Iron County register., 1882-06-22
Lynch Law in Colorado.


"I don't think the frontier ever wit
messed a lynching so bold as that of
Belts and Browning,'' said Mr.. Hick-
man, the Receiver of the Land-office at
Lake City, to Tribune reporter yester-
day. s'You will remember the cause.
Sheriff Campbell attempted to arrest
the two men, you know, while they were
in the act of stealing some furniture
from house. He was shot and killed
instantly-an assistant who was with
him identifying the faces of the murder
ers by the light of q match which was
struck when the demand for surrender
was made, The murder was committed
on the 26th of last month, the day we
were to have celebrated the Odd Fell
lows anniversary. The Sheriff was the
founder of our lodge, and instead of
celebration we had funeral. A better
fellow than Campbell never lived. The
murderers were the keepers of dance
hall. They were arrested that morning
and put in jail. Campbell's two BROTH
ers, who were mining at Pitkin, eighty
five miles away, were telegraphed to
come to Lake City to attend the funeral.
That afternoon, the 9th, rumor was
circulated in the streets that there would
be a prayer-meeting at the house of the
dead Sheriff at eleven O'Clock. 1 had
not the slightest suspicion of the inten-
ton, and was among the 100 men or
more who congregated near the prem
ises. 1 was not there long before had
learned the purpose of the advertise
ment, and was not slow in washing my
hands of the affair. The men had met
to lynch the murderers. The plan was
given out boldly, and as boldly exc
cuted, as the next day, when l arose,
the information received before l had
reached the breakfast table was that the
lifeless bodies of the two men were
hanging from the cross-beam of the
Gunnison River bridge, below the CITY,"
"Did you hear how the vigilantes
proceeded?"
"From the gossip which was circulat-
ed after the excitement and precaution
had died out, believe that at least 100
men were in the lynching party. will
tell you the occurrence as l framed it
from mixed reports. From the prayer
meeting the vigilantes went to the Jail.
The guards, apparently, offered no re-
sistance, and Belts and Browning were
taken out. The hands were first
bound to their sides. Some of the rep
resentative church-members of the COM
munity are said to have been in the throng
who demanded the seye for an eye and
the tooth for q TOOTH [ do not know
how true that was. Well, while the
men were being bound, one of them
asked if there was not friend in the
crowd. A young gambler who had
been frequenter of the dance-hall, and
a friend of the doomed men, shouted
that he was friend, and made break
toward the prisoners. Somebody
placed the cold muzzle of q pistol
against the side of his head and told
him to skip the town instanter. I be-
lieve that the incident was a true bill,
because the courageous youth was not
seen about the city until week later.
Everything was done quietly, dispas-
sionately. The two men were marched
down the Gunnison road after midnight.
Neither of them weakened, even when
the cruel nooses were placed about their
necks. An effort was made to save
Browning, many insisting that he did
not fire the fatal shot, and should not
be lynched for completely in the mur-
der. Browning would have been turned
loose had it not been for the fact that
he said he would be revenged upon the
witnesses of the murder. When he
made this threat he was deemed better
man dead than alive, as everybody
knew that, although quiet man, he
was desperate. Just as the hanging bee
was being ended, and, understand it,
while the ropes being arranged for the
pulling, the two Campbell brothers ar
rived at the scene, having rode the
eighty-five miles by blackboard and in
the saddle that day. The murderers
were asked if they had aught to say,
and both coolly replied that they had
not. They were hanged to a beam
which crosses above from truss to truss
of the bridge. The bodies were allowed
to dangle there until late in the day.
They were planted, however. before the
remains of the Sheriff were inferred"
s.Was there any indignation ex-
pressed against the 1ynching?''
ssNot the least. On the contrary, the
people all thought the act q good one,
and all that could be heard in the way
of comment indicated feeling of relief
and satisfaction.-DeaaUer (Col.) Trib-