The morning call., 1892-01-01
A DARK TRAGEDY.
The Startling Confession Of a
Dying Murderer in Iowa.
How Poor Pleasant Anderson, Though limo
cent, Was Brutality Lynched After
Mock Trial

siderable sum of money. This began Sc
ries of tragedies as strange as were ever re-
corded.
McCallister lived near Blakesburg with
his wife and his father and mother. tie re-
turned home from Abba directly. The next
evening he was called to the door by a
knock. He stepped out and was never seen
alive by his relatives afterward. The next
| morning his headless body was found about
| twenty feet from the door of the house, and
| the head itself was discovered some hundred
feet farther on. The skull had been crushed
! by blow from some blunt instrument. pre-
| sumably billy. and the head was severed
from the trunk by an Ak.
One day in June, 1883, swarrant was
! sworn out before Justice Orr in Ottumwa
charging Pleas and William Anderson with
the murder of McCalliSter. They were
arrested and brought to trial. A chain of
! eircumStantial evidence that would ordi-
nariy serve 20 hang a man was constructed
around Pleasant Anderson. His boot fitted
the tracks made by the murderer; Chris
| McCallister'S skull was brought into court
| and the deep depression in 1t was exactly
/ fitted by the end of n billy carried by An
derson; and finally Bill Anderson turned
| States evidence and swore ne sat in the
road holding his horse and the one Pleas
rode, while Pleas called McCallister out and
| killed him. McCallister's father and
| mother both swOre they overheard the short
conversation between their son and his
slayer and that it was Anderson's
this, which was backed by cloud of wit
nesses all anxious to testify to Anderson's
bad character, was the unqualified state
ment OF the defendant that he did not kill
! the man, backed by the testimony Of his
! vile and child 10 the effect that the huS-
Dand and father was at home at the time
the crime was committed, and considerable
| testimony to show Bill AudersOn's untrust-
worthy character More than 100 witnesses
were examined. and Anderson was ac-
| quilted
Meanwhile. the farmers and others who
| had been losers in the Monroe County Bank
failure were making things mighty inerest-
! ing for Dan Miller, the cashier, and Sam
| Miller, Sheriff of Monroe County. his part
ner. Dan Miller was under arrest, charged
| with forgery. and was held in Jail at OF
| tumwa awaiting trial on some mime ninety
seven counts. Miller was tried on thres
| counts and sentenced to seven and a half
| years imprisonment at Fort Madison.
THE MOCK TRIAL.
One evening in December, 1884, while An
| dersOn was engaged in his barnyard. feed
ing his stock. four masked men drove ND to
the gate IN two-horse Sled. Two jumped
out. and, approaching Anderson, covered
him with reyOlvers, telling him they had
| be taken to the School-hOuse for trial. The
| prisoner asked to be allowed to notify his
| family, but was told they would be informed
| of his whereabouts. He saw resistance was
| futile. and went with his captOrs.
| At the schOol-hOuSe some half n d zen tai
! low candles t1iekered and Sputtered, casting
! a weird half light over one of the most Strk-
ing scenes OF LIES great drama. AT the
teachers desk sat man, while arrayed on
| two benches behind were twelve others
/ in
All were enVelOped from head to foot in
bed quilts. They constituted a court which
was to try Pleasant Anderson for his life on
the charge of killing Chris McCallister.
With f0rmaity, hideous in its hooking Of
judicial forms, the prisoner was arraigned
and charged with the crime OF murder in
the first degree. he was asked to plead,
/ and pleaded not guilty. Then he was re-
moved by his captOrs 10 the rear of the room,
| where he spent the last moments of his life
! in matching pennies with some boys who
had been attracted to the school-h0uSe by
curiosity. In the meantime the farcial trial
was being proceeded with sOlemnly. but
with one intent Evidence was submitted
arguments were heard. and with a gravity
well nigh deyilish the judge charged the
jury This body pretended 10 retire, but
| speedily returned with a verdict of guilty as
charged. This, too was couched in coldly
formal legal verbiage, and on being read by
the clerk the judge proceeded TO ask the
jury the stereOtyped query concerning the
fairness aud unanmi;y of the verdict, and
the jury answered each one for himself and
not one for the other" that Pleasant Ander-
sun was gully of murder IN the first degree
the crime alleged being the killing of Chris
tian McCallister.
Then the judge commanded the masked
balliffS " TO bring the prisoner into
court" In a voice eOldly dispassionate and
with words as lew as they were cruel the
judge informed Anderson of the result of
trial. and then proceeded to sentence him to
be hanged Immediately.
THE PRISONER LYNCHED
In a twinklIDg the court was transformed
into band OF eXecutiOneTS. The prisoner
was allowed to make one request which
was granted, that his boots be removed
Then rope was thrown In a moose about
bis neck, and Anderson. erect and unflinch-
ing, marched barefooted behind his pitiless
caDtors about one hundred yards across the
frozen snow to tree. Then he asked 10
send a message to his wife, but was told to
"g0 to -" Over a limb the rope was
thrown, pull of the determined men, and
another mysterious murder was added to
the list of Bakesburg's crimes.
Gently swaying in the winters wind cast
ing a startling black shadow across the
m0onllt waste of snow, swung the lifeless
body of Pleasant Anderson, and silently as
they had gathered the members of the court
slipped away to their homes. In a cherries
little farmhouse on bleak hillside mo her
and daughter saw the evening meal grow
cold, watched the twilight shadows deepen
into the night, the stars come out, and the
night grow cold with the rising of the moon.
and wondered why the husband and father
| did not come to supper.
In his convicts CELL Dan Mller's health
was failing. "Confinement" said his
! friends. His good time" secured him
! a reduction OF sentence. Then he was
| tried on more counts, but his health was
| broken. and he seemed about TO die. 80 his
| prosecutors rec nted, and he was left t,
die free man. Few people now thought of
| the death of Chris McCallister or that If
| Pleasant Anderson. But Dan Miller thought
| Of 1t always. He alone knew that Chris
| McCallister had drawn a large sum of money
| on that October day in 1881 from the Munroe
| County Bank; he knew how much the sum
! was; he knew that its withdrawal would
! cripple the bank; that If he could recover it
! he might save the bank, or at least his repu
| tation. He knew that murder would be
necessary, but he had already stepped his
soul IN crime. If he did not get that money
| back he would be ruined. To get it back
would cost one life maybe two. but his
| reputation would be saved.
| So he killed Chris McCalister
DAN MILLER's DARK DEEDS.
Then. when he failed to get the money.
| his bark went under, his forgeries were
found out and he stood before the world a
| felOn. When on that September morning in
1888 he stood before the bar in the court
| room and heard the fatherly words OF the
| Judge who sentenced him his conscience
nettled him and he resolved to confess his
| further crime. The stupidity of an officious
deputy Sheriff prevented and an innocent
man was hanged-by mob, it Is true, but
| nevertheless banged-for Dan Miller's deed
No wonder his health broke in confine-
ment With the ghosts of two murdered
men forever pointing accusing fingers at his
soul, with remorse and vain regrets for his
evil deeds forever with him, it is n wonder
| he stood 1T as long as he did, and when death
| finally came to rid him of his weary life he
| called to bis bedside the wife of Chris Nc