Mower County transcript., 1888-06-06
STRUNG UP ar A MOB.


Andrew GrandstaG Arrested for the
Butchery of the Drake Family In Wis
consin-His Horrible Confession So En-
RACES Citizens That They Break Into
the Jail at vlroqua, Secure the Wretch
and Lynch Him.
VlRoQUA, Wis, June 2, $3.50 a. m.-An-
drew Grandstaff, the murderer Of old Reu-
ben Drake, his wife and two grandchil
dren, who was captured Thursday night,
was taken from the Jail last night by an ex-
cited crowd of men and hanged to tree.
The officers found Grandstaff in bed at
the residence of man named Jennings in
the backwoods Of the town of Liberty,
near the Kickapoo river, where he had
made his headquarters for some days He
was taken to Readstown and kept during
the night, when the detectives and officers
pumped full confession out of him.
Grandstaf says that he left the house OF
murder and secreted himself in the woods
all day, and arrived at q safe distance from
the Drake homestead at about o'clock.
He continues:
II staid there until dark. Then Invent down
into the bottom and up to the house, stopped
and looked into the window. then knocked
at the door. The old gentleman (Drake)
said come in. I entered the house and
asked him for drink OF water. took
the drink and spoke a few words to him.
They called me by name. I asked him
il he had money and he sal he had not Then
drew u revolver and told him wanted his
money. He said he did not have any, but was
expecting or looking for some soon.
When he said this the second time I
shot him. When first went into
the house Mrs. Drake was putting the
nHN 10 ho1 Cho s~<1
the bedroom to go to bed before I shot. This
was after the children were in bed. Just after
l shot she came out with the Winchester
rifle. think had then shot at the old man
twice and he had fallen. AS Mrs. Drake
came out OF the bedroom door I shot
her, and just as shot her she let the rifle fall.
1 shot her twice. think looked into every
thing, but found no money. The children were
then awake, and both stood up in bed on their
arms looking out at me. Thought would have
to kill them for if did not they would tell me.
Then cut their throats-the little girls first.
She was on the front side OF the bed The boy
was upon his elbow when took hold Of him,
and he struggled. cut his throat, but do not
remember Of stabbing him.
The prisoner says that he took the mur-
dered mans rifle and departed by the back
door over the hills ten miles to the Kicka-
poo river, where he washed himself, and
then wandered through the woods and slept
in shanty till o'clock in the morning be-
fore he returned to Jennings place,
where he changed his clothing. He de-
scribes the spot where he hid the gun, how
he spent the next day going from place to
place, and how he freely conversed with
many people along the road concerning the
murder, etc. The knife and revolver with
which the crime was committed were
found on his person when captured. The
revolver is a fve-shooter, 80 -caliber, and
the knife long -bladed jack-kn. .fe.
A few hours after the arrival of the pris-
oner in this city yesterday there was loud
talk of lynching, and crowds of excited
men from the neighborhood where the mur-
der occurred began to gather. The crowd
and the excitement continued to in
crease until about II O'Clock, when
a mob of fully 1000 determined men
marched upon the Jail aud demanded the
murderer. The officers resisted and the
barriers to the Jail were broken down. One
hour Has consumed in breaking down the
steel cage in the upper room of the
jail, where the prisoner was confined.
He fought desperately and warded
off every body, but was finally overcome
A rope was put about his neck and he was
brought to the porch below, where he
firmly protested his innocence. But
two or three in the crowd we're aware Of
his confession and they refused to give
evidence. The scene at the Jail was hor-
rible. The prisoner was covered with
blood, having been terribly mangled while
the steel cage was being battered down, and
stood for an hour with the halter about his
neck, pleading for his life.
At AS this morning the mob hanged the
prisoner to tree in front of the court
house, and let him down again to see if he
would confess. The mob strung Grandstaf
up four times and the last time left his
body hanging to the tree, where it remains.
The murderer, Andrew Grandstaff, was a
young man, "a years Of age. He was born
in this county, in the town Of Franklin, Of
illegitimate parentage He was ignorant
of learning and could neither read or write.
He was of daring temperament but had
never been considered desperate or de-
PRAYED enough to commit wholesale mur-
der