The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-05-13

cured and just before midnight a body
Of at least five hundred persons march.
ed to the Jail and told the guards that
they would not be harmed, but the
prisoner must be surrendered for execu-
ton. At least fifty armed men then
surrounded and disarmed each guard,
took the keys from the jailor land dele
gated five Of the number TO enter and
bring out the murdereaA The special
committee of five proceeded to perform
their mission. Reed was DON found
and the rope was placed about his neck.
He weakened" considerably when his
neck came into contact with the instru-
ment of death, and begged piteously to
be shot instead of hanged. The dense
mass Of citizens, though intensely ex-
cited, was orderly-far more SO, said
the LEADERS, informant, than were
some political conventions he had at
tended in his time. The response to
Reeds request, to be shot, was that
''out west they didn't confer so great
Ill hOuOI hPOh lllCh VI ulo hluu anu
who were guilty of committing such
cold blooded murders as he had been
in thus shooting down like a dog one
of the best citizens of the town."
Reed was taken to a Western Union
telegraph pole on Front street, the
principal thoroughfare of the town, a
ladder was placed against the pole, and
a motion made that the murderer be
hanged at once. The ayes and noes were
put in first class congressional style re-
sulting in about five hundred ayes and
not a single ''no" rang out upon the
midnight air. 1t was so unanimous
that the murderer saw nothing to be
gained by taking part in the convention
and calling for a ''division'' ON the mo-
tion. His doom was sealed. He was
then asked if he had anything to say.
In response he said:
"Gentlemen, l admit l killed the man;
1 intended to kill him for insulting my
woman; but l didn't know when l fired
that it was LOOMS who had ~insulted
her. 1 killed five men in Texas before
coming here, but three of them we're
killed in self-defense. 1 suppose its my
turn to quit now" He was then made
to climb the ladder, and was asked
which he preferred, to jump off or have
the ladder pulled from under him. The
murderer, who by this time had nerved
himself bravely to meet his fate, said:
"I'll jump off myself. Gentlemen
I'll show you how a brave man can
leave this world" and then with the
demeanor of a Chesterfield, he added:
Good bye, gentlemen, one and ALL"
The fatal leap was taken, and Reed,
the murderer ,t~hus.,ushered his soul into
eternity. The body hung until Z O'Clock
Sunday morning, at which time it was
cut down by the oroner.
An inquest was held, resulting in a
verdict that Reed died by strangling,'
and ''that he came to his death at the
hands of persons unknown to the jury"
Reed was the same man who, a few
months ago, was in Jail at Omaha,
charged with committing a murder in
Texas. The Texas authorities failed to
send for him, and after lying in Jail a
few weeks he was set at liberty. He
was a native of San Antonio, Texas,
and one of the worst desperadoes who
ever left the Lone Star State. Three
years ago Robert Porter was murdered
and the cowboys hung the murderer
to the same pole where Reed met his
fate.
Mollie Wardner, who was the origi-
nal cause of the death of Loomis, was
furnished money by some of the citizens
of Sidney, and advised to skip. She
acted upon the advice with promptness.
LOOMS was buried at 3 O'Clock on
Sunday afternoon. He was an old res
ident of Sidney, formerly in the livery
business. A sad feature attending his
death is the fact that he had already
procured the license and was to be
married this (Monday) evening to an
estimable young lady residing in Sid
ney.