The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-02
A DAKOTA LYNCHING.
A Detectives Thrilling Story
of Western Life.
AN AccoMPLlcE's CONFESSION.
Murderer ef Young Lawyer Tracked
The Moose Used - Obtain Eyi-
dcnce-An Angry Town.

Quiet was no name for 1t a. police mead
quarters yesterday. No one-not even .
drunk-was locked up during the entire
day. and to pass away the monotonous
hours the officers on reserve gathered in
the Office, and with their feet on the stove,
they told stories, while they spat at the
glowing embers. A few had been sailors,
and they lied most fearfully about inn
probable shipwrecks; others told lies Of
their experiences on land, and the red
Goals were well nigh swamped when De
tectiye ]. L. Barck, one of the most popu-
lar men on the force, arrived st headquar-
ters and joined the crowd around the stove.
He sat and smoked his cigar in silence
for some little time-a quiet listener to the
various lies. The last story was finished
and one of the officers, with despairing
look, turned to Barck and said:
Jack. let's hear from you"
.Well, I'm not much at telling lies, but
I'll tell you story that's true, and it il az
good as any of the yarns which You have
told, !" said Barck, as he hitched his chair
up little closer and changed feet on the
stool. In the spring OF 1884 l was .
deputy sheriff of q county in South Da-
kota and lived at Pierre, town Of about
5000 people, on the Missouri river, just on
the border of the Sioux reservation. 1t
was wild place. Three variety theaters
were running and were crowded every
night; not to mention the lively times in
half-a-doxen dance-halls that ran the whole
the town but what drank Whisky There
was one old church deacon who was never
known to drink; he was the model man Of
the place. and for that reason
was frowned on. One day the old man
got decently drunk, to the surprise Of
everyone; but the boys accepted it as .
sign of his conversion, and afterward adj
mitted him into their society. Although
it was no common occurrence for some
one to get stabbed in fight or to find an
Indian or . cowboy dead in front of
saloon, one day the town was thrown into
excitement by the mysterious disappear
ance Of Forrest G. Small, % years Of age,
a lawyer and government land locator.
Small was bright young fellow, well
liked by all. He had . white-haired
father, who was preacher in . neighbor-
ing county.
.sHe disappeared on November 4, 1884,
and few days later the story was circu-
lated around that he had absconded. His
old father came over to Pierre and he and
went to the young fellows Office, found
out whom he had been doing business
with, and found that everything was
straight. Then we started out to find
who had circulated the report that he had
absconded. After some little time we
traced it to James A. Bell, q lawyer and
government land locator, and an enemy
Of Small
" Bell was printer by trade and had
served two years in the penitentiary for
shooting fellow printer ct Omaha. He
came to Pierre from Harold, town of
about $50 people, forty-five miles east of
Pierre knew that ne had owed Small
SIS for fees, civil ;uit for which was pend
ing before justice Of the peace at Blunt,
fifteen miles east of Pierre, and also
knew that Bell hated young Small most
cordially.
I'VE concluded that Bell needed watch
ing, and we spotted him everywhere. We
found out that on November 4, at 10 o'clock
in the morning, the suit for SIS fees, for
which Small was suing Bell was to have
come up for hearing, ana We also learned
that on that morning both men left for
bays, and that, about an hour after Bell
left, Small started out, riding white pony.
Bell arrived at Blunt, but Small did not,
and the justice dismissed the suit by de-
fault.
about the middle of the February fol-
lowing-Bell never had an idea he was
suspected-we discovered that on Novem-
Der 4, when short way from Pierre,
Bell had picked up man named Bennett,
and that Bennett rode with him in his
buggy several miles. Sheriff Harris and
myself Immediately hitched up buggy
and drove down the road over the prairie
towards Blunt. About half way to Blunt
the sheriff drew up at farmers named
Lawrence, whose house was near the road,
and said:
".Hello, friend Lawrence! Did you see
two men in buggy and man on white
horse riding down here together last fall
it was about November f.
although everybody knows everybody
there, and the question was not an uncom-
mon one, the farmer could not remember
that he had seen any one at ALL Law
rence's little boy was quiet for moment
and then spoke up:
Don't you remember, dad2 We were
with two bays and two men in it, Tot
drived up and down in front of the house
five or six times. Then man come up
ridin' a white pony. an then the men in
Then the man on the pony caught up an.
the buggy stopped and the man got off his
horse. Don't You remember
by CAD dov said the old man. AN
We thought they were fightin'. They
scuffied anyway, an after awhile we
couldn't see the man on the pony again :;
an one of the men got out Of the buggyi
got on the pony, rode by the house again,
like neighbor Bennett, but I'm not sure.
The other man in the buggy went the
other way
1--WE didn't wait to hear any more, but
started back TO Pierre, and Harris sent me-
out to track Bennett. l followed him and
found he had ridden over into the Indian
reservation and sold the pony. Then
another man Joined him-who he was
never could find out-and they tramped
on foot for a good distance ND the Missouri
river, and then they rode for while on a
freight train, and after they got put off
they walked again. Twas gone over two
weeks, when finally located Bennett on
large syndicate farm called Tappan,
sixty miles north of Bismarck. in
North Dakota. l took him away quietly
and talked to him, but he was as
mum as an oyster and he played his part
pretty we'll but he could not hide signs of
nervousness. Finally ran a bluff on
him. got several Sioux bucks and got
some rope. / took him out on the prairie
and told him that We were going TO hang
him. A grim old Indian with rope stood
under an upright wagon tongue and we
gave him ten seconds to confess or die.
He was frightened to death and gave in
like child. He told the whole story. He
said:
al met Bell going to Blunt and he tod
me 10 get in and ride. l got in. We drove
down the road about half mile and then
back again half mile, and did that sew
erai times. Finally Bell saw Small COM
ing up the road ON pony and then We
started back again TO Blunt Bell was
going to Blunt TO answer civil suit in the
justice court. Small was suing him
Tor SIS. Pretty soon Small came up.
Bell said: Hello! and Small answered.
Then Bell stopped his horses and callo3 ~