The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-27
HORRIBLE LYNCHING.
An Italian Murderer Knitted
and His Body Hanged to
a Telegraph Pole.
HE KILLED. GRAND ARMY MAN
A Crowd of Fully 1a,eN Storm
the Jail-The Body Dragged
Through the Streets.
HE KlLLEDA GRAND ARMY MAN

DENVER. Col. July 81. ls13. Ines
day night b.. S. Lightfoot. an old Grand
Army man OF this city. entered a saloon
In the bottoms kept by Dan Arata. an
Italian of unsavory fame. Lightfoot
asked for a glass OF beer and paid for it..
When he had drunk it Arata asked hi IN
to have another drink. Iightfoot, sup
posing it TO be a treat" accepted aud
started TO leave the place. Arata stopped
him and demanded pay for the beverage.
Lighlfoot did not have the neces-
sary money, and the Italian, pick
ing up q chair. b%rutually assaulted
him, Knocking cut the left eye
at the first blow. The murderous bar
tender followed his attack. literally beat
ing the poor old man, who was sixty
years OF age AM rather childish, nearly
10 death. But he was not quite dead:
aud, to make sure of his victim, Arata
shot him through the heart. The muir
derer was arrested aud placed in Jail.
All day yesterday there were murmurs
not only among the Grand Army men
but of the people in general. re-
garding the brutal deed. Many threats
ct lynching were heard, but not
heeaed by the stsid going people of Dem
yer, who thought that quick justice had
passed away with the frontier days. A
meeting of the unemployed was called
Eighteenth and Market streets, where
speeches were made deplorlng the pres
cut stringency in the mouey market and
the resultant idleuess. When the
speakers were through a tall. gray
headed, whiskered veteran wearing
the 6. A. r. uniform. got upon the
stand said Follow me-" The
stood what was meant. and 5.00e psople
followed the leader TO the county jail,
fully a mile and a quarter distant
through mud aud slusn caused By the
heavy shower during the day. The crowd
gained members in their long march
aud before the jail wa reachsd fully
10, 600 were in line and people were flock
lug In from every street, most of them
bent on seeing what was going 10 be
done
Arriving at the Jail the mob hesitatei.
for they had forgotten tor supply them
selves with sledges and other necessary
tools for breaking down the doors.
Numerous calls were made for gathering
rams, etc., aud the eager crowd rushed
procuring the objects wanted. Then the
real WORK began.
THE JAIL ATTACKED.
The Jail is a new and massive one, aud
no one in the crowd outside of the leaders
thought 1t could be entered by q mob.
The crowd attacked the sides of the Jail
at O nee, the ones ON the north side being
the most determined. They finally bat
tered down the sheet iron door, protecting
the inside bars OF the Office entrance, and
then began on the next obstruc-
ton. AT this point Captain Crewes
the tailor and his guards, assisted by the
city police who were insids turned a
heavy stream of water upon the men bat
tering at the door. Although the force
of the stream threw the angry men back
repeatedly, yet they kept on at their
work. By this time fully $4,000 people
surrounded tue jail as spectators. Up 10
now a gas jet at the entrance af-
forded the attacking party suf-
ficlent light to work by. but suddenly
the besieged turned off the light and left
things in utter darkness. Several cable
made a dash for them, tearing off the
large headlights and bringing them to
the aid of The men at work at
the door. Then the guards inside began
to fire. sThe enraged mob did not
hesitate, although some OF their lumber
were shot. not fatally, however. The
crowd rushed In, overpowered the guards
duu IndQ6 GuCHu PLloOHOlos M 1881
Arara's cell was broken into aud the
murderer found crouching In the corner.
Here au awful scene ensued. One of the
leaders OF the mob was "Broncho Jim." q
burly negro.
KNIFED H MURDERER.
Some one. possibly Broucho jim. drew
a huge knife and ripped the murderer up
the abdomen. Then the rest of the lead
ers 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 lamp from a nearby cerner. was
pulled III. He was asked II he h nd any
thing to say. In q feeble tone, BILE eding
from the CHASTITY wound ia his body, he
SELF defense" The murderer W as sud
denly jerked off of the earth. and several
persons drew revolvers aud rIdd led his
body with bullets. The mob packed
around the tree with awful force, many
striking matches to view the corpse. and
giving it a vindictive push. At
last the rope broke and the bleeding body
fell iLto the gutter underneath the tree
with a splash. The Grove laughed and
cheered and Yelled Burn him; burn
him like they do In Texas" This. how
over, was rather 1mpracUicable as ev cry.
hing within reach was soaked with
rain.
DRAGGED THE STREETS.
The mop finally compromised by get
ting hold OF the rope and the CORPSE was
dragged into the heart of the city and at
Seventeenth and Curtis streets strung up
TO a telegraph pole for the ediflcation Of
those who had NOT been present at the
original hanging. The police did not
interfere with the awful procession as 1t
passed through the streets, and 1t was
only after the mutilated body of the
murderer had swayed in the electric
light for ten minutes that they came up
and removed it to the morgue The
people then dispersed, it being the
hour of midnight, and the city
again became tranquil, The fore
most leader of the mob besides
the Grand Army man mentioned In the
first part of the story was a boy of
twenty named Brennan. No arrests nave
been made and probably zone will be as
the general opinion Is that the lynching
was justffiable.
WE'RE INJURED AT THE JAIL.
Following Injured &C the jail by the
guards on the inside:-Abe Goodman.
aged twenty -four, shot through leg; L,
p. Deese. aged ifty-1ve shot III left eys.
On tho inside of the jail Officer Hobart
was s lightly injured in the leg by the
only shot fired from without. Many
rocks we're thrown, however. and Cap
~. n ness tl.a s.tl~r ~nn~frna L.l