Wichita eagle., 1888-11-18
HE WILL NOT HANG.
The Death Sentence of Thomas Thurber Com
muted by President Cleveland
His Crime.

The following telegram was yesterday
received in this city about 10 o'clock:
r. F. McMeachan, Wichita, Kan.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Nov. 1.-THE pres
ident has committed death sentence of
Thurber. A. K. BoTELER,
Clerk of pardons
Mr.. Mem q han was congratulated yes
terday upon his success in saving this his
third condemned prisoner through execu-
tive clemency from the gallows. 1t will
be remembered that it was through his
efforts that the two Indian boys, Slmons
and Washington were saved from hanging.
The young prisoner received the news
with every expression of happiness and
pleasure At first it seemed to daze him
and he could do nothing but laugh; how
ever, recovering himself. he tried to ex-
press to Mr.. McMeachan his gratitude
Il was Just writing to my sister," he said
'and this will be happy news to close
with"
THE CRIME
for which he was sentenced to hang, is
thus set Torch in his own sworn state
ment to President Cleveland asking for
the communication of his sentence:
Thomas Thurber, being first duly sworn
upon OaL0, states Uudb lie Is Ult
in the case of the United States VS.. Thur
ber who was charged with the killing of
Peter Mann during the month of May last,
and was found guilty of said killing at the
September term of the United States dis
trict court of Kansas, holden in the city of
Wichita, and sentenced to die upon the
scaffold on the 21St day OF November, lSSs.
Afliant further states that he was born
in Shawnee county, Kansas, and Is now
between the age OF II and is years. That
at the age of years he with his parents
moved to the Pottawattomie Nation. In
dian Territory, and has lived there up to
the time of the shooting Of Peter Mann;
that by reason of his poverty he was I'M
able to hire an attorney to counsel with
him in order to make defense; that the
court appointed an attorney to defend
him: that counsel never consulted with
him in regard to thu nature of his defense;
that he was not advised as TO the advisa-
bility Of testifying in his own behalf, and
that the case was closed without him hav-
ing an opportunity to tell the jury the
circumstances that caused him TO take the
life of Peter Mann.
Therefore your affiant, in view of the
fact that he is asking executive clemency
at the hands of his excellency, deems 1t
proper that he tells how he came TO shoot
Peter Mann.
Your affiant states that the shooting
of Peter Mann was the result of quarrel
between himself and Mann over the own
ership of team of horses On the day
that Peter Mann was killed | was working
kill a beef that day. sam Baldwin and
myself were getting the horses ready TO
start to hunt the steer that we expected to
kill when was told by my sister that
Peter Mann had been to my home and
taken my team away. told Sam Baldwin
that we would go and see If we could find
him and get my team. as he had no right
10 it. When we reached the road we were
:old by little Henry Stafford that Peter
Mann had passed along short time before
with NV team We followed the trail
taken by Peter Mann and 1t was not long
until we came up 10 him. When | got
within speaking distance | said: Hello
Pete He stopped. | told him that he had
taken nv team: that they were my horses,
and that he knew they were mine He
said: Here they are; l would like to see
you take them. and at the same time struck
the wagon bed with ''Quoit'-a loaded
whip about four feet long-acting as though
he would strike NE If l should attempt TO
take them | then said TO him: Why did
you take my team? He did not answer. l
tcld him must have my team. His an
swer was he would like TO see me get them.
Why do you not take themf he would say
and at the same time make faces at me and
kept on tantalizing me. He would
throw his right hand behind him
in such way as to indicate to me that he
was going to pull his pistol and at the
same time acting as though he was going
on with the team. then pulled my pistol
from my hip pocket and fired. He had
aggravated me so very much that / was
mad and did not realize what l had done,
until Ihad dismounted from my horse and
taken him by the arm and he said | am
going to die. then helped him 10 John
Clinton's house
Ifelt very sorry that / had shot him,
told John Clinton to take my team and go
bring some of Pete Mann's folks / stared
there short time then went home and
told my mother that l had she's Psse