The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-02-16

woman were u once arrested, but hardly
had they been lodged in Jail before there
was talk Of administering summary pun.
ishment. By nightfall, Saturday, the
threats Of lynchirg had grown SO bold
that Methodist minister by the name
of Young went to the Jail, told the MUIR
derers he feared they would be hung by
the mob before morning, begged that thew
would allow him to pray for them, and
implored them to confess and repent.
But it was Of no avail the woman simply
protested her innocence, while the man
ridicaled him.
Meanwhile there were ominous sounds
of the gathering Of men outside. and the
minister had hardly given over his hope.
less mission before voice cried out from
the darkness. "Shall Edmund Williams
die IN thirty minutes!' followed by a
laundering ':aye,' while only faint ''no''
followed the inquiry. ''Does any one oh.
ject = Again the voice cried out, ''Shall
Mrs. Muling die IN thirty minutes p
and again came the loud "aye'' from a
hundred voices, mingled this time with a
few ''noes,' though only enough to show
their weakness. Thoroughly terrified at
last, the guilty pair now shrieked for Mr..
Young, and upon his returning to viii
Gam's cell, the latter said that if he was
taken into Mrs. Muling's cell he would
confess all it was done, and he kept his
promise. Then the minister had the
murdcre1s kneel while he tried to prav
for the ~retchcs. But his voice was
drowned by the mob outside, whose fury
had grown so terrible that their leader,
appalled, at the storm be had aroused,
resigned his post and insisted that anoth-
er man should be made captain. The
minister, leaving the prisoners, made one
last desperate attempt to save them,
and for full hour held the mob at bay
while he alternately reasoned, pleaded
and prayed that Shey would allow the
law to take its course. But he might
as we'll have reasoned with a hurricane,
and at last the lynchers refused to hear
him longer, pushed him aside and dragged
Williams from his cell, around in front of
the Courthouse, where stand two small
locust trees. He was placed upon bar.
rel beneath one Of them, rope put about
his neck and the end thrown over limb.
and then he was asked if he had anything
to say. He repeated at more length the
story he had already told the minister
how there had been criminal relations be.
tween him and Mrs. Muling for three
years, how for several months they had
been trying to kill her husband, how she
had three times administered poison, but
without effect. how, at last, despairing of
success in any other way, he had on the
previous Sunday night struck Williams
with an AK as he lay asleep, and twice re-
peated the blow, after which he had cut
his throat, how Mrs. Muling then helped
him carry the body out and bury it, and
how the little children had been witnesses
to the whole tragedy--all told with a
horrible minuteness Of detail that showed
how he chung to life when he could only
prolong it Gy reciting the awful story.
At last his confession was over, and the
mob cried again for his blood. But once
more the indomitable minister appeared
and insisted that he should be allowed to
offer another prayer for the wretched
man, which he did at great length. Then
Williams sought few minutes more of
life by begging for further opportunity to
confess, which being granted, he went
over the horrible story again. Even then
the minister demanded still another op-
portunity to pray, and so he held the
mob at bay while longer, during which
time two Of the Williams brothers had
organized an opposition party, which
cried for the cutting Of the rope, and
threatened to rescue the murderer. The
leaders became desperate, cried, "Out
with the lamps'' IA few scattered LAM
terns), the rope was drawn and the bar
rell knocked from under the wrctched
man. But the end was not vet. The
limb bent and Williams stood upon
the ground. He was seized. lifted
back, and the rope drawn again. While
it was being adjusted the second time, he
cried out that he had been converted, and
should die happy, and his last words
were, "Meet me in heaven" His neck
was not broken by the fall. and the mob
waited in the dark night and pitiless rain
for the last Of his long-continued and dcs.
perate struggles. Then they went back
to the jail and prepared to deal out the
same punishment for Mrs. Muling, no op.
position being manifested. She was
brought out, the lanterns again lighted,
and she was placed before the corpse of
Ter armour and told she had twenty
minutes to live. She showed great
emotion, turned slowly to the crowd,
made her confession, said she was ready
to die, and, keeling. began TO pray. 1t
was weird spectac]e-thc woman guilty
Of her husbands murder, kneeling there
at midnight before the dead body of her
accomplish in that murder, and praying,
not for her life, but for her soul. And
an impressive spectacle, too, for, before
she was through, onc-half Of the mob
| were on their knees. and when she rose