The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-06-30
LAKLESS urSTICE

"nAI hioALANcE COMMITTEES FIND TO DO IN
TIE INDIAN NAIIoN-LYNCH LAW Is POPU-
LAR as MEANS OF sELF-DEPzSsE
"A 'Vinita, Indian Territory, correspondent
to the st. Louis Republican saws; In NV
letter couple of weeks ago, intimated
that the result of the miserable inefficiency
and corruption OF the United States officials
In this territory might be an outbreak of
popular vengeance. ] knew at the time
what dH not state for Obvious reasons.
and that was the fact that COMMITTEES of
Safety had already been organized. having
members both in this nation and in Kansas. r
so tnat perfect Gordon might be drawn
about the outlaws. The committee was or
ganized very quietly, and also very tboron0b- 4
4 ~, and numbered Units membership about
TWO hundred as cool and determined
men as ever pulled a rome or
dreY trigger. They meant business.
SO they concluded TO AIT and see what the s
| United States authorities did with Oueen.
Morgan and Blythe before they tried their
hand. They did not want to do anvthino
hastily, and they wanted to be sure that
there was no other means of protecting their
| property before they took the law into their
own strong hands. TIE escape of Queen
and Morgan from Wilkinson's posse. with
1 the evident connivance of the officers. was
| the last straw that broke the back of their
| patience. They Immediately held meet
4 .I0
Queen, John Morgan John Friend and two
| others, and forthwith appointed committees
| to patrol the country in search of them. Word
was also sent to the committee in Kansas, and
similar action was taken there. The Kansas
tcommlttee sent word back for the committee
| here to look cut for=Dick= Goddard
who has long been implicated with the out
laws. Both committees then went to work
as secretly as possible, and the second day
out some OF the Vinitafpatrolmen captured
| x-th a nd Lob.
was resolved TO hang them immediately. and
| the larlats were fastened about their necks.
Then they were told that if they would point
the committee to the main rendezvous OF the
gang, which was understood to be some
| where in the Verdigris timber they would
be permitted to leave the country alive.
They promised and the ropes were taken off
| their necks The whole party then mounted
and set of toward the supposed rendezvous.
AS soon as thew reached the heavy timber
| Blythe and Friend tried to escape They
we're
IMMEDIATELY SHOT DEAD
by the men who were riding beside them as
guards.
Morgan and Queen fl I'D the country, Nor
gan going TO Kansas, and Queen to Texas.
Somehow they learned that the committee
had been organized, and not thinking that
J they could buy the vigilantes of. as thew
could the United States authorities they
3 concluded that the hot weather was coming
on and the territory would not be healthy,
: so they went away.
5 The next victim of popular Justice was a
l man who was caught and hung up by the
e roadside without any ceremony over on
Grand river. / could not learn his name.
He was one of the men who were first
" "spotted." Another patrol reports having
, caught and killed young Cochran, who muir
u dered man last fall to prevent his testitying
l. against him in liquor case. Cochran was
4 taken out of house where he had stopped
r to get dinner, and shot in the yard. 1t
II is stated that he was made to get up from
" the table and not permitted to finish his
v meal. Dock Goddard was the next to fall
e into the hands of the Philistines. The
" kansas committeeman ran him down
v across the line, and some of
d boys picked him up by mere chance.
r He did not know whom he was deal
v ing with at first, supposing the party to be
/ tcattlemen. One of the party knew him and
v said, "BallO, Dock, which way are you 60
3 ling?" He said he was going over to Parker.
II Then the man told him he reckoned he
v might be likely to do some travelling in an
4 other direction. Dock said, "Where?" The
Il man said, "Hellwards." Then Dock weak
q ened, and realized whose hands he was in.
q He made full confession, in which he adj
n mitted that his house had long been used as
n a rendezvous for a gang of thieves whose OPP
II erations extended from Missouri to Texas.
a He said they had it arranged so that they
II could defend themselves in case of an attack.
If He never rode over TWENTY-FIVE miles of a
IA night with his stolen horses, and was always
v at home in the morning to avoid suspicion.
> He stated that the line extended from st.
u Joe, Missouri, on through Texas to San An
/ tonic. He also stated that it was possible TO
q get away with twenty five head in one nights
Al tine After be made this confession, Dock
'. accompanied four of the boys into the bush,
ii and it seems
IL THEY LOST HIM
% in there somewhere. At any rate he did not
q come back with them. Last week, another
} ofthe gang was caught mapping by some of
2, the boys who were prowling around over the
q Verdigris. They were Kansas boys and were
= following a horse that had been stolen up
V near Coffeeville. When they got down about
;, sixteen miles below the line, they met two
= Delaware half breeds who were on the same
J. errand as themselves. About shutdown they
/ saw smoke rising out of the place and they
D surrounded the place. When they came in
n on the camp they found they had corralled
ot their game. He had the horse that belonged
to the Delawares picketed to a small tree
and was cooking rabbit he had killed. The
:, party turned him over to the Delawares and
- went back about half mile. Presently the
b, Delawares came along leading the horse.
d The r boys asked them what they
N had done with the man, and they
:. said he was all right. They had
- just simply unhitched the horse and then
a hitched the man to the same tree. / could
"a not learn this mans name either. He was a
4 white man, and that is all that could be
4 learned about him. There are yet IL men
.: on the calendar of the committee to be dis
A. posed of one way or another. 1 mention no
4 names for the reason that their cases have
I, not been acted upon yet. The most of them
AZ will probably be ordered out of the country.
., The only men spotted for hemp or lead with
q out mercy, who are still at large, are Queen
!, and Morgan. They are the worst of the
Al whole lot. But they probably will be scarce
10 in these parts for some time to come. Horses
y are good deal safer hereabouts than they
"a were a month ago. This is a wild state of
~ things, and may seem strange to people liv-