St. Landry democrat., 1883-06-16
LYNCHERS.
They Take Desperate from the Gascon-
ade County Jail and Hang Him to q
Convenient Tree-The Series of Crimes
that Aroused the Ire of Peanle.

L
ade County Jail and Hang Him to q
/ Convenient Tree-The Series of Crimes
| that Aroused the Ire of the People.
| HERMANN Mo-, June 5.
Last Monday evening the report reached
town that during the night body of men
would come to this place to take Whitney.
the murderer of VIM. Burchard oft of Jail
and hang him. AS the same report had
been spread on several evenings and no
mob had made its appearance, the Sheriff
and a majority of the citizens who heard
| of the affair did not believe there was any
danger of any such thing, and quietly
went to bed. Shortly before midnight
persons who were still up noticed that an
unusual number of persons were passing
/ through the streets, and especially
up Market street, but as the crowd was
very orderly, not much attention was at
tracted by their proceedings. Arrived at
the Courthouse, the back door was forced
| open and number of men, armed with
heavy sledge-hammers and chisels, entered
| the hall and began to batter down the
| ponderous locks of the outer jail-doors,
which soon gave way to the fearful blows
that fell upon them. The rivets holding.
them to the door were cut and the locks
! fell tothe floor, leaving only the cell doorbe-
| tween the prisoner and the Infatuated mob.
In the meantime Sheriff Boigner had heard
/ of the attempt to take out the prisoners land,
In company with Deputy Sheriff Mumbrau-
er and Oscar Schultz, hastened to the scene
of action. When he arrived at the north
| door of the building, and had just entered
the hall, he was seized by number of men,
blindfolded and taken outside of the build
| ing, where he was thrown to the ground
and held down by his captors. Deputy
| Sheriffs Mumbrauer and Schultz met with
a similar fate before they could say one
word in remonstrance. In the pockets of
Deputy Sheriff Mumbrauer his captors
| found the keys of the Jail, and without any
further waste of time opened the cell in
which the prisoner was locked up for the
night, and after tying his hands and fas-
tening a rope around his waist, gave word
to the crowd outside that they had their
man. He was then taken out of the build
ing and led down stairs on Front street.
| The prisoner looked pale, but stepped
firm and walked along with the men, who
had hold of him on either side, without
their having to urge him to proceed. He
was led out of town, the whole mob and a
| small number of citizens of our town, who
| udu uG6TGEO1 Gu0 dTTlNal Ul Vic iuODt Uub
| seeing their number did not attempt to
thwart them in their undertaking, follow
| ing. When they arrived at the small bridge
over the Iron road, about $50 yards north
of the residence of Mr.. Christ Fleisch, the
men leading the prisoner were met by a
number of masked men, who brandished
| their revolvers and, after taking hold of the
| prisoner, told the crowd to fall back, a
| command which was at once obeyed. w hit
ney was then led Kinder the tree by the
| masked men and the moose placed around
| his neck.
THE PRISONERS STATEMENT.
| On being told by one of the masked men
| that if he had anything to say he should
say it now and be in hurry, he replied
thathe did not think he had killed young
| Burchard, but if he had he hoped to be for
given, and felt as bad over his death as
| perhaps the parents or brothers of the dead
man, but at the same time he could not say
| that he did not fire the shot which proved
| fatal. He said he shot at them because he
| supposed they were going to shoot at him
| and his partner, whose right name he said
| was Collier. He then stated that his real
name was not Whitney, but j. W. Fisher,
and that he had a mother and step-father
| living in Chatham Hill, Va. He was then
asked if he had anything more to say, and
said: "Write to my mother and tell her
| that am gone, but for Heavens sake do
| not tell her in what manner came to my
death.n
| He was then reminded by the spokesman
| of the masked men, a tall man dressed in
white gown, with black mask over his
face, that he had but little time left, and
asked il he had anything more to say. He
| replied:
want to live as long as l am permitted
to. am ready and hope to meet you al! in
Heaven, where hope to 60 Good-by for
ever"
The unfortunate man was then lifted up
by some OF the masked men, while others
made the end of the rope fast around the
trunk of the tree, and Whitney, or Fisher
as he called himself, was left dangling be-
tween heaven and earth.