St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-07-19

and reward of 5000 was promptly
offered for his arrest by the County
Judge. The officers soon got track of
kephart, who was travelling towards
Missouri with an OK team and covered
wagon and having with him the little
boy. he was overtaken in Scotland
county, No, and at once brought back,
arriving at Fairfield, Iowa, on Monday
evening, when he, waving an cxamina-
ton, was committed to await his trial
in the District Court, in November.
The populace were terribly excited
and could with difficulty be restrained
from lynching him at once.
The clothes of the victims were all
found in the wagon at the time of the
arrest. The four hundred dollars in
gold was also found ON board the
wagon, in some soap-greasc. On
Friday, after leaving Eddyville, the
little boy says that Kephart looked
for the wagon hammer and found it
sticking in his brothers head /! The
boy says he has a brother, Sylvester,
about IS years old, living in Louisa
county. This boy, James, is very
intelligent lad. He gave minute
account of the murders, and what
took place alongth route afterwards;
and on being carried over the road
every thing was found precisely as he
had stated, even to the finding of some
of his mothers brains which kephart
had wiped from his coat with a rag
and thrown into the grass.
On Tuesday, July 81, Kephart made
an attempt to hang himself in his
cell, and partially succeeded. When
found he was specclless, but finally
recovered. But on Thursday, July
5th, $50 men from the vicinity of Ba-
tavia, where the murdered victims
were found, came into Fairfield, or
ganizcd, on horseback and in wagons,
passed around the public park, order
ly and quiet, the poor orphan boy in
the van. They rode to the court house
and Jail, surrounded it and halted. The
citizens of Fairfield and vicinity rap
idly assembled-the County Judge
asked to be heard-neXt Wilson, Sla-
gle, Collins, from Batavia, Achcson,
Negus, Lamson, Myers, and others.
They asked not to defend kcphart
but appealed to all good citizens to
defend the law. They were patiently
listened to, but all was of no avail.
They had come for Kephart-thcy had
erected his gallows and dug his grave
on the banks of Cedar Crcek-Kep-
hart they would have and they held
up the lonely orphan boy. Next they
took scantling and battered down
door after door to Kcphart's cell, and
took the feeble old man, black with
guilt, from jail-and hurried him Oh
the way to his gallows and grave.
The men who took him were old and
respected citizens. They were cool,
decided, determined. There are said
to be no better citizens in the State,
and, right or wrong, they took the res
possibility.
The place chosen for execution was
on the left bank of Cedar Greek, di-
rcctly in front of the place where the
bodies of the murdered victims were
found. Thousands of people gathered
to witness the execution. At little |
past noon the mob arrived with tho
murderer. A distinguished citizen
stepped upon the scaifold and ha-
'angued the crowd, saying he was
.iodfcaring man, but when devils
came among us we must send them
back to hell :!
Every thing heingprepared, at three
O'clock kephart climbed the ladder
and stood upon the engine of death
his grave yawning beneath him He
would make no confession, and at
81 o'clock he was forced upon the
lrop, a white handkerchief was placed
,vcr his eyes, the rope was cut, and
lie hung dangling between heaven
md earth!
Well does the writer in the Hawk
Eye remark, when gazing upon the
scene, that, "The sight was hard
one. There stood man of sixty,
barc-hcadcd, harc-footcd, raggelly
clad, with halter around his neck,
about to go into his Makers presence
without due form of law, without trial
~ jury, and unprepared."
The Dubuque Herald says:
The Lynching of kcphart has
caused, as might be expected, much
IL feeling in the vicinity of where the
murder was committed. The officers
If the county are blamed for their
curse in the matter. The sober sec
md thought of many, which in this
Instance comes too late, will torment
he perpetrators of the decd with un-
elenting remorsc.
MITCHELL COUNTY, w. Dunlap,