The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-01-11
A TRAGEDY In CALIFORNIA.
Robbery and Its Terrible Punish ment-
Five Mexican Bs"dits Taken from tho
Bak-rsfield Jail and Hanged.

\ Robbery and Its Terrible Punish ment-
| Five Mexican Bandits Taken from the
| Bakersheld Jail and Hanged.
| A correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle, at Bakersfield, Cal, gives
the following particulars of the summary
death OF five Mexican borse-thieves:
Between shutdown aud dark, the five
Mexlcans were brought into town by
James Young, w. L. Kennedy, and 9TH
ers, and lodged in Jail. Tie news of
their capture spread over the town at
once, and created much excitement dur
ing the evening. 1t began to be whis-
pered about that violence was anticipat-
ed, and, this coming to Under Sheriff
Lightner's ears, he went up to the jail,
and, having first locked all the cells and
outer doors, deposited the key in the
safe, locked il with combination that
no one understands but himself, and
carried the safe-key with him. Between
and o'clock this Saturday morning,
eight men went up to the Court House
and demanded the keys of Deputy
Sheriff Fountain. He told them they
Were locked up in the vault of the safe,
aud that he did not have the key. They
then caught him and took from his peck
cts his private keys, but, not finding the
jail keys or the key to the vault of the
safe, they sent committee OF three al
ter Under Sheriff Lightner. de was
called out of his house just as he was
getting ready fer bed and told that he
must go and open the safe, but he de-
clined, saying that he would not think
of it, and nothing could Induce him to
do it. Finding they could do nothing
with him, they left. This was about
30. The party went back to the Court
House, and, having secured a sledge-
hammer, an ak, and crowbar, passed
into the small room by the side of the
main Jail, and which communicates with
it by means of heavy wooden door.
Upon this door they commenced work,
and, after batteriug and chopping two or
thrFe hours, they finally succeeded in
breaking the door to pieces and effect
ing an entrance. BY this time not less
than 100 persons had gathered. Once
inside the Jail, it took but little time TO
break the catches to the locks and get TO
the prisoners. Seeing that the crowd
could not be prevented from entering,
and TO prevent the useless destruction OF
locks. Deputy Sheriff Fountain pointed
out the cells in which the prisoners were
confined. Two were in one cell and two
in another, and the fifth was confined in
a cell with another Mexican who was not
of their party. Having secured the five
the crowd took them up stairs into the
District Courtroom, went through the
form OF trial, convicted them, aud SEN
fenced them to be hanged Immediately.
Some of them were IN favor OF swinging
them ND on the front porch of the Court
Honse, but it was final y agreed that they
should be hanged to the trees in the back
part Of the lot and in the rear of the
jail-yard. A beam was secured and
placed across between two trees, one end
resting in fork OF each. Three of the
doomed men We're swung up to this beam
and two to the limbs of one of the trees,
where they remained, ghastly sight,
until 9 o'clock this morning, when they
were taken down and laid in the hall of
the lower floor OF the Court House.
Thor names, as ascertaiued from papers
on their persons, were Francisco Encin-
as. Firman Eldia. Antonio Merop, Mig
uel Elias, and Vincente Ruiz. Upon
their persons were found various anti
cles, such as witches, pocket-knives,
urses. etc, doubtless part OF the prop
erty taken from SWEETS store, Mt Cali
ente. A Coroner's inquest was held, and
verdict was found in accordance with
the circumstances, without, however, at
taching any blame to the participants,
who must be known"