The record-union., 1891-05-19
THE WALLA WALLA LYNCHING.
INVESTIGATION BEING MADE BY
A COURT OF INQUIRY.
Tie Sheriff of the County Describes the
Scenes Enacted at the Time
of the Tragedy.
Special TO the RECoRD-UN1oN.

special 10 the hECORD-UNION.
WALLA WALLA CWash.l, May 1S.-The
Court of Inquiry ordered by the War De-
partment on May Sth to investigate the
lynching of Il. j. Hunt by soldiers of
Fort Walla Walla on April 9th, con-
vened here to-day. The COURTS composed
of Brigadier- General A. V. Kautz, Col
Thomas NJ. Anderson, of the Fourteenth
Infantry; Colonel William P Carlin, of
the Fourth Infantry, and Captain Charles
Mcclure, Acting Judge Advocate of the
Department of Columbia. The instruc-
tons are to ascertain who did the lynch
ing, give an opinion as to who was re-
sponsible, and make recommendations
for further action.
Sheriff Mcfarland of Walla Walla
County was on the stand the greater por-
ton of the day. Sheriff Mcfarland tes-
tilted that he took Hunt, under orders
from the court, to the post to have him
identified by private Miller. While there
they took Miller's dying statement. This
was about S o'clock. He noticed soldiers
go by the hospital. When they came out
the bacb-driver told the Sheriff he would
be waylaid by soldiers. The Sheriff sent
for Colonel Compton and asked for an
escort. Compton detailed Captain Whit
and five men.
When off the reservation the hack was
stopped by fifty soldiers. Captain Whit
ordered them to flank to right on to the
reservation. They replied: "Who are
you, and what is your rank?" The
soldiers refused to obey, and Captain
Whit ordered the Sheriff to make all
haste for the guard-house, as he could
not restrain the soldiers.
Colonel Compton was again notified.
The Sheriff asked to be allowed to keep
his prisoner in the guard-house till day
light. Colonel Compton replied that if
anything happened he didn't want it on
the reserve. He said he would escort the
Sheriff to town, if it took all the men in
the post. Three bugle calls were made,
and only half the men responded. A
detachment of twenty-five men was
made under Whit, and the Sheriff and
his prisoner were taken to the County
Jail
That night about forty soldiers visited
the Jail between IL and 4. One of them
told the Sheriff that they were coming
after Hunt the next day. a soldier, whose
name they promised to keep secret, mott
fled the city police and Sheriff that the
soldiers We're coming after Hunt. Other
rumors were afioat, and the Sheriff was
alarmed, after what had happened the
night before.
He, in company with prosecuting at
torney BlaEdford, called on Colonel
Compton about o'clock in the. evening,
when they told him they met about forty
soldiers coming to town. The Colonel
said that was nothing, and that he appre-
hended no danger, and that he could not
call the check rolls till after IL o'clock
under ruling of the War Department.
TherSheriff told him that it would be
too late, he feared. Colonel Compton was
asked if they could not take the prisoner
10 place of safety. He was told no.
The officers returned to the city, and in
less than an hour the soldiers had broken
in the Jail and filed Hunts body full of
holes. The Sheriff kept them at bay for
half an hour, but the soldiers threatened
to blow up the jail with dynamite and,
thinking they would carry out the threat,
he delivered up the keys.
The court.wil be in session the entire
week.