The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-02

TINS city, entered a saloon in the bot
toms kept by Dan Arata, an Italian of
unsavory fame Lightfoot asked for
glass of beer and paid for it. When he
drunk it Ara.a asked him to have an
other drink. Lightfoot, supposing it to
be treat accepted and started to
leave the place. Arata stopped him
and demanded pay for the beverage.
Lightfoot did not have the necessary
money and the Italian picking up
chair brutally assaulted him, knocking
out the left eye the first blow. The muir
derous bartender followed his attack
literally beating the poor old man, who
was sixty years of age and rather child
ism, nearly to death. But he was not
quite dead and to make sure of his
victim Arata shot him through the
heart. The murderer was arrested and
placed in Jail
All day there have been murmurs,
not only among the grand army men.
but of the people in general. regarding
the brutal deed. Many threats of lynch
ing were heard. but not needed by the
straight-going people of Denver, who
thought that quick justice had passed
away with the frontier days. a meet
ing of the unemployed men was called
for this evening at o'clock at
Eighteenth and Market-sts., where
speeches were made deploring the pres
ent stringency in the money market
and the resultant idleness.
When the speakers were through a
tall, gray-headed and whiskered vet
eran. wearing the G.. A. r. uniform,
got upon the stand and said: Follow
me-"
The words were few, but everybody
understood what was meant and 5000
people followed the leader to the county
jail. fully mile and a quarter distant,
through mud and slush caused by the
heavy shower of today.
The crowd gained members in their
long march, and before the Jail was
reached fully 10000 were in line and peo-
pie were fiocking in from every street,
most Of them bent on seeing what was
going to be done. Arriving at the Jail
the mob hesitated, for they had forgot
ten to supply themselves with sledges
and other necessary tools for breaking
down the doors. Numerous calls were
made for battering rams, etc, and the
crowd rushed hither and thither and
were not long in procuring the objects
wanted. Then the real work began.
Battering Down the Jail.
The Jail is a new and massive one and
no one in the crowd outside of the
leaders thought that it could be entered
by a mob. The mob attacked the side
of the Jail at once, the ones on the north
side being the most determined. They
finally battered down the sheet iron on
the door. protecting the inside bars of
the office entrance and then began the
next obstruction At this point Capt.
Crewes. the jailer, and his guards, as
sisted by the city police, who were in
side, then turned a heavy stream of
water upon the men battering the door.
Although the force of the stream
threw the angry men back repeatedly,
yet they kept on at their work. Up to
now a gas jet at the entrance afforded
the attacking party sufficient light to
work, but suddenly the besieged turned
off the light and left things in utter
darkness Several cable cars were seen
approaching and the mob made a dash
for them, tearing off the large head
lights and bringing them to the aid of
the men at work at the door. Then the
guards inside began to fire.
Into the Jail.
The enraged mob did not hesitate, al
though two of their number were shot
but not fatally. The mob rushed in
overpowered the guards and made them
prisoners. At last Arata's eel was
broken into and the murderer found
crouching in the corner. Here an awful
scene ensued. One of the leaders of the
mob was "Broncho Jim a burly negro
Some one. probably Broncho Jim. drew
a huge knife and ripped the murderer up
the abdomen. Then the rest of the
leaders interfered and kept him for the
rope. He was hustled out of the Jail
across the street to a cottonwood tree,
and in the dim light cast by an arc light
from a near by corner. was pulled up.
He was asked if he had anything to say.
In a feeble tone, bleeding from the
CHASTITY wound in his body, he said: Il
am the man; l killed him in self Defense -
The murderer was suddenly jerlxed off
the earth and several persons drew six
shooter and riddled his body with bullets
The mob packed around the tree with
awful force. many striking matches to
view the corpse and some giving it a
vindictive push. At last the rope broke
and the body fell into the gutter under
meath the tree with splash. The crowd
laughed and cheered and yelled Burn
him; burn him like they do in Texas"
This, however, was rather impracticable
as everything within reach was soaking
wet The mob finally compromised by
getting hold of the rope and strating for
the business part Of the city. The corpse
was dragged by the neck through the
mud into the heart of the city. AT
Seventeenth and Curtis-sts. they strung