Omaha daily bee., 1889-04-25
THE CAPITAL CITY TRAGEDY.
Indignation Wrought to q High Pitch
and More Trouble Feared.
THE FUNERAL OF THE VICTIM.
Meeting of the Board of Public Works
and misunderstanding for q
Murdcrer's Pardon---Gcn-
eral and Personal.
LINCOLN BUREAU OF THE OMAHA BEE,
1929 Il STREET,

LINCOLN. April "a.
The cold-blooded murder of Bob Woods is
still the chief theme of conversation on the
streets of Lincoln, and the excitement has
by no means abated. 1t will not be surpris-
ing If lynching party results. This is
talked seriously among the colored citizens
of the city, and there are not few of the
whites who will lend a helping hand IL a
decisive move is made to mete out summary
Justice The theory grows that Sheriff
MelicK has obtained a confession from
Taylor, and that he withholds it for fear
that exasperated citizens may arise in their
might and take the execution of the law into
their own hands. The sherifls guarded
statement that he had information from
Tavlor that went to strengthen the be-
lief that the right parties are in
the hands of the authorities goes
long way toward convincing the interested
public that this IS correct view of the case
Not few colored citizens. abruptly say. ~
know Taylor killed Bob, and that Curtis
hired him TO do it,"
Woods, although seventy-one years of age,
was a remarkably well-preserved man. He
was as 1.-the and wilowy rs a man of forty,
and was no mean adversary in rough-and-
tumble fight as dozens of his race in this
city stand willing to testify from personal
experience, But he was generally quiet aud
peaceable, and was never known to provoke
a quarrel unless under the influence of
whisky. His eccentriclties made him a
great many friends He was droll, witty,
and never failed to retort when some
''smart alcck" undertook to make him
the butt of ridicule, and he very often
turned the laugh.
Woods funeral took place this afternoon
from the African NJ. Il. church on T. street.
Rev. j. w. Braxton preached the sermon.
The deceased served three years in the
union army and the services were therefore
under the auspices of the Grand Army of
the Republic, The procession was led by
the Cadet band. Woods is the first occupant
of the portion of the cemetery set apart for
colored soldiers. He was buried at the ex-
pcnse of the state and the government will
provide HIM n monument.
To Illustrate the estimation in which Bob
was held in the city, lady of position and
wealth drove up to Undertaken Heaton's
yesterday and said to him: "Woods must
not be buried as pauper. l will pay the
expenses of the funeral If necessary"
Irrespective of color, old soldiers honored
old Bob Woods by following his remains to
the silent city of the dead. The funeral
the demise of a colorcd citizen in the city of
Lincoln, and in this she did well.
Pleading For n Brother.
Mrs Bertha Euster of Edgar, called upon
Governor Thayer, today, in behalf of her
brother, Henry Tedrahn, who is now serving
twenty years sentence in the state pen
for murder in the second degree. Mrs.
Euster supports her plea for executive
pardon, with petition signed by over three
hundred citizens of Greeley and Howard
counties. The citizens of Scotia, near where
the crime was committed, for which he was
tried and sentenced, signed it almost en-
masse. a number of ST. Paul citizens also
signed the paper
Young Tedrahn was tried for shooting and
killing young man by the name of Paxton,
about eight years ago, and has now served
little over seven years of his sentence. He
was but seventeen years of age when he
committed the rash deed. The plea of in
sanity was set up when he was tried on the
charge of murder, but it was not sustained.
In view of his good standing prior to the
commission of the crime, and the excellent
standing of his family, he was found guilty
on the lesser count of the crime, and thus
saved from the gallows. There are a num-
ber of phases to the plea the sister IS urging,
and it is possible that she may be instru-
mental in securing her brothers. freedom.
Boiler House Plans Chosen.
The board of public lands and buildings
met to-day to open the bids for plans and
specifications for the capitol building boiler
house and the asylum boiler house at Hast.
ings. Competitive plans were submitted by
Architects Ellis and Gray for the capitol
house and by Architects Wcge and Ritten-
house, of Hastings, of the asylum house.
The plans looked very pretty on paper,
showing their towers from 7S to 115 feet
and lines that cleverly indicated the shortest
possible poin5 between two angles. The
board examined the pictures with critical
eye, and in a manner that Indicated that
they knew just what they were doing. Well
they might; for the interested picture
makers stood over them and explained away