Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-05-30
WRETCH LYNCHED.
The Perpetrator of Brutal
Outrage
JUST As BRUTALLY LYNCHED.
An Early Morning Scene in a Michigan
City-A Texas Sheriff Killed BY
Desperado-The Scranton
Dedication.

Mrs. John ellis, the wife of farmer, |
about two weeks ago, was taken from the |
county Jail about two O'Clock yesterday
morning by a masked mob and lynched.
Ever since the outrage occurred there has
been considerable talk of lynching, but
the fact of its being talked so openly led
the sheriff and police to pay no attention
to it
About two o'clock Turnkey Laroche
opened the door. when he was confronted
by three strangers wearing masks. They
seized Laroche and demanded the keys.
He said he did not have them. They then
choked and beat him and dragged him
into the street where about fifty masked
men rush ed him around the corner.
The mob were armed with revolvers and
few had sledge hammers, with which
they soon battered down the iron doors.
The door of Martins cell was not locked
and as the mob entered he said: ''What
do you want!" These were his last
words.
A moose was quickly made in long
rope which the Iynchers carried and it
was slipped over his neck while he was
vet in bed. The other end of the rope
| reached out TO the street, where it was
| held by not less than fifty willing hands.
With a blood-curdling yell the mob
started on a run. Martin was unable to
| regain his feet and he was dragged
| through the sheriff's Office out to the
street. His head struck stove with such
| force as to turn il half way round.
Amid shouts anil the firing of revolvers
| the mob headed for the Seventh street
| bridge, three blocks away. They had to
| turn two street corners on their way and
as they made the turn by the Baptist
| Church, the poor wretch's head caught in
| the stone covering to the gutter. No effort
| was made to ex5ricate him and the halt
was only long enough to give terrible
| tug on the rope by which the body was re-
| leased.
The moose on the rope had loosened and
| slipped over the wretch'S chin and into
| his mouth. 1t was then frightened until
| his lower jaw was pulled down upon his
| neck in a manner which must have caused
| the victim terrible suffering
| Arrived at the bridge, one end of the
rope was thrown over an iron stringer
and Martin was swung off. His body,
| which, by this time, must have been life
| less was left hanging, and with few
| parting shots the mob quit the scene.
| No attempt was made to arrest any
| member of the mob. 1t is thought it was
| composed of Mr.. ellis neighbors.
SHERIFF KILLED.
| DENISoN Tex, May 2S-Ro5ert May,
| sheriff of this (Grayson) county, was shot
and in stantly killed at nine O'Clock Sun
| ay morning near Howe by Ben IsOm.
| Howe is in Grayson County, on the Hous-
| ton 6, Texas Central railroad. 1t is twenty
| miles south of DenisOn. Saturday Ben
| Isom and John lsom, his brother, stopped
| in Sherman. They stated that they had
| recently come from Kentucky. After re-
| naming in Sherman all evening, they
| purchased two Winchester rifles and de-
| parted for Howe, where they drank whisky
freely.
At an early hour Sunday they started
| out to run the town. The city marshal at
| tempted to arrest them but was unable to
do so. He called number of citizens of
| the place to his aid. the posse pressed the
| Isoms so hard that they retreated to the
| woods just outside the corporation. Deem
| ing it inadvisable to attack, the marshal
telegraphed to Sheriff Nav. He went to
| Howe in company with Deputy Sheriff
Creager. While the two officers were en-
gagged in hunting for the desperadoes
| thew opened fire, the bullet fired by Ben
Isom striking Sheriff Nav in the temple,
killing him instantly. Deputy Sheriff
1
the killing.
The entire population of the place turned
out and in short time succeeded in sur
| rounding John Isom and two other young
men named Eden and Hanna, who are his
cousins. The news of the tragedy was
telegraphed to Sherman and it caused in
tense excitement. Large parties of men
| rode upon horseback and in vehicles to
Howe, which is distant ten miles Before
their arrival John Isom and E len and
Hanna surrendered and were taken to
Sherman up on a special train aud locked
up in the county Jail. So quietly were
they brought into Sherman that they were
behind the bars before the people of the
city were aware of their arrest
Bloodhounds were brought from Bon
| ham and Ben Isom was tracked to a wheat
field near the scene of the killing and cap
| tured He was taken to Sherman and
locked I'D with the others. There was in
tense excitement in Sherman and talk of
| lynching the desperadoes was freely in
dulged in. Sheriff May was thirty five
years of age. He was married and was
highly esteemed by all who knew him.
THE SCRANTON DUPLICATION.
| SCRANTON, Pa, May 2S-The failure of
the Scranton City Bank and the arrest of
| Vice. president anu CdSnleT JeSSup,
| charged with the embezzement of the
bank funds amounting to not less than
| S135. 900 excited the citizens. The most
| startling rumor is that all of the directors
| with the exception of President Throop
| and Coon, as they were convinced of the
enormity of Jessup's shortage, to save
| themselves, withdrew to the last penny
every cent that they had on deposit in the
| morning during banking hours. DR..
Throop, who is worth $4,000, 900 and had
SOS 900 on deposit. alone of the directors
allowed his money to go into the general
crash. DIR. Thr oop held one-fourth OF the
stock of the bank.
Another well authenticated story is that
on Friday a customer had paper dis
| counted for s.. 900. Cashier Jessup i'm
| mediately thereafter rediscounted 1t at
| the Merchants and Mechanics Bank.
DR.. Throop states that the banks en-
barrassment was caused by Jessup using
| its funds to promote a contract with the
New York, Ontario g. Western railway,
| by which the latter was to develop coal
land containing 1000, 900 tons of coal held
by Jessup, under leasehold, the road now
being under contract. Jessup spent week
before last in New York and Boston look
ing after the project, but the matter being
| deferred he returned to Scranton disheart-
ened. Had the project carried Jessup
would have realized S2c0 600, and this
would have carried him safely over Pres
ident Throop also stated that depositors
would be paid in full aud if the bank