The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-14
LYNCH LAW IN JOB LOTS.
An Unusually Successful Campaign by
the NiObrara Yigilantes,
Fourteen Men Lynched, and Only One Bung-
ling Piece of Work, Which Was Caused
by a jug Of Whisky,
Long Pine tNob.) Letter in New York sun.

out to break up the gangs OF cattle thleVeS thal
infest this country, fourteen have been lynehed,
sixty warned to leave on pain of DEATH and one
shot. The season. now nearing its close has
been a very successful one. Such ROUNDUP of
thieves and murderers was never known before.
| The regulators have not lost man, and they
have not even been embarrassed by the breaking
of rope. They have gone about their business
so quietly that very few know who they are or
where they came from. Their movements
have been expeditions and secret. Their
arrests, trials convictions, and executions
have been performed with such celebrity that in
most cases their presence in a neighborhood has
not been known until an inspection of the trees
give unmistakable evidence that they had come
and gone. Moving and acting quickly they have
carried terror to the hearts of evil-doers in this
whole section, embracing territory larger than
most of the States. Hundreds of thieves and
outlaws have by jumping the country, escaped
wel-merted punishment but Others more care
less or entirely ignorant of the fact that the
lynchers were ON the trail, have fallen easy vic
Tins. The men who make up the party are fa-
mihar with every foot of ground from the Elk
horn, Loup and Niobrara ranges to those of the
Powder river county, and during the past win
ter they have gone all of this territory once
and good deal of it three and four times Some
of the men whom they wanted most were not
found and others to whom short shrift was
given were desperadoes who had almost been
forgotten or had been supposed to be dead
The winter has been exceedingly favorable for
operations of this character. There have been
few severe storms and only two three bitter
cold spells. During one of the latter the men
suffered considerably, but fortunately escaped
with nothing more serious than few frost bitten
noses cheeks and fingers. They had been
in the vicinity of the Bad Lands after notorious
character named Jim Petley known to his com
radsss in crime as Long jim. but had been unable
to run him down. When about ready to give up
the search and retrace their steps they we're
caught in a blizzard of the more savage de-
scription Locomotion became out of the ques-
ton, and picketng their horses they awaited a
cessation of the storm. The tempest of snow
continued until far into the night, when the
clouds broke and the atmosphere became bitterly
cold. The horses suffered terribly, and the
men were not much better off. 1t was use
less to stay where they Were travel now being
preferable to inaction, and it was decided
to make for the nearest ranch without delay
Toing YEARLY and painfully on their way, they
encountered at daybreak The man for whom they
had been looking. He was accompanied by two
desperate-looking fellows who were, however,
unknown TO the regulators but who were to
gether with Jim, placed under arrest. The
thieves were III a pitiful plight from the cold
Long Jim suffering from frosted feet and
hands, and as the day wore on his agony became
uncomfortable.
''What are you fellers going to do with me?"
he finally demanded.
eve are going to take you to the pen and try
you for your crimes said one of his captors.
The pen is place near here where the regu
lators have had their rendezvous, and where
they have tried many of their prisoners, hang
ing and shooting some and banshing others.
And if You find me guilty. what thenP
''Well well probably hang you"
Il thought So" exclaimed Jim QOCgedlV.
'NOw, I'm in bad condition. and it's hurting
me to keep up with you fellows. I'm not going
any further. You can finish the job now"
tie had evidently considered the matter well.
He knew what to expect, With a savage look of
despair he bounded off as fast as his seriously
crippled limbs would carry him He had not
got more than 100 feet away before half dozen
rifle balls overlook him. He jumped high i'll the
air and fell fiat on his face, never moving after
ward His ragged clothing made black spot in
the snow which could be seen mile away, it
being the only object not covered by the sitting
flakes of the night before. The lynchers then
pushed on toward the towns.
Another party of the regulators, operating far
up the Niobfara valley. came upon a well-known
cattle-thi named Berber, whom they found in
quiet possession of a ranch with ten or twelve
hundred head of cattle He invited the men to
his home, where everything appeared in as good
form as if he were one of the most upright and
thrifty of the herders of the plains. The
regulators ate of his store, warmed them
selves by his fire, smoked his tobacco, drank
his liquor, and when ready to depart told
him they wanted him. His men were not in
the house at the time. and the regulators had the
drop on him Before his employees returned he
and his captors We're far away. Whether he
taken to the pen or not, is not known. He has
not been heard from since, and it is not likely
that he ever will be. His cattle will return to
their original owners in the spring.
A man who arrived here yesterday from the
up-country says that there is panic among the
hardcharacters from one end Of the range to the
other. Many have gone into the hills, and others
have gone south to the line of the Union Pacific
Speaking of the men against whom this crusade
has been made, he said; "Some of these fellows,
perhaps most OF them, deserve hanging, but l
have known a few who were at least pretty de
cent Two years ago l was up in this country
with an engineering party. One day q cowboy
came to our camp. He had been in some trouble
down the country. From what afterward
learned, the trouble that he had killed
sheriff. He nearly starved, and almost dead
from lack of sleep We fed him, and saw that
he Was not interrupted while he slept for nearly
twenty-fOur hours, and rested his pony After
that the cowboys who were at first very hostile
to u.s. changed their attitude toward us. Moth
ing was too good for us. If needed beef
they killed an animal from the herd and brought
US the hind quarters. If any inf rmatiOn
needed or letters from the postofice, they would
ride day to accommodate us. One night there
were two of them in camp, fellow named
Stewart and a colored man whom they called
Amos For several nights attempts had been
made TO steal our span OF mules. That night
the thieves got off with them. filing the chains
with which we had locked the mules to the
wagon. The man who owned the mules was
nearly crazy in the morning when he found them
gone. Stewart and Amos said it would only be
Il waste of time for any of US to go. They
would go out, and they thought they could get
the stock. The mule owner said he would give
500 for the recovery of his team. He wanted
to go with them, but they said they would go
alone or not at all, and they started. The
second day they came back with the mules, but
they refused the 800 reward They refused
also to tell how or where they got them, and
there was great curiosity in the camp to know
all about the matter. Four or five days later
we heard that two men known to be horse
thieves were dead over ON the Keya Paha"
Many other stories oflfe among these strange