St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-02-11
A Remarkable Lynching Scene.

INV demonstrations. all ONtl tllt cOun-
try. during the last few months. Hard
lN Il day has passed. this season, that
the telegraph has not reported one on
more, even this side of the Mississippi
river. The old West and the old South
are their most common theatre and
the victims of this impatient sense of
justice are about equally divided he
tween murdercrSand Violations of women.
while, of the former class, the majority
become such through the sexual passion.
West Virginia has gained an uncnViablc
notnIiety III this respect, no less than
five men having recently been taken
from Ihils 10y m"l's. and hung without Il
trial, while the female acc"mplIce OF
one OF them narrowly escaped the same
late thai htirll lItr paramount.
The story ni this last case Is :" re
riarkahlr, alike III the circumstances oil
me crime us "lNc"Nci\' lh' execution
oil one oil the m"IdeicrS, ana tht Won
dtrful escape ni the other from the rope
when II WAS all hlt around her neck,
that II deserves To he told III full us 1t
has not Vet been.
'hAiitN MullhS, as ms lel%hh"rS used
|" caIl MN, WAS IN lhoIlthSiNc, honest
itlintr "i bhrb"ulSNille, about - years
"i age. married To Il rather attractive
woman "i about the same age, the father
of three children, the oldest Il boy of
seven. Edmund W illIaInS, Il young man
OF IL had been working for him and
living III the family Tor some time. On
Thursday "f last week Muling was first
missed 10y his father, VIII" lived near
10y. and. after Il thorough search, his
h"hN was discovered buried III Il stable,
under the manure, the head crushed IN
WIN tnrte blows OF IN AK and the throat
cut. ms Wiie and hlred man, When
Drought before the corpse. showed little
'Hlo'Ioh' d'ciilcu thcir Innocence oi
the crime !; AMI SAID they had been told
ly Mullng that he was going t" make Il
trip down the river. and 81 had not
wondered at his absence. There WAS
II" evidence to positively connect them
with the murder. and the children at
first protested that they knew nothing
about it. The oldest boy, however. af-
ter being taken to Il ncighhors and pet
ted till his confidence hads been gained.
finally admitted that his first statement
was not true. and that he had seen
Williams knock his father down with
an aN. and then his mother helped to
carry the body ont and bury il. The
man and woman were ut once arrested.
but hardly had they been lodged in jail
before there WIS talk of administering
summary punishment. BY night-fall
Saturday. the threats of lynching had
grown 81 bold that Il Methodist minis
ter 10y I'll" name OF Dung. went to tn"
jail. told the mur'icrrr> he feared they
would he hung 10y the mob before morn
ing, begged that they would allow him
I" pray for them. and implorcd them to
confess and repent. But is was OF III"
avail the woman simply protested her
Inn"'"ncc, While the man ridicmlcd him.
Meanwhile there had been omiuous
sounds OF the gathering of men outside,
and the minister had hardly given over
his hopeless mission before II voice cried
out from the darkness, "Shall Edmund
Williams die i'll thirty minutes ," fol
lowed 10y Il laundering "aNc.' while
only Il FAINT mo followed the inquiry,
Docs any one object ~ Again the
Voice cried out, shall MIS-. Muling die
III thirty minutes = and again came the
i"id aye from Il hundred voices min
%hd TINS lllht WIN Il lew noes, though
only enough To show their weakness.
thoroughly terrified al last. the guilty
pilf now >hri"krd Tor Mr. Dung. and,
upon his returning to Illlam> cell.
ne latter Salh tlIhi, II he were taken
INT" MIS- MuIIh% cell. he would con
less All II WAS done. and he kept his
promise. hen the minister aud the
nliI'l"lcrS knclt, while he tIlcd I" pray
for TIA" wr'ich"S. But his voice WAS
dr"M ned 10y the mob outside. whose
Jury had grown :" terrible that their
leader, appalled, ut the storm he had
aroused resigned MS post and insisted
that another man should he made cap
tain. The minister, leaving the prison
rrS. made one last desperate attempt to
save them. and for Il full hour held the
mob at bay while he alternately rea-
>"nrd. pleaded and prayed that they
would ALLOW the law t" take It's course.
bnt he might is we'll have reasoned
WIN Il hurricane, ana at last the lynch
cr> refused t" hear HIM longer, pushed
HIM aside ana dragged Williams from
his cell. around III front of the court
house, where stand two small locust
trees. He waS placed upon il barrel
hrnr;lth one of them, Il rope put about
hi neck aud the end thrown over Il
limb. and then he was asked if he had
any thing Ia SAY. lie repeated ut more
Length the story he had already told the
minister, how there had been criminal
relations between him and Mrs. Muling
for three Years, how for several months
they had been trying to kill her hus-
band, how she had three times admin
i>tcred poiSo!.. but without effect, how.
at last, dc>pairimg of success in any
other way, he had on the previous sun
day night struck Williams with an TX
rs he lay asleep. and twice repeated the
blow, after which he cut his throat.