, bruises, fractures, or poison, and they decided that he came to his death from natural causes.

James Carey was a bachelor, possessing considerable ranch property in the Big Muddy country. He made frequent trips to Casper and after making small purchases at the stores, he generally visited the saloons where he drank whiskey until he was in such a condition that he was helpless. He had visited Casper shortly before his death and it is supposed that he died from exposure and alcoholism.

Ed. Baker, a colored man, forty-one years of age, was shot and killed at 2:45 in the morning, December 18, 191 2, by Mrs. Clarence Hill, also colored. Baker, with half a dozen other colored people, spent the night at the Hill residence on south David street in Casper, and all consumed a considerable quantity of intoxicating liquor. They were having a hilarious time, and there was more or less quar- reling. The guests were finally ordered to leave the house and when they were out in the yard Baker made some remarks and a threat which aroused the anger of the hostess and without further ado she shot him in the stomach and he died within a few hours. Mrs. Hill was held to the district court for trial upon the charge of murder, and at the January, 1913, term the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, deeming it justifiable homicide.

Roy Landers, alias Roy Grant, alias Grant Smith, was shot and killed on the streets of Casper by George Edwards on January 26, 191 3. Landers had worked on the Edwards ranch in Bates Park and induced Mrs. Edwards to go with him to Nebraska, leaving her husband and four little children. Landers was brought back to Casper and pleaded guilty to the charge of inducing Mrs. Edwards to leave the state with him, and was sentenced to serve fifteen months in the penitentiary. Sheriff J. A. Sheffner was escorting Landers and another prisoner, named J. E. Wolford, from the court house to the Northwestern railway passenger station, with the intention of taking them to the penitentiary. The two prisoners were handcuffed together and were walking several feet ahead of the sheriff and his deputy. Edwards stood in the recess of the side door of the Webel store on Center street and when the men came along the sidewalk opposite to where he was standing, he shot Landers through the chest near the heart. The sheriff took the gun away from Edwards and hastened to his prisoners, who had gone a distance of about thirty feet into the street before the wounded man fell. The sheriff unlocked the handcuffs and took charge of Wolford, turned Edwards over to the deputy and started the wounded man for the hospital in an ambulance, but he died within an hour after being shot. A coroner's jury was impaneled to make an investigation of the shooting, and a verdict was returned to the effect that "Roy Landers came to his death as a result of a gun-shot wound, inflicted by a party or parties unknown." The sympathy of the community was with Edwards, and although many witnesses testified that they saw Edwards fire the shot and saw Landers fall immediately afterwards, the members of the coroner's jury contended that they could not tell whether it was the bullet from Edwards' gun or from some one's else that killed the man. Notwithstanding the result of the coroner's jury and the sentiment of the people in favor of Edwards, he was held to the district court for trial without bail upon the charge of murder in the first degree. The trial was had within a few days after the tragedy and he was acquitted. Edwards returned to his ranch with his wife and children, but the kilHng of a man on account of her unfaithfulness did not seem to cause a very deep or lasting impression upon Mrs. Edwards, and on June 17, 1913, Edwards shot and killed Fred Ott, the cause of this shooting being unfaithfulness of Mrs. Edwards, the same as the one which had occurred less than five months previous. The tragedy occurred at the Edwards ranch in Bates Park. Three shots were fired by Edwards while the two men and the woman were in the house, tw^o of the bullets entering Ott's back, the third missed. Ott ran out of the house and made his way to the bunk house. The woman rode to the nearest neighbors and telephoned to Casper for a doctor and for the sheriff. After Mrs. Edwards had gone to the neighbors, Edwards followed Ott to the bunk house and while the prostrate man was pleading for his life Edwards deliberately shot him in the back again, which ended his life. Edwards was brought to Casper and lodged in the county jail, with a charge against him of murder in the first degree. A change of venue was taken, and his trial was had in Douglas, Converse county, in January, 1914, about a year after his trial in Casper for the killing of Landers. A verdict of manslaughter was returned by the jury and he was sentenced to serve twenty years in the penitentiary. After he was sentenced Mrs. Edwards took from her finger her wedding ring and handed it to the condemned man with the remark that she was through with him. After serving several years in the penitentiary Edwards received a pardon, and made a new start in life by taking a ranch and establishing a home for his children in the southwestern part of the state.

While in their room at their boarding house in Salt Creek on Friday afternoon, January 8, 1915, Wilmer P. Palmer murdered his wife by cutting her throat w^ith a razor. He then slashed his own throat with the razor but the wound was slight. He was brought to Casper and placed in the hospital and was fully recovered in a week. At a preliminary trial held upon his removal from the hospital he was held to the district court for trial without bond upon the charge of murder in the first degree. On April 19, 191 5, he was found guilty as charged and the next morning at about 2:30 he again attempted to commit suicide by cutting the arteries of his left wrist with a safety razor blade. Some of the other prisoners at once notified the sheriff and a physician was called and prevented him from bleeding to death. Within a week after he was found guilty the court sentenced him to be hanged on Friday, August 6, 191 5, and he was taken to the penitentiary at Rawhns where the sentence of the court was obeyed on the above date by the warden of the state penitentiary.

Bess Fisher, a woman of the underworld, on October 26, 1917, shot and killed Lawrence Barrett in the Rhinoceros restaurant at Casper. The woman alleged that Barrett had squandered considerable of her money while they lived at Anchorage, Alaska, and when her money was gone he would have nothing more to do with her and soon left Alaska. She followed him to Casper, hoping to win back his affections or have her money returned. After arriving in Casper she had several unsatisfactory conferences with him and on the above date, while she was sitting at a table in the restaurant, Barrett and his wife came in. As Barrett was about to sit down at a table the Fisher woman arose from her chair with such haste and excitement that she turned the table over and spilled the dishes on the floor, but before Barrett had taken his seat she drew a gun from her pocket and fired. The bullet entered Barrett's right arm, passed through his heart and through his body and came out under his left arm above the elbow. After Barrett had fallen to the floor the Fisher woman held the smoking gun in her hand, and with a sneer on her face looked at Mrs. Barrett as if to say that if she could not have him no other woman could. She then went to the counter and gave up her gun. She was taken to jail and her trial was had at the March term of court in 1918. Before the jury she pretended to be sick, almost fainting several times, and when she talked she would speak scarcely above a whisper. She acted the part so well that some of the jurors no doubt were to a considerable extent influenced in favor of returning a verdict that they would not have returned for Barrett had the situations been reversed. She testified in her own behalf, claiming that she shot the man in self-defense; that when Barrett entered the restaurant he said to her: "Fll get you yet." She then stepped back from her chair and fired. This was her strongest argument for shooting and killing the man she pretended to love; the man who had squandered her money and deserted her; the man who was married to another woman, but it was enough to satisfy eleven jurors, and after deliberating sixty-three hours, a verdict was not reached, one juror holding out for conviction, against eleven who favored acquittal. The jury was discharged. Court adjourned without a re-trial, and in June the woman was released from the county jail under bonds of ^5,000, and at the September term of the district court the case was

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Lawrence Nina Friccero was shot and killed at about 2 o'clock in the morning of December 21, 1918, by Zura Eagleston. Eagleston was aided and abetted by Sam Larsen. The shooting occurred in a room over the Iris theater, which was used as a gambling joint. The killing of Friccero was in cold blood, while he had his hands in the air begging for his life. Eagleston, Larsen and Friccero were engaged in a game of poker when an argument arose, and Larsen pulled a knife on Friccero and Eagleston pulled a gun. Friccero backed in a corner with his hands in the air and declared that he did not want to fight; that he was unarmed and that if the men would let him go away there would be no more argument or quarreling. The two men searched Friccero and then Eagleston deliberately shot him through the stomach. The wounded man was taken to the hospital and died in about twelve hours. Eagleston and Larsen were arrested, but Larsen was discharged. At the term of the district court in March, Eagleston was convicted of murder in the second degree and was sentenced to serve from twenty-one to twenty-five years in the penitentiary.

Charles Moore, H. J. Evans, H. B. Armstrong, Roy E. Martin and Lawson Hallowell, the three former being taxi-drivers and the two latter engaged in the plumbing business, but whose principal occupation was bootlegging, were the principals in an atrocious murder Sunday morning, November 2, 1919, when Deputy Sheriff Tom Majors was shot in the arm and the head with a shot gun and instantly killed and County Jailer George McKenzie was shot in the right shoulder. Martin was shot in the right breast three times and the thumb of his right hand was shot off by one of the deputy sheriffs. McKenzie and Martin were taken to the hospital and in due time both recovered from their wounds.

Armstrong and Moore had previously been arrested upon the charge of stealing $40,000 worth of whiskey, but the case against them was dismissed on account of the lack of evidence. It was learned that about two hundred cases of liquor had been stored on the Martin property, and at 4 o'clock in the morning Sheriff Pat Royce, Deputy Sheriffs Tom Majors, W. E. Kilgore, Charles Easton and George McKenzie and Special Detective Roberts of the Burlington railway went to the Martin plumbing shop to make a raid on the bootleggers. When the officers surrounded the building, Armstrong and Martin came around a corner armed with shot guns. Majors saw them approaching and called to them to put up their hands. "Go to hell! Put up your own," was the answer and command of Armstrong, and without further parley he fired at the officer. The first shot shattered the deputy sheriff's right hand and the second shot struck him full in the mouth, the charge passing through and blew out the back of his head. Martin opened fire at about the same time and wounded McKenzie, but before he could fire a second time Roberts opened fire on him, with the result of four bullets taking effect, three in his chest and one shattering his thumb. Armstrong and Martin then ran to Martin's house which was near by. When the smoke of the tragedy had cleared away search was made of the premises and great quantities of liquor were found buried under the floor of the plumbers' shop, the cases being covered with several inches of earth.

Armstrong and Moore were placed in jail and Martin was guarded by a deputy sheriff in the hospital. Evans and Hallowell were dismissed. The board of county commissioners appointed C. E. Winter and M. W. Purcell as special prosecutors for the county to prosecute the case against the assassins. This action of the county commissioners caused Prosecuting Attorney W. E. Patten to feel slighted, and he caused the arrest of Sheriff Royce and Deputy Kilgore at 2:30 in the morning of November 6, charging them with feloniously attacking Armstrong on the morning of November 2, with the purpose of committing violent injury upon him. The sheriff and his deputy were dispossessed of the office and Constable John McClellan, who served the warrants on the officers, took charge. The trial of the sheriff and his deputy were had before Judge W. E. Tubbs without delay and the cases against them were dismissed, and the sentiment of the community was so strong against the prosecuting attorney that he was forced to resign, and the feeling against the men who were charged with the murder of the deputy sheriff was such that a number of citizens organized and no doubt would have dealt out justice without waiting for trial by the courts had they not been assured by the special prosecuting attorneys, the county commissioners and other county officers that a speedy trial would be had and that justice would be meted out without unnecessary delay. Circulars were distributed about the city and notices were published in the newspapers by the county commissioners as follows :

"In face of the terrible tragedy, in the interest of the welfare of our city and county, we appeal to all good citizens to remain calm and assist the officers in maintain-

John J, Corbett Slain 299

"Because he enforced the law against bootleggers and murderers the sheriff of this county is ordered thrown in jail by a county attorney, and an unexperienced constable ordered placed in entire charge of the court house. Not only are our officers murdered in cold blood by bootleggers, but the sheriff and his deputies who arrested the murderers are ordered arrested. Where will this state of affairs lead us to? What will be the result of this latest insult to constituted authority? Do these thugs, thieves and bootleggers and their accomplices believe the people will fold their hands and look on with complacency while our laws are being trampled under foot and dragged in the slime of corruption? Where in the history of court proceeding has such an outrage a parallel? We may even look to Bolshevik Russia for a precedent and come away in bitter disappointment. Casper has drained the cup of lawlessness down to its bitter dregs, and the upright citizen's blood is beginning to boil. Law and order must be preserved. Bolshevism rnust be crushed. The spirit of outlawry must be smothered. Without respect for constituted authority and reverence for the rule of right, democratic government will crumble, our institutions become a mockery and our glories a dream.'

Upon the assurance that a speedy trial would be had the people calmly awaited the action of the courts. At a preliminary trial held before Justice Tubbs on November 16 the three men were held to the district court for trial without bond upon the charge of murder in the first degree. At the December term of the district court in Natrona county a change of venue was demanded and granted and the case was ordered to be tried in Douglas before a Converse county jury at the April term of the district court. The case against Armstrong was the first to come to trial. There was no question in the minds of the people of Casper but a conviction would be had, and if ever a man deserved hanging it was the defendant, but be it said to the everlasting shame of the jurymen, some of the witnesses who gave perjured testimony, and others connected with the trial, a verdict of not guilty was returned by the jury, and once more the people of Natrona were compelled to witness a travesty of justice and the rights of good citizenship flung to the four winds. The charges against Moore and Martin were immediately dismissed after the verdict of not guilty was returned in the Armstrong case, and thus ended the farce with the courts, and the murder of Tom Majors has never been avenged.

One of the most deplorable and ruthless murders in the annals of Natrona county was committed on or about January 20, 1920. John J. Corbett, 46 years old, a pioneer ranchman living about five miles southeast of Casper, was shot down in cold blood by a robber whom he surprised in the act of looting the ranch house. The crime was not discovered for about a week after it was committed, for Corbett lived alone and, although well liked by his neighbors, he visited them rarely. Starving livestock first attracted the attention of Ray Carroll, who resided on an adjoining ranch. He went to the Corbett ranch, and seeing no one about, fed the cattle and two work horses which were tied in the stable. Carroll reported the matter to the sheriff's office that afternoon and the next morning at daylight a posse went to the Corbett place to make an investigation. They found Corbett's body in the cellar which had been locked and the door nailed with several large spikes. There were five bullet wounds, one of them a flesh wound. Any one of the other four would have caused death. A saddle pony was found shot and in the barn were a blood-stained saddle and saddle blanket. The interior of the house was in utter confusion. The robber had emptied the dresser and desk drawers, strewing the contents on the floor. Every possible hiding place for money was ransacked. A grip had been cut open with a knife. Money seemed to be the only object of the robber's search, for he left behind several hundred dollars' worth of jewelry and negotiable papers. A sorrel horse was missing from the ranch and it was assumed that the murderer had ridden it away. It was recovered near Glendo. A rancher there had purchased it and was able to give a complete description of the man from whom he had bought it. This was valuable information, but the chances of capturing the criminal were still slight. Jack Corbett, as he was known to his friends, was well liked by all who knew him and it was said he had not an enemy. Rewards for the apprehension of the murderer amounting to ^i ,500 were offered by the county and by friends. Sheriff Pat Royce and County Attorney A. R. Lowey made every eflPort to solve the mystery. Thousands of circulars were distributed by the sheriff. Every sheriff and chief of police in the country was notified and Sheriff Royce kept in close touch with every peace officer and railroad detective known to him. It was a discouraging chase and dragged on for months. Then on October 7, the sheriff received the following message: "Alamogordo, New Mexico, October 7. Have party in jail that fills description perfectly of R. L. Livingston alias Richie. He is your man without doubt. Can you come and identify? Ben West, Lieutenant Railroad Police." The Alamogordo officials were wired to hold the man and send a photograph for identification. The photograph tallied with the description furnished by the Glendo rancher and the sheriflF went to New Mexico. Ben West had just received a post card from Sheriff Royce on the night the fugitive was captured, when he ran into him in a restaurant. The description on the card tallied so closely with the man's appearance that West picked him up and held him for the Natrona county authorities. The reward of ^1,500 was paid to West shortly afterwards. Sheriff Royce carefully followed all the threads of evidence against the prisoner before resting assured that he had the right man. He traced the fellow's movements from the time he left Casper until he reached Alamogordo. The sheriff traced the guns taken from the Corbett ranch and later pawned and also recovered a pair of chaps identified by the Glendo rancher as those worn by the man from whom he had purchased the sorrel horse. The criminal was brought to Denver and Attorney Lowey gave him the "third degree" for two days in a room in a hotel in that city and finally secured a complete confession. He confessed to a series of burglaries and admitted that he had escaped from the Michigan reformatory and was a deserter from the army. He claimed that his name was neither Livingston nor Richie, but was Jesse R. Atkins. Upon investigation this was found to be correct. The laws of the state of Wyoming do not permit a district judge to pronounce sentence upon a man charged with first degree murder without a trial. Even though Atkins had confessed, it was necessary to hold a trial before a jury and appoint legal counsel for the accused. He was tried in January, 1921, and although the authorities had declared they would seek the death penalty for Corbett's slayer, they found upon investigation that it might be impossible to secure such a verdict. The prisoner was under age and it was discovered that his attorneys would be able to use some damaging insanity evidence. Atkins's mother at last reports was confined in an insane asylum at Kalamazoo and two brothers had been committed to the asylum before their deaths. On January 19, 1921, Atkins pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the state penitentiary.

Claude Teanor, a cook in a Casper restaurant, shot and killed his wife and then committed suicide in the Wyatt hotel on September 28, 1920. The tragedy was the result of two weeks' brooding by Teanor over an estrangement. Teanor had abused his wife for months previous to their separation and she had been forced to leave him and obtain employment as a waitress. She refused to return to her husband, although he had made many appeals to her. On the morning of the tragedy Teanor went to his wife's room which she occupied with two other girls. None of them had arisen, but Mrs. Teanor got out of bed and admitted him to the room. After Teanor demanded that his wife return to live with him, he asked with an air of finality: "Are you coming back to me?" She replied, "No," whereupon he drew a revolver and shot her twice, through her heart and her head. She died instantly. He then shot himself under the right eye and died a few hours later at the state hospital.

The quotation that "Hell hath no fury like unto a woman scorned," was truly applicable in the case of Mrs. Jessie Ackerman, who murdered Adelbert Hoffay in Casper on the night of October 6, 1920. The Ackerman and HofFay families were intimate friends; Mrs. Ackerman called upon Mrs. Hoffay late in the afternoon on the above date and was invited to remain for supper; she said she would remain provided Mr. Hoffay would accompany her home; she said she was afraid to go home alone after dark. Hoffay agreed to go home with her, but after supper he delegated his wife to accompany Mrs. Ackerman home. This caused the Ackerman woman to fly into a rage, and she freely expressed her opinion of Hoffay in abusive and foul language. At about 7:30 Hoffay went to the Ackerman home after his wife; Mrs. Ackerman came to the door, apologized for her hasty words and invited Hoffay to come in. Hoffay said: "I don't care to enter your house after the way you acted tonight." Mrs. Ackerman flew into another rage and cried out: "I'll kill you for that!" and immediately started for another room after a gun, and she came forth with a small gauge shot gun and pressed it against the man's side. He said: "I didn't come here to have trouble with you. I came to take my wife home; go ahead, I'm not afraid of a gun," whereupon Mrs. Ackerman cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. The charge from the gun entered the man's side below the left shoulder blade, the shot ranging downward, puncturing the lung and shattering the spinal column. When the man fell, Mrs. Ackerman stooped over him and said: "Forgive me, Del, before you die." The wounded man was taken to the hospital, where in a short time hemorrhage of the lungs caused his death. The woman was taken to jail and on November 9 at her preliminary trial she was held to the district court for trial without bond upon the charge of murder in the first degree.

The case came to trial on March 13. The court room was jammed full of people, mostly women, during the four days of the trial. Many of the women came to the court room an hour before court convened, and brought lunch with them so they could hold their seats during the entire session of the day. The aisles on the sides and between the seats were crowded with so many people that there was danger of the floor giving way.

De Wald Shoots Rosenberry 303

Mrs. HofFay and her nine-year-old son Meredith, both of whom witnessed the shooting, testified that Mrs. Ackerman wilfully, deliberately and maliciously shot their husband and father, and although both underwent the most severe cross-examination their testimony was not shaken in any particular.

Testifying in her own behalf, between sobs, which were put on in a manner that would have been a credit to a professional actress, Mrs. Ackerman admitted that she fired the shot that caused the death of HofFay, and that she was angry with him when she fired the shot, "but I didn't know the gun was loaded," she said, "and merely used it to scare HofFay away from my house after we had some words. Never at any time did I threaten to kill him, and when the gun went ofF I was sorry and terribly scared. I jabbed him with the barrel of the gun and then it exploded."

This was the strongest testimony adduced in behalf of the defendant, but it was enough. The jury cast aside the testimony of the wife and son of the dead man, cast aside the law in the case, cast aside the common-sense judgment that God w-as supposed to have given them, and yielded to sentiment and sympathy and returned a verdict of not guilty, and another woman with a man's life blood on her hands walked out of the hall of "Justice" free, thus ending the crowning farce ever enacted in the courts of Natrona county.

An old grudge resulted in the killing of Frank Rosenberry, 45, a rancher, by John P. De Wald, a teamster and ranch hand, early on the morning of October 10, 1920, at Bucknum. The men were in the kitchen of a boarding house conducted by Mrs. Alta Rosenberry, a sister-in-law of Rosenberry's. When Rosenberry entered the room, he began to abuse and threaten De Wald, as was his custom. To avoid trouble, De Wald left the house, but Rosenberry followed him, and, with the statement that he was going to kill De Wald right then, he put his hand into his hip pocket. At this, De Wald drew a revolver and fired four shots, two of which took efFect. De Wald wired the sherifF's office at Casper, saying he had killed a man and to come for him and bring a coroner. He then calmly awaited the arrival of the officers. Rosenberry was an old-timer in Natrona county and, with his brother, John, operated a ranch on North Casper creek. He was also part owner of the boarding house where he met his death. De Wald was employed by a soda company at Sodium. Previous to his enlistment in the army, he was a sheep herder. He had seen twentysix months' service abroad during the world war and had taken part in the Verdun offensive. At the preHminary hearing De Wald was bound over to the district court on a charge of second degree murder and his bond was fixed at ^2,000. It was one of the longest preHminary hearings ever held in Natrona county and there were more witnesses introduced than at any other similar hearing. The trial was held over two terms of court and finally Judge C. O. Brown ordered it brought up on November 3, 1921. Unique in court procedure here, M. W. Purcell, the prosecuting county attorney, defended De Wald, while W. H. Patten and S. E. Phelps acted for the state. Mr. Purcell stepped out of his position as public prosecutor in order to represent De Wald because at the original hearing which was held before Mr. Purcell's appointment to the office, he had been retained by De Wald. His main object, it is said, in defending De Wald was that he had promised De Wald's mother that he would do his utmost to clear her son. The trial developed the facts that Rosenberry and De Wald had clashed several times, that on the day of the shooting, Rosenberry had taken the offensive and that De Wald fired only after repeated threats by Rosenberry against his life. Mr. Purcell defended him valiantly and when the case went to the jury at 10 o'clock on the night of November 3, Mr. Purcell asked that a verdict of not guilty be returned in fifteen minutes. De Wald was acquitted on the first ballot, the jury returning in ten minutes.

John Peckham killed his wife and committed suicide on February 4, 1921, at the home of Mrs. Beatrice Maltby, whom he also shot and seriously wounded. The Peckhams had been married but eighteen months, but in that time had been separated twice. At the time of the shooting, they had been separated for about a week and Mrs. Peckham was living at the home of Mrs. Maltby. Several times each day, Peckham visited his wife and begged her to return to him. On the day of the shooting, after writing farewell notes to his former wife and his children and his father and mother, he went to see his wife again. She refused his appeals to return to him and he drew a gun and shot her. Mrs. Maltby interceded for Mrs. Peckham and he turned on her and shot her through the breast. He then shot Mrs. Peckham once more and turned the gun on himself and sent a bullet through his brain. Peckham was an employee of the Midwest field garage and Mrs. Peckham had been employed in Casper as a domestic. They were both about 49 years of age.

Convicted Murderer Escapes Jail 305

On March 10, 1921, Edward Shuster, about 30 years of age, a taxi driver, was shot and killed by L. B. Nicholson, a former police officer of Casper. Shuster had been called to a chop suey restaurant on the Sandbar, and when he drove up in front of the place, Nicholson is said to have approached him and after the two men had exchanged heated words, Nicholson shot Shuster and ran away. Shuster was found to be dying from a bullet wound in the neck. There were many witnesses to the affray, one of them being a policeman. Earl Barkalow. He made no effort to pursue Nicholson and was later arrested and then dismissed from the police force on a formal charge of cowardice. Nicholson was taken into custody near the scene of the shooting after he had made an ineffectual attempt to dispose of two revolvers. One was found in an ash can and the other was lying on the ground. Nicholson had been discharged from the Casper police department three years previous on a charge of grafting. Later, he was arrested on a charge of assault with intent to kill for firing on Police Captain W. E. Kilgore. This charge against him was quashed, however. He was also said to have been convicted of murder at one time in Campbell county in connection with the killing of a sheep herder, but secured his release on a supreme court decision. Shuster was said to have borne a good reputation among his associates. In the trial of Nicholson, it was brought out that the two men had borne a personal grudge against one another for some time and that the shooting was the culmination of this trouble. After an eventful trial, which was bitterly fought on both sides, the jury balloted for twenty-three hours and returned a verdict of manslaughter. He was sentenced on September 16, 1921, to serve from fifteen to twenty years in the state penitentiary, but on the night of October 1 1, 1921, Nicholson and five other prisoners escaped from the Natrona county jail. The prisoners had been locked in their cells for the night on the east side of the jail. Friends on the outside sawed the bars from one of the windows on the west side with a motor saw, cut the lock on the master lock box, and opened the cell doors, permitting the six men to get away. It is thought they escaped m waiting automobiles. Two Mexicans, who were among the six fugitives, were captured as they were attempting to leave town in an automobile. In due time two of the other men were apprehended, but a nation-wide search for Nicholson in particular was instituted and there were rumors of his capture at various points, but no definite trace of him was ever found.

J. S. Reeder, proprietor of a shoe store and shoe repair shop in Casper, was shot and killed at about 6:30 in the evening on January II, 1921, while on his way home from his store. The motive was supposed to be robbery, for Mr. Reeder had on his person diamonds valued at about $3,000 and quite a large sum of money, but the robbers evidently were so anxious to make their escape after the shooting that they did not attempt to take from the body the money or the valuables. At that time there were a great many hold-ups and robberies being committed in Casper, and two men named Neil and Probe were arrested upon suspicion of havmg committed the crime, but on account of the lack of evidence, after a most thorough investigation, they were turned loose and no other arrests ever followed. Residents of the neighborhood where the dead man was found, which was within a half block of his home, heard the reports from four shots, and there was a clear distinction between the first three reports and the last one. When found the dead man held in his right hand a .25 caliber automatic revolver and three shots had been fired from it. There were some people who were of the opinion that he had taken his own life, but when the bullet was removed from his neck it was found to be a .45 caliber, and the theory of suicide was dispelled and the conclusion was that he was met by a hold-up, but instead of submitting he attempted to shoot the man or men who were attempting to rob him but failed to hit them and in order to make good their escape they shot him.

Jim Ladas, 55, proprietor of the Burlington cafe in Casper, was shot and killed on June 6, 1921, by Nick Camets, 50, after the two men had quarreled over the ownership of the place. Camets purchased a .38 Colt's revolver and went to the cafe and demanded of Ladas that he give him the half interest in the business that had once been his. Ladas ran out of the restaurant upon being threatened by Camets and started down Wolcott street with Camets following. Camets fired one shot which did not take effect but served to attract hundreds of people to the scene. As they neared the Ohio Oil company's offices, Camets fired three times, all three shots taking effect. Ladas started across the street, but was knocked down by an auto truck. As he lay prostrate in the street, Camets stepped up and took deliberate aim, and shot him through the right lung. After a short chase, Camets was captured by Joe Rodman, a former police officer. In September, 1921, at the term of the district court, Camets pleaded

One Woman Convicted 307

John W. Delury was killed June 16, 1921, by Mrs. Ida Graham, who shot him because he wrecked her home in Oklahoma. Delury and Mrs. Graham had lived together as man and wife in the oil fields of Texas for two years, but they quarreled and Mrs. Graham went to Duncan, Oklahoma. Delury followed her and when she refused to resume her former relationship with him, he demolished her furniture with an axe and cut into bits with a razor, her curtains and other articles of furnishings and equipment; then he left her and came to Casper. When Mrs. Graham learned where he had located she followed him here and appealed to the prosecuting attorney of the county to have him arrested, but the alleged crime having been committed in another state, a warrant could not be issued. During the evening Mrs. Graham saw -Delury in the "Sandbar district" where there was a carnival. Mrs. Graham at her trial on September 1 1 testified that Delury said to her: "Now, damn you, I have you," and made a motion as if to strike her with a knife, and she shot him in self-defense, but the fact that she was looking for Delury, and carried a gun was the damaging evidence against her, and the jury, after deliberating five hours, returned a verdict finding her guilty of second degree murder. She was sentenced to serve from twenty-one to twenty-two years in the penitentiary.

On July II, 1921, John Nennes, 30, an employee of the William (Scotty) Henry Sheep outfit, was shot and killed by Ed. Holmes, an employee of Robert Wilson, about twenty-five miles northwest of Arminto. Each of the men had a band of sheep in his care and they were feeding close together. A dispute arose over a water hole first and after that the two herders quarreled frequently. Nennes is said to have charged Holmes with encroaching on the Henry range. The trouble between them became serious when the two bands of sheep drifted so close together that Holmes walked between them to keep them from running together. Nennes objected to this and becoming hostile told Holmes: " I have carried a gun for twenty years and I am looking for action." He went to his horse and took a .25-.30 caliber Winchester from the holster. As he turned toward Holmes, the latter fired a rifle shot into Nennes' heart. Holmes reported the matter at the Henry ranch and then returned to the range and watched both bands of sheep until the officers arrived. At the prehminary trial he was exonerated.

Robert Brown, a negro 58 years of age, who attempted to force his way into a boarding house in Casper owned by Mrs. Pearl WiUiams, was shot and killed by the landlady on October 2, 1921. Brown had been caUing Mrs. Williams over the 'phone every day for a week asking her to meet him. Mrs. Williams did not know who the man was, and she reported the trouble to the police, but they were unable to locate him. On the night of the shooting the negro appeared at the front door of the Williams boarding house and announced that "I am the man who has been 'phoning to you, honey," and Mrs. Williams started shooting without further ado. Six shots were fired, two of which took efFect, from the result of which the man died. The house where the negro lived was searched and clothing and articles valued at several thousand dollars, which had been stolen from residences in Casper, were found. Mrs. Williams was exonerated and should have been given a medal.

On the night of December 21, 1921, Sheriff Joe L. Marquis was informed by an anonymous telephone call that the grocery store of M. L. Small at 446 South Oak street, Casper, was going to be robbed. Three officers were sent out from the sheriff's office and two of them concealed themselves in the store, while the third was posted as lookout on the outside. The proprietor of the store was instructed to appear surprised upon the arrival of the highwaymen and to obey any commands given by them. Scarcely had the defense been planned when two men stopped in front of the store, adjusted masks and entered the store. With drawn guns they commanded the proprietor to throw up his hands. The same order was given to J. K. Willis, in charge of the meat department. The two men were ordered to go to the rear of the store. Small started to run and was fired upon. At this point the officers stepped out from their hiding places and a pitched battle followed. When the melee subsided, both robbers were dead and Willis had been shot in the arm accidentally by one of the officers. One of the robbers was later identified as George Otto Boche, a dope fiend, and the other was believed to be J. S. Brown, a gunman who had been active through the west.

Would-Be Hold-Ups Are Killed 309

When the bodies were taken to the morgue they were erroneously identified as Earl Pike and Barry Gorden, two notorious criminals. It was later learned, however, that at the same time the Casper affair was being enacted, Gorden and Pike were attempting to loot a store in Billings. They were trapped by a telephone call and one of them. Earl Pike, was killed. This is the most unusual coincidence ever recorded in criminal records. Another unusual circumstance connected with this case is the fact that Willis, who was working in the store where the attempted hold-up occurred, brought action against Sheriff Marquis to recover a large sum of money for damages on account of having been wounded by one of the officers who was shooting at the hold-ups.

"Why drag into the light of day The errors of an age long passed away?" I answer, " For the lesson that they teach - The tolerance of opinion and of speech."

In justification of the publication of a brief history of the many crimes that have been committed in the county from 1888 until 1922, and in answer to the criticism that will surely come from some sources, the author will merely say that he did not make the history, but has recorded the plain facts, and every statement and assertion is verified by the court records. Not to publish the details of any of the crimes that have been committed in the county would not be publishing a history, and to record the details of one crime, all should be recorded.

ON Tuesday evening, September lo, 1889, Sheriff John WiUiams of Douglas and the sheriff from Sundance, in Crook county, arrived in Casper on a special train, and about midnight they served warrants on Phil Watson, Jess Lockwood and James ("Pecos") Hughes, on the charge of horse stealing. At the time he was arrested Watson was the town marshal of Casper and deputy sheriff in this part of Carbon county; Lockwood was an ex-cow puncher, but at that time was a hanger-on around the saloons; " Pecos" was a gambler, and was wanted as a witness against the other two men. The men were taken to Sundance and given a preliminary examination, and they were held to the district court for trial, Watson's bond being placed at ^1,500 and Lockwood's at ^5,000. Hughes' deposition was taken and he was allowed to go his way. About ten days later E. J. ("Tex") Healy, whose homestead was on Fish creek, about thirty miles southwest from Casper, was arrested upon the charge of being an accomplice of Lockwood and Watson. He was placed under bond of ^500, which was secured by J. J. Hurt. "Tex" lost no time in leaving the country, and has not since been seen, and his bond was forfeited.

At the trial in the district court it was proven that Lockwood, Watson and Healy were connected with an organized gang of horse thieves, who operated in Montana and Northern and Central Wyoming. The horses were gathered up in Montana and the northern part of Wyoming, and driven into the Sweetwater country by a couple of the gang, where they were turned over to Lockwood and "Tex";, they were then driven to the homestead of "Tex" on Fish creek, and then brought to Casper and turned over to Watson, who would sell them here or ship them to an eastern market.

P. C. Nicolaysen bought one of the horses from Watson that had been stolen from Crook county, and Dave Graham loaned some money on several others, and these two citizens of Casper went to Sundance as witnesses for the state. Both of the defendants were convicted, and Lockwood was sentenced to serve a term of eight years in the penitentiary and Watson was sentenced to a term of five years.

It will be noted that Lockwood and "Tex" were on the coroner's jury who inquired into the death of James Averell and Ella Watson, who were hanged by Sweetwater cattlemen in July of that year, and that Watson was the officer who went out from Casper and cut down the bodies, and it has been said that the whole gang, including Averell and the Watson woman, were working together, but whether that is true or not, it will be noted that none of them escaped being punished for their misdeeds.