The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-12-30
LYNCHED!
HAYWARD MURDER AVENGED.
One Hundred and Fifty Horsemen
Ride Into Golden and Take Out
Woodruff and Seminole
and Hang Them.

| anu HlanS Anem.
Sam Woodruff and Joe Seminole, the
men whe murdered r. b. Hay
ward, of Golden, Colo, last September,
expiated their crime in Golden on Sat
urday night, by dying at the hands of a
mob, or band of vigilantes.
About midnight, band of probably
100 horsemen, galloped leisurely into
Golden and rode directly to the Jail,
which is situated outside the business
portion of the city. Sixty men took
possession of the Jail, and overpowering
the two guards, battered down the
doors with sledges and crowbars. Get
ting inside to the room where the iron
cage is, the leaders marched directly to
where Woodruff and Seminole were
confined. The doors of their cells were
broken open by sledges and the two
men led out. Seminole succumbed
meekly, but Woodruff showed fight,
and was knocked down with forty
five Colts.
The men were led to the slaughter by
four armed vigilantes, although the
former were shackled. Nobody was
being carried about that night. The
band of vigilantes, all armed were fol-
lowed by about fifty citizens, and the
city officers, the latter realizing their
inability to do anything to stop the
vigilantes.
A halt was made at bridge on the
Littleton & South Platte road, a quar-
ter mile out of town. Ropes were pro-
duced and the two murderers sepa-
rated.
The Denver Trib,a,e thus relates the
hanging scene:
Here, for the first time, the guilty
men thus doomed to this awful punish
ment gave way and begged for mercy,
cringlng at the feet of their relentless
executioners in abject fear and horror.
But no heed was paid; preparations
proceeded without either great haste or
unnecessary delay, for the construction
of the crude gibbet. One rope was
| fastened to stringer of the bridge, at
the south end of the structure, and
second about ten feet from it, nearer
the center of the beam. Then the
guard which had the immediate custo-
dy of the two quaking beings led them
down the decline of the ravine to the
dry bed of the stream, and stood each
man under the Moose prepared for his
neck. There was sudden hush and
a voice spoke up sternly "Have
either Of you anything to say-to con-
fess, or anything?n There was pause
and then as if with common impulse
the two doomed men said, "We did
kill Hayward, hid his body and sold his
| team.'' "Gol help me-" added Semi
mole. They were not asked for histo-
| ry of their crime; their confession was
| not needed to insure their death.
Some one suggested that prayer be
| offered. Another responded, LET
them pray themselves if they want to!''
And upon this doubtful mercy the two
men hung hope, and each dropped
| upon his knees and uttered almost in
| articulate supplications for pity and
| mercy, directed, however more to the
| vigilantes than to the Divine Being in
to whose presence they were soon to be
summoned. Then someone advised
greater haste; it was dangerous to con-
| sumo more time; and the nooses were
| fixed and the hands of the two prison
ers pinioned behind them. A rude
construction of rocks and fence rails
furnished the fatal trap upon which the
| murderers were placed and supported
while the moose was fastened about
their necks. The word was given; a
dozen men kicked the 'tottering sup
port from under their forms, and Hay
wards murderers were writhing and
twisting in terrible contortion, while
the vigilantees .shrank back Mortified
and half repentant Of their deed, and
| the moonlight streamed down ON the
CHASTITY scene.
The band of lynchers left the bodies
dangling, sought their horses and drove
away some distance, when the crowd
from the town, headed by Sheriff
Belcher and Marshal Lakes, waiting to
see that no opposition would be offered,
| came nearer, and finally reached the
swinging bodies. Death was complete,
the necks of the two victims of lynch
law being not only broken but stretched
and lacerated, the rope around Wood
ruff's neck having nearly severed the
head from the body. The corpses were
cut down and an express wagon sum-
moned to service, into which they were
placed and conveyed some distance into
town. when the team was halted and a
guard placed around the vehicle to
watch the bodies until coroner could
perform his Offices.
In the meantime the yigilantes had
halted about quarter of mile
below the scene of the hanging and
sent up shout. Hayward is avenged, -
followed by promiscuous discharge of
revolvers. The horsemen then wheeled
and rode rapidly away.
The circumstances attending the
murder of Hayward on the 10th Of
September last, are briefly that Wood
ruff and Seminole engaged Hayward to
convey them in his wagon from Golden
to cattle camp in the mountains.
! Hayward was never seen alive by his
friends afterwards. The body was
found some time afterwards in culvert
near Denver. Detectives set to work
on the case and eventually captured
their men and obtained their reward.
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