Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-26

| in the yard as he was standing by his WIFE, The
raiders then fired the house, and while it was
burning held the woman so she could not rar
in and save her infant babe that VAS being con.
srlmed in the flames. ~'+
An old German who was sick in bed and no.
able to walk was ordered to be carried out tina:
his home might be fred. AS the poor SICK
man lay i'll the yard squad Of fiends came ur
and riddled HIS body with bullets Another
man who WAS sick, when he heard the noise
outside, crawled to the door, where he was mel
by halfa dozen desperadoes, who emptied thei,
revolvers in his face and then fired the build
ing, and all was consumed in the flames.
A very old man by the name of Murphy was
standing in his yard and with his dim eyesigh
was peering in the distance to find out what was
going on. fend rode up and asked him fol
| a cup Of water. When the old man went anc
brought hmm the cup the incarnate devil re-
ceived it with one hand and shot HIM with thu
other
TO add other instances of these balbaritles
would be to unnecessarily lengthen this article.
Enough has been said to mark it as one among
the foul deeds the world has witnessed. The
instances narrated show plainly the object and
purpose of the raid. Quantrell had planned
well. His spies had visited the place prior to
his raid and had found aud marked every i'm.
portant parsonage and place. To make this
attack instantaneous and complete he had fol-
each place or person proper detail and thei,
executions We're complete In short space Of
time the whole town was wrapped in flames
the men shot down wherever seen, women and
children running here and there screaming fol-
life. while the desperadoes were riding up and
down the streets at full speed. unfortunately
shooting at every object they could see. They
would shoot ut women and children ''to make
them run faster and scream louder" as one Of
the raiders afterwards said. To an eyewitness
it was realization of what one might cal
''Heu let loose"
The business part of the town was on Massa.
chusetts street, between Winthrop and Warren,
distance of six blocks, Along this street
there was one continuous line of stores, shops
plundered and then set on fire The whole
street was soon in flames, In the street and on
the sidewalks lay the dead and wounded crisp
ing in the fiery element. AS buildings went
down many persons went with them, choosing
rather to perish in tho flames than to run to
the street and be shot down like dogs. Mod
ern times never Witnessed such q scene OF
horror before; the atrocity of savages WAS but
shadow to this, and tiends from the regions
Of the damned could not have been more bru-
tai
The end came at last, and in an hour the
raiders had gone The gathering up of the
dead, the caring for the wounded and the hunt
for the missing was the work Of three days
three days and lights Of the widest excite
ment ever seen in Lawrence. Into the few
buildings LETT remaining we're gathered the
dead the dying and the wounded Many Of
tho dead we're burned beyond recognition,
and some SO charred as not to be handled and
some Of whose remains never could be found
The scenes Of these three days beggars all
descriptions. In the ashes of a building sat
woman holding III her hands the blackened
skull of her husband, while at her feet lie thu
ashes of her three children, all Of whom were
butchered and consumed in the flames.
The whole number killed and those who dice
afterwards from wounds was about one hun
bred and eighty The burial of the dead was
the most solemn affair any one could witness.
it was an impossibiity to get collins for all and
some had to be put away in rude boxes hastily
made. few were buried in their own door
yards but most were taken to the cemetry west
Of the town. Fifty three were buried in one
long grave, In 1872 their bodies were all taken
up and reinforced in Oak Hill Cennetry, where
there has been erected to their memory IL very
imposing monument
The number Of buildings burned was about
one hundred and fifty and the most of these
were the principal ones in the town. 4 few
stone buildings were left standing. The value
of the property destroyed was estimated al
about 81 5OO, 600. 1t was very calm morning:
not a breeze was stirring, to carry the hanes
from one building to another is reason why
portion Of the town was left standing where
the houses were not very contiguous to each
other OsWEGo KANSAS.