St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-31
An Innocent Man Acquitted
by a Jury Is Hanged by a
LaWless Hob.
The Real Murderer Turns Up
in Texas and Confesses
the Crime.
One Of the Most Remarkable
Pages in the History OF
Criminal Deeds.
Hideous Formally OF the
Moot Court Which Tried
Its Victim. -,

tian McCallister drove into Abba and
drew from the Monroe county bank a
considerable sum OF money. This began
series of tragedies as strange as were
ever recorded, says the Ottumwa. To-,
correspondent of the Chicago Herald.
McCallister lived near BlakeSburg
with his wife and his father and mother.
He returned home from Abba directly.
The next evening he was called to the
door by knock. He stepped out and
was never seen alive by his relatives
afterward. The next morning his head
less body was found about twenty feet
from the door of the house, and the
head itself was discovered some hum
dred feet further on. The skull had
been crushed by blow from some
blunt instrument, presumably a billy,
and the head was severed from the
trunk by an ak.
Blakesburg at that time was not the
most enlightened community known,
and the residents had some very pro-
nounced ideas concerning the proprie-
ties. But, with all their moral idiosyn-
cracies, the tragedy at the McCallister
farm aroused such excitement as had
never been felt there, even during the
most stirring revival times. Young Nc
CalllSter was general favOrite, and to
avenge his death was generally ac-
cepted as the true duty of Biakesburg.
During the early morning hours after
the discovery of the body the scene at
tracted nearly every able-bodied man in
the community. The only things which
seemed to offer probable clew to the
murderer's identity were, preserved in
the slightly frozen soil, clear and dis
tlnct, the footprints made the evening
prior by the murderer as he walked
from the lane to the house and around
the body.
These were numerous enough, and
singular enough-the murderer having
worn peculiarly formed boot-to at
tract attention, and some inspired
Hawkshaw made plaster cast of one
of the tracks. 1t was afterward used in
evidence in one of the most noted muir
der trials in the annals of Iowa.
Among the earliest arrivals at the
McCallister farm on the morning in
question was Pleasant Anderson. He
was one of numerous tribe of Ander-
sons who had lived long enough in that
section to gain decidedly unenviabie
reputation. But Pleas was huge brute,
built and muScled like a giant, with a
bad disposition, general contempt for
other men and a diSagreeable habit of
visiting condign punishment on those
who incurred his displeasure. 1t was
this that subsequently got Anderson
into deep trouble.
Search for the Murderer.
Anderson, who was a United States
deputy marshal and Cedar Rapids de.
tective. took charge of the case at once,
and under his general directions the
search for the murderer was commenced
Rewards to considerable amount were
offered, and many guesses were made,
but no murderers were found. Two
young men were arrested and confined
in the school house. They easily estab-
liShed their innocence and were re-
leased. not, however, until Pleas Ander-
son had pleasantly suggested that they
be taken out and hanged little while
in order to accelerate confession.
After these young fellows had gained
their liberty the matter apparently
slumbered, for but little was heard of ii,
and affairs at Blakesburg dropped back
into their old way of going. and Chris
McCallister was no longer talked about
except now and then as the local vi
Dogs got together and wondered why
their efforts had never been crowned
with success. Meantime, Pleas Ander-
son added to his unpOpularity in various
ways, and the Monroe County bank, of
Abba, passed to the realm of the has
been. At no time had the search for
McCallister'S murderer died out en-
tirely.
One day in June, 1888. warrant was
sworn out before Justice Orr. in OF
tumwa. charging Pleas and William An
derson with the murder of McCallister.
They were arrested and brought to trial.
So deep was the interest telt that the
hearing of the case was had in the main
court room at the county court house, in
order that the throng of curious people
might be accommodated. Fifteen DAYS
were consumed in the preliminary hear
ing. A chain Of circumstantial evil
dence, that would ordinarily serve to
hang a man, was constructed around
Pleasant Anderson. His boot fitted the
tracks made by the murderer; the plas-
ter cast and the boot were identical; a
shoemaker who made the boots identi-
fed them positively; Chris McCallis-
ter's skull was brought into court
and the deep depression in it was
exactly fitted by the end of a
billy carried by Anderson: and finally
Bill Anderson turned states evidence,
his horse and the one Pleas rode, while
Pleas called McCallister out and killed
him. McCalIister's father and mother
both SwOre they overheard the short
conversation between their son and his
slayer, and that 1t was Anderson's voice
they heard. Over and against this.
which was backed by a cloud of wit
nesses all anxious to testify to Ander-
sons bad character, was the unQuali-
fed statement of the defendant that he
did not kill the man, backed by the
testimony of his wife and child to the
effect that the husband and father was
at home at the time the crime was COM
United, and considerable testimony to
show Bill Anderson's general untrust-
worthy character.
Bill Anderson Swore that Pleas had
promised to give him a cultivator in re-
turn for his assistance. He said that on
one other occasion he and Pleas had
Pr lid a midnight visit to old Sam Phin-
ney's house, and, OH calling the old
man to the door, Pleas bad taken shot
at him. ut would be lots of fun to
shoot at old man Phinney," Pleas had
said, and he had given Bill barrow as
a reward for his company and suisse
quent discretion. All this was denied
by Pleas. but he was held to court with
~
murder.
Complications in the Case.
During the next six months Anderson
was frequently visited in Jail by the
writer. TO whom he invariably pro-
tested his Innocence, although on sew
eral occasions tacitly admitting he knew
more about the case than he would care
to tell; But public opinion generally
held that the murderer of Chris Mccall
lister was at last safe in jail.
While this was in progress at Ottum-
wa, up at Abba the farmers and others
who had been losers by the Monroe
County bank failure were making
things mighty interesting for Don
Miller, the cashier, and Sam Miller,
sheriff of Monroe county, his partner.
Don Miller was under arrest charged
with forgery. and was held in jail at
Ottumwa awaiting trial on some ninety
seven counts. He and Anderson had
uninterrupted communication with each
other for more than two months, when
Miller was tried IN three cnitntc and