Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-14
How the sf9peer Courts of Ne
braska Administered Justice.
THE TRIALS WE'RE VERY BRIEF
Thrust Him Through the Ice-An Old
Mans Mnrtfer Quickly Avenged
The Famous Horse
thief Bill.
No Trifiing with Them.


punishment at the hands of the
courts appointed executioners. The
"court" recognized but two modes OF
punishment for crimes committed with
in its urisdiction-death and public
fogging. In few special instances,
however, eternal Punishment was re-
sorted to, but these cases were few. In
the manner of capital punishment, the
methods of the executioner varied in
accordance with the instructions from
the "court" and the atrocity OF the
crime. The foggings also differed in
the methods of administration accord
ing to the sentence, from half u dozen
lashes up to several hundred. The
court" was
ALWAYS IN SESSION,
and its rulings and decisions in import
ant cases were always impartial and just.
| The "court' was an important adjunct
to that pioneer necessity, the vigilance
committee, which held full sway and
| dealt out justice in Otoe county, for
many years, in the SOS and COS. The
committee numbered among its men,
bers nearly every citizen in the COM
munity, excepting the criminal class,
and oven the duly elected city and
county officers were prominent in Wig
| ilauce work and Justice, and 1T was sell
dom that a guilty man escaped.
The original committee Is still in ex-
, istence, although its membership has
been reduced by death to about twenty
men and the organization Is now in a
state of "inocuous desuetude," although
members of the committee are still
called upon when q hangman's knot is
in demand. The members OF the COM
mittee still
REGARD THEIR OATH AS SACRED
aud binding and it is next to useless t
nv to draw one of them out on the sub
lcct of tho committees work in the
early day, although some of
the survivors take pleasure in
relating many Interesting stories
in connection with the organization.
The time of the 'tommittee's disorgan:-
ization dates baek some twenty years.
and was the result OF discovery that
there we're traitors and horse thieves in
the committees. .b!3
Among the last acts of the committee
was decision rendered by the court"
directly after the war, which fixed the
death penalty Upon the notorious Nc
Waters, Qpin fBohannon and several
others then living in the vicinity of
Wyoming City, northwest of this city.
The crime for which they were to pay
the penalty was Tor robbing the Wyo-
ming postoffice and killing the post
master. The crime had not been
clearly proven against the condemned
men. but there was not r. aoubt In the
minds OF the, fopjjmittee, and the
COURTS order was to
''HANG, SHOOT OR OTHERWISE KILL"
the accused. Every arrangement had
been made, and the following night the
execution was to have been carried into
effect, when information was brought
| to the "court" that the men had gotten
wind of the decision and had dis
appeared. They had gone for good and
renamed away for a aumber OF years,
and returned only when the committee
| had gone out of business.
The committee then turned it's atten-
| tion to itself to find the traitors. They
| were unsuccessful in securing adequate
| proof, but the suspicion pointed strongly
| to well-known member who soon after
| left the country.
In the fall of 1858 Dominick o 'Rourke,
then quite u well-known citizen, as
sisted man who is only remembered
! as ''Tecumseh" to steal horse in broad
| daylight. The animal was hitched in
| front of Captain LaboO's hotel. The
! thief and horse escaped into Iowa and
| the matter was reported to the commit
| tee, who gave immediate chase and
| brought them pack. Both men were
turned over to the sheriff for safe keep
ing and were confined in the old block
house. The committee, however, was
| not satisfied with the laws delay and
demanded the prisoners, which were
refused them without written ''Order
| from the court" The order was soon
| produced and the men were turned over
| to the committee and taken before the
sscourt" for trial. O'Rourke employed
| General Coe. now of Omaha. to defend
him, and he did it with such effect that
compromise verdict was reached, the
defendant agreeing to leave the state
and never return. He did so, going to
st. Joseph whore he
BECAME A PROMINENT BUSINESS MAN,
but he never came back to Nebraska
| City. Tecumseh did not fare so well,
and he was sentenced and received 100
lashcs on bis bare back. He was stripped
and tied to a post and three strong
members of the committee each wore
out several basel switches across the
horse thief's back, the blood being
drawn at every stroke. He was then
escorted out Of town, he has remained
away ever since. =
In 1860, about the time OF Nebraska
City's great fire, The committee arrested
a man on the allegea suspicion that he
was the incendiaFy, and that belief is
general yet, but \ member of the vigi-
lantes told me Yesterday that the arrest
was for the purbose of making him con-
fess his knowledge of several criminals
| with whom heo asspciated. The man
was taken to Mart, Sheckler's black
smith shop and hanged, but was cut
down before lifse was extinct. he was
revived and then confessed all he knew
of his associates, and he was let off,
but the men he Informed on were soon
in the tolls, and asome OF them, after a
fair trial by the istSourt," found them
selves dangling m the end OF a rope. n,
Some time in an old man fell
asleep ON the rivsHbank while waiting
for boat on which he wanted to re-
turn home, and was robbed of several
hundred dollars by u Mexican COW
| puncher The old man was nearly
crazed over his loss and reported 1t to "A
member of the committee, who pro-
ceeded to investigate. 1t was certain
that the Mexican would be drunk in
less than an hour with SO much money
in his possession, aad with this clue to
work on a visit was made TO the saloons.
The first place stopped at Mexican
| was found drinking and
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