Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-09-22
A Carnival Of Crime and
BlOOdshed.
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Ia another place we give an account Of
the murder of an old man named Gates
! near Kilbourn City, or Monday of last
week; as 1t results this was but the begin
ming Of series of murders and deeds of vi
olence which, for atrocity and brutality,
have never been equaled in the history of
the State. On the succeeding Thursday af-
,ernoon a Portage City lawyer by the name
Of VIM. II. Spain shot and instantly killed
N that cily man named Barney Britt,
who lived in an adjoining town. An old
feud had long existed between the cwo. and
they seldom or never met @ithou. hct
words Britt had come to town on the dav
mentioned and the Customary quarrel had
ensued; upon seRarating, Spain went 70 his
house and procured loaded revolver with
which he walked down the street. Obsery-
ing BCitt walking along behind him he 0 r
dered him not 10 follow him; Britt repli ed
that he was not following him but simply
attending to his own business; Spain re-
peated his order, and seeing that II wss still
disregarded he turned and fred upon Britt
at the distance of l6 feet, killing h m in
stantly. Spain gave himself up to the au-
thorties but a MOB, Infatuated by the un-
provoked murder, almost immediately took
him from them and in less than half an
hour after Britts death the lifeless body Of
bis murderer was hanging between the heav-
ems and the earth.
The mob, having thus disposed of Spain,
made a rush for the jail with the intention
of serving one Pat Wildrick, a notorious
ruffian who was under Indictment for rob-
berry and murder, in the same way, but by the
efforts of the officers they were induced to
give over the purpose for time. On Fri
day night, however, two men asked admit
lance at the jail in order to leave prisoner
whom they said they had in custody and
whom the taller supposed be saw struggling
between them. He accordingly opened the
door, when all three Of the men rushed upon
him and hundred Others following he was
Immediately gagged and bound, as was the
under sheriff WHO had come to his assistance.
The men were all masked and not word
was spoken by any of them. They took the
keys from the iailer and very soon found the
cell in which Wildrick was confined. The mis-
cradle cuIprit had shrunk into the furthest
corner in abject fear, but he was imme late
" seized by strong hands, drawn unle
resistingly ont of the Jail and in an instant
of time was dangling in the air from the
- - bod tha w nla
affair been conducted that the CT tizens of
Portage knew nothing of it until morn
ing, when the fearful spectacle Of the muir
derers body swaying to and fro in the air
revealed the dreadful work of the night.
The hostility to Wildrick and the connec-
ton between the different deeds of violence
during the week called for an explanation
which we give briefly. About year ago
Mr.. Gates, who was the victim of the muir
der on Monday, started down the Wiscon-
sin river in a boat accompanied by his wife
one night while encamped on an island in
the river they were attacked by two men,
cruelty beaten robbed of all their money,
about 2,40o, and left for dead Pat Will
drick was soon after arrested, indicted for
the crime and released on 81 900 bail, which
latter circumstance Justly excited great in
d1gnation. There is reason to suppose that
be was Intending to dee amp before coming
to trial this fall, leaving his sureties to pay
the amount Of his bail, but being in Por-
tage not long since he was caught in the
act of robbing farmer and imprisoned in
the jail. His accomplices knowing that he
could not now avoid being brought to trial,
sought to do him favor by numbering Mr.
Gates, the only person living whose testi-
timony was sufficient to convict him of the
crime for which he was first indicted. Their
conduct, however, had exactly the opposite
effect from that intended, and brought upon
Wildrick 3 more dreadful fate than any
penalty the law could have inflicted. Spain
was Wildrick' attorney and had shared in the
odium which attached to all who were in
any manner connected with that obnoxious
person before he shot Britt and thus brought
down upon his head the vengeance of the
already excited populace. For time t
was feared that Wildrick's father and 9TH
er OF his relatives would share his fate, but
all excitement seems to be allayed, and the
bloody drama Of the week to have come to
an end,