The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-11
HAD THE DROP ON EN-
A Bungling Execution of the
Bald KnObberS.
LIE CaRON THE SPY ANDDR CRONIN
What the British Agent Thinks-In Memory of
General W. H. Barnum-Rights of
Negro Travellers.

OZARK, Mo-, May 10r-The three Bale
knobbers, Dave Walker, chief of the Bale
knobbers, his son, VIM. Walker, and John
Matthews, were hanged here at 10 O'Clock
to-day for the murder of Charles Green and
William Edens, March 18th. William
Walker was baptized last evening by i'm
mersion in bath basin, carried into the
jail. The scene was very affecting. John
Matthews made a long prayer, which could
be distinctly heard in the street in front OF
the jail. The Walkers retired at II
o'clock and went to sleep and did not wake
up until 4 a. IN. They We're up early and
ate breakfast at the usual hour
The jail yard was full of guards armed
with Winchesters, shotguns and revOlvers.
Divine services were opened i'll the jail at
30 o'clock, Matthews and William Walker
taking part. At SOB the sheriff entered
the jail and read the death warrant to the
doomed men, and soon after they were
dressed for the execution.
For the past two weeks powerful pleas
have been made to the governor for a com
mutation of the sentences of the three men,
and Wednesday last, after reviewing the
case at length. the governor declined to
interfere, and the condemned were notified
that they must die. The arrest, trial and
conviction of the Bold knobber leaders at
tracted widespread attention and for the
first time in the history of the Bald
knobbers, their organization was made
public
Janey County, Missouri, was the birth
place of this order of masked regulators. 1t
Is in the widest part of the state and the
early days of lawlessness caused the fOrma-
ton of the leaguers for the protection of life
and property. At a point eight miles east
of Ozark and near the Edens dwelling, one
John Evans was whipped by Bad knobbers
for misbehaving in church. Old man Edens,
who was a friend of Evans, interfered
and received several blows with a
whip. Edens afterwards fearlessly
denounced the Bali knobbers and
on the night of March ii a band of twenty
six of them proceeded to Edens' residence
to punish the inmates. They first went to
the house of William Edens, but finding no
one there, proceeded to the house of James
Edens, Williams father. There were in
the house at the time the father, mother,
son, daughter-in-law, daughter son-in-l law
and two grand children. The two knobbers
fired promiscuOusly into the house killing
young William Endens and Charles Green,
his brother-in-law and leaving the old man
Edens on the floor for dead.
A peculiar feature of BaldknObberism,
now dead, is that most of the prominent
members of that band of regulators were
church members Chief Walker was an
eXhorter, temperance advocate and a gen
orally devout man. The Bald knoDber
chief chung to the belief that the regulators
were the champions of right, asserting that
Edens' and Green's killing was an unfor-
tunate but unavoidable mistake.
Just before leaving his cell, John Mat
thews proclaimed his innocence in loud
voice. The sheriff helped Matthews up the
steps. Young Walker followed with
firm step, the father following close benin ,
as firm as ever. After that religious ser
vices were held. The moose was adjusted
at 9 40. John Matthews said he had moth
ing to say. He was there, but took no part
in the crime. Matthews called upon all
who were willing to help his little ones to
ho,d up their hands. Nearly every one in
sight held up his hans. The black caps weer
adjusted at 9:51. At 9:53 the drop fell.
John Matthews fell praying. The stretch
of the rope let all fall to the ground.
The ropes broke and William Walker fell
loose, and as he lay struggling and groan-
ing he talked for three minutes, when he
was taken up by the sheriff and deputies
on to the scaffold.
Dave Walker was drawn up and died in
about fifteen minutes. Matthews lived
about thirteen minutes, but died while on
the ground. The scene was horrible in the
extreme. Matthews and Dave Walker
were cut down at 1910. The trap was
again adjusted and William Walker was
lifted helpless, groaning, struggling and al
most insensible, the rope was again ad-
justed and the trap again sprung. This
time the descent came to a sudden stop,
with his feet fully thirty inches from the
ground, and he died without struggle.