The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1881-01-12
A CoIorado Lyncllng.

miss the lynching" | had gone to
bed at an early hour tired and sleepy
and had heard nothing oftbe murder
committed during the night.
"Hullo' Jim is that you9" said !,
"when does the thing take placer"
"Pretty ID quick" answered
my friend.
So, hurriedly donning my clothes,
l sauntered out and found my
"bunky" waiting at the door of the
shanty. We walked up street a
short distance, and finding a crowd
of rough looking miners around the
door of a gambling hell, we pushed
through and entered the saloon,
where we found coroner's jury i'm
paneled and about TO begin their in
vestigation. Two tables, used for
dealing faro, had been pushed to-
gether, and on them was stretched
the dead body Of q police officer. /
had known him well. He was a
splendid specimen Of manhood, fully
six feetsix inches in height and built
in proportions; a quiet inoffensive
citizen, but thoroughly good officer.
On the top of the body lay coil Of
half-inch rope, neatly rolled up, with
q hang-man's moose at one end. AS
we entered the Coroner called the
first witness, who having been sworn,
stated that ION the evening previous
he had been in the gambling saloon
of Jim Beggs, where two fellows were
playing cards; during the game they
quarreled about something, and both
got up from the table and entered
the barroom, where they both drank,
and again commenced to wrangle
about the bets. They made consid-
cradle noise, and in the midst of it
the officer came in and quietly said,
"Boys, less noise; this must be stopp-
ed" He had no sooner said this
than one Of the gamblers jerked out
his gum (revolver) and shot the Off
Ger through the heart" The witness
had proceeded thus far when a strap.
ping big fellow, clad in red flannel
shirt, and with pantaloons stuck in
his boots legs, a broad.brimmed hat
half hiding his dark eyes, quietly
walked up to the dead body, and,
taking up the coil of rope, said:
"Boys, that'senough, come on" push.
ing his way out through the crowd,
followed by some fifteen or twenty
companions. Without word they
walked down to the "cooler" Crane
station-house) where the prisoner
had been incarcerated, and, coming
up to the six men on guard, demand
ed the keys. They told them that
the keys were not in their possession
"Hold up your hand, then" cried
the leader. Lets examine you"
The guards held up their hands
and quietly submitted to the exami-
nation. The lynchers finding that
the keys were notin their possession,
went to a woodpile, and picking up
an ak, speedily demolished the door,
The leader then entered the room
and in few minutes came out with
one end of the rope over his shoulder
and at she other end was the murderer,
the moose tight around his neck. l
had taken my stand on the opposite
side of the street, and could plainly
see the poor devil as he came out
He was richly clad, a large diamond
stud glistened on his shirt-front, and
on his left hand was large solitaire,
q heavy gold watch.chain dangled
from his vest pocket.
His countenance did not betoken
fear; in fact, to look at the man one
would have thought the whole per-
Torrance was but a joke. After
reaching the street the crowd seized
hold of the rope and led the victim
down to an old building, where a
beam Jutted out over the sidewalk.
When they reached this point one
Of the number climbed out over the
beam and the end of the rope was
thrown to him. After pulling the
slack up he slowly let it down on
the other side, and then leaned his
elbows down on the beam, and took
n deliberate look at the crowd below.
The leader of the committee then ap-
preached the gambler and said:
swell, jim, yer times short; want to
say anything?"