The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-04-15
CONVICTED OLIVE.
What Brown, Who Turned
States Evidence. Says
About the Crime.
Sheriff GiiIen Accepts a Bride and Sur
renders the Prisoners.

The LEADER, a couple of days ago,
published a telegram announcing that
Byron Brown had turned states evil
dence and testified that Olive was not
only a participant, but the instigator of
the plot to murder Mitchell and Ketch-
um. This morning we are enabled to
give the greater portion of Browns
testimony, which is substantially as fol-
lows as reported in the Omaha ReDub-
lican:
He stated that Pedro, Gartrell and
Kelly, the black cook, and himself were
at Olives ranch on the 10th of Deem
Der: that Fisher came up on horseback
and told the boys that Olive wanted to
meet them at Wood river. Pedro Gar
trell, Fisher and witness then rode to
Wood river as they were bid. Upon
arriving there they heard a man whist
ling and hallooing for them to come on.
They found the man TO be Olive. They
then went all together to DEVILS Gap,
where they met the wagon with the
prisoners, Mitchell and Ketchum, with
whom they saw Dufrand and Gillen.
Olive demanded the prisoners from Gill
len, who said that he hated to give them
up, but finally yielded. Gartrell then
jumped into the wagon and seized the
reins, Dufrand and G. illen having got
out and gone back some three or four
hundred yards. Olive first rode to an
elm tree nea by, but after examining
it said it would not answer, as it was too
large. Having found a smaller me,
which suited his purpose, he ordered the
wagon containing Mitchell and Ketch.
um to be driven under it. When this
was done Gartrell put q rope around
Ketchum's neck, and Mexican Pedro
served Mitchell in q like manner. The
ropes were then tied to the limb OF the
tree and the prisoners were handcuffed.
Olive stood by the wagon. Mitchell
was on the bottom of the floor of the
w%agonbox, and Ketchum slightly lean
ing e the side. Olive grabbed up a
Winchester rifle and shot Mitchell in
the right side. The wounded man fell
over back on the wheel. Gartrell and
Olive then got into the wagon together.
Gartrell took up the lines, whipped the
horses and left the prisoners hanging to
the tree. Tue clothing of the wounded
man took fire from the gun, and as the
witness walked around to the tree,
Olive ordered him to put out the fire
and thought he had done so.
The witness testified positively that
he saw Olive pay money to Sheriff Gil.
len-that Olive, Fisher Green, Bald.
win, Gartrell, himself and the Mexican
were present when the men were hung.
The witness is a boy twenty-one
years Of age, a native Of Ohio, intelli-
gent and good looking, with frank, open
face, and has been in the employ OF
Olive ten months. He says privately
that Olive compelled him at the point
Of a rifle to assist in lynching Mitchell
and Ketohum.
Olive said something about cattle
and put the muzzle of the carbine to
Mitchell's breast and fired. Neither of
the prisoners said anything. Olive,
Green and Baldwin acted as if in liquor.
Heard Gartrell and Olive talking about
lynching the prisoners before they got
to the wagon. Olive told Gartrell be
thought the prisoners would not resist.
Did not know how long it took to kill
the men; he thinks one was not dead
when they left.
The jury, to whom the fate of Olive
and his gang is entrusted, is composed
of the following named: William Bal
ley, James Slate, s. NJ. Hoagland, H.
NJ. Palmer, ]. Q. Davis, Connor Knopf,
w. NJ. West, A. j. Millet, G. .. Henry,
II. L. Pratt, A. r. Pearson, Thomas
Carroll.
Mrs. Olive and three little children,
one OF which is in her arms, were in
attendance upon the court. She stood
the testimony all right until Dufrand
came upon the stand. The danger her
husband stands IN seems never to have
dawned fully upon her until she heard
this, when she was completely broken
down. Browns evidence was more
than she could bear, and she left the
court room sobbing as though her heart
would break. The chains of evidence
about the man Olive seems to be as
strong as were those that bound the
hanging and writhing bodies of the
poor victims of this most atrocioas
deed to the limb Of that deadly tree of
fate beneath whose branches they met
a death at which civilization and hui
manity revolts.