Omaha daily bee., 1888-07-29
LAWS EXTREME PENALTY.
The Two Men Who Paid 1t in
Omaha.
THE HISTORY OF THEIR GRIMES.
A Victim Wrapped in Chains and
Sunk in the River-The Horrible
Goodness of Ottawa Bakers
Crime.
Legal Executions in Omaha.

lHnuulcIuDlt HluIUcTS nave DCcH tOiHLilllIcu
in Omaha, but only two murdercrs have paid
the penalty of their crimes upon the gallows.
The first legal execution in the city, as well
as the first in the state, was that of Judge
Cyrus Tator, on August %, 1853, for the muir
der of his partner, Isaac H.. Ncff.
About Jun Il, 1868, the Missouri river,
ever treacherous, recedeu during the night,
leaving upon it's bank the body of o man
wrapped round and round with heavy log
chains. The man had evidently been dead
but a few days, and the marks OF some sharp
instrument upon his head showed plainly
that he had been murdered and his body
thrown into the water with the expectation
that it would be forever hidden from
sight. The corpse was recognized as
that of Netf, who in company with
Tator had been camping near Sulphur
Springs. Tator was nowhere to be found and
his sudden disappearance at once turned sus-
picion upon him. 1t was learned that he had
purchased groceries in considerable quantity
a few days previous and had started across
country. Sheriff Thomas L.. Sutton immedi-
diately followed in pursuit, and after several
days overhauled him near Columbus, finding
in his possession a team and wagon which
had belonged to Neff. The sheriff returned
to Omaha with his prisoner, and district
court being then in session with Chief JUS
tice Kellogg presiding, a special grand jury
was at once called, and Tator indicted for the
murder of Neff.
1ator having no funds, Messrs. Little
and Poppleton were appointed to defend him,
which they did in a very able manner indeed,
the state being represented by Charles II.
Brown and Judge Lake. Popular preiudices
were so aroused that POO men were examined
before a suitable jury was empnnelled. The
trial lasted about IA fortnight and the case was
given to the jury, who, after two hours deliber-
alton, returned a verdict of guilty in the first
degree.n The defendants able attorneys
were unsuccessful in their several motions
for new trial and on July 10 Judge Kellogg
passed the death sentence, fixing the day of
execution for August 81, but Governor Saun-
ders extended his time to August IS.
Cyrus Tator was q man OF much more than
ordinary ability, being lawyer by profession,
a brilliant conversationalist, and a man of
learning. He had held the position of pro-
bate judge for two terms in Lykins county,
Kansas, where he was elected to the state
legislature, but apparently he cared little for
public honorS and left Tor Pixies Peak with
out taking his seat. His career in Colorado,
however, must have been decidedly unsavory,
as while he was incarcerated in this city
after his trial, a burly man with unkenpt
hair and weather-beaten vlsage-a typical
mountaineer-came to the door of his cell.
When Tator saw him he gave a start Of rec
- 90 WIN ~ law v ~ IdSty lIc
man burst out in a torrent of abuse, declar-
ing Tator to be a thief, a liar and a scoun-
drel, and expressing pleasure that he was to
be hung. Beneath the storm of invectiyes,
Tator covered in his cell.
During his peregrinations in Colorado he
formed the acquaintance of Neff, with whom
he came to Omaha in June Of 1863. His rea-
son for numbering Neff Tator never di-
vulged. -,
one of the lawyers connected with the case,
in a recent conversation, 'that a man of
Tator's attachments should commit a CRIME
by which so much might be lost and SO little
could be gained
The day of execution was one of the most
memorable days in the history of Omaha.
Company c, Seventh Iowa cavalry, compris-
ing forty men, formed a hollow square
around the buggy containing Sheriff
demned, escorting them from the
jail to the gallows, erected near Sulphur
Springs. The way was thronged with people
on foot and horseback and in vehicles of
every description.
Hon. Byron Reed has in his possession
a copy of the Daily Nebraskan, issued the
next day, which contains a verbatim report
of Tator's speech upon the gallows, thereby
badly scooping its contemporary, the Repub-
lican. In this speech, he says that he is not
afraid to die, and processes his innocence of
the crime imputed to him, but refuses to
state who is the guilty party. During the
delivery he was perfectly collected, his elo-
quence drawing tears of sympathy from
many in the vast assemblage, who accepted
as true his intimation that he preferred to
die rather than betray the real criminal.
But there can be little doubt that he was
the real murderer, as it is SAID that a gentle
man closely connected with the trial years
afterward made the statement that Tator
had confessed his guilt and asked advice as
to which way he should plead. His counsel
was that he should plead mot guilty." as by
so doing greater sympathy would be aroused,
not only for himself but for his family.
Rev. Mr.. Lemon acted as Tator's spiritual
adviser. Sheriff Sutton placed the moose
arc md his neck, Constable Riley adjusted
the black cap, sprang the trap, and the VIC
tim of the first legal execution IN Omaha was
dead.