Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1864-03-05
1.tft Among the Idaho Gold Mines
--E'ourtcen nHfghwnymcn Hung
by n Vigilance Committee.


IExiracts from aictter written by Philadelphian
residing in East Baunock City, Idaho Terrilory.l
JANUARY 81 am spending the winter
very comfortably, considering, but, oh, how
cold II is ! never felt such weather in my
life. We can't tell anything how cold 1t is,
for the thermometers all froze up and burst
cd about week ago: A pan OF mercury,
set out for ten minutes, will frt ere solid.-
There is considerable snow on the ground
and, in fact, we are experiencing all the
rigors of Northern winter. Snow is thirty
feet deep on the dividing ridge between
Benton and Deer Lodge, and increasing in
depth daily.
JANUARY 1G.-Our little community has
been very much excited during the past
week. The country has been for long time
infested by band of highwaymen and
murderers, who robbed the coaches and any
single traveller whom they could catch on
the road, and in many instances murdered
committee formed in Virginia City, and they
captured four of the miscreants and strung
them up. Last Saturday party of men
came in from Salt Lake, bringing along a
man they had arrested on Suspicion, about q
hundred miles from here. A vigilance COM
mittce was formed Immediately, and the
man was examined, and, after much discus
sion, they finally told him they knew he was
guilty, and they would hang him any how,
and his only hope was by making clean
breast of it, and confessing who his accom-
plices were. This he finally did, and impli-
Gated, amongst Others, four men who were
living in Bannock This was on Saturday
evening An hour or two after he had made
his confession three members of the vigil
ance committee arrived and said that the
men they had hung over there had, previ
Gus to their execution, confessed horrible
tale of crime, coinciding in every particular
with the story of the man they had here
After mature and secret deliberation all day
Sunday, the committee on Sunday evening
arrested three of the four men he had named
residing here, and, marching them straight
to the gllows, hung them up. The next day
they went in search of the fourth, greaser,
or Mexican, and a very desperate fellow
He was alone in cabin, and two men ent
to arrest him. He drew his revolver and
shot one of them through the body and the
other through the leg. lie then ran out and
escaped to another cabin. A number COM
menced firing revolvers, rifles, and shot-guns
into the door and windows. He fired back
at intervals. Finally they got out the can
non and commenced firing shell at the house
After bombarding it for some time n party
ventured TO approach, and found the Mexi-
can lying on the floor pierced by ball. He
was not dead, and the infuriated crowd got
a rope around his neck, and, dragging him
out, hung him to the nearest post, and then
riddlcd him with balls. They then tore
down his cabin, and setting fire to it, threw
his carcase on the pile, and it was consum-
ed. One of the wounded men died next
day, and the other is nearly well. The next
morning, when went out, saw the man
whom they had first arrested, and who had
confessed, hanging up in vacant house,
and the bodies of the other three, whom
they had hung first, scattered around on tho
, floor truly horrible sight After remain
ing there several days they were buried
There arc some more of the villains still al
, large, and the committee is securing tho
country for them. l hope they will sue
f ceed in capturing all of them and Kidding
f the country of what has been one of it
| greatest evils. Heretofore it has been easie
for man to get the gold out of the grouno
. than out of the country.
, JANUARY 60 The weather is now delight
full, and we sit with open doors. Snow i.
melting fast. / hope we will have no NOR,
f such weather this winter as we had two
. weeks ago. Five more men have been huns
in Virginia City, making fourteen in all
t thus far. Several ethers have been Danish
ed from the country. 1t is said there wcr
eighty three men in the band, and they 9TH
: vigilance commit;ee) are still looking out t
catch some more of them,