Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-06-27
ASSAULT ON GEN. TARSNEY.
Masked Men at Colorado Springs
Abduct Prominent State
Official,


Colorado Springs, Col. June 23.-Adit.
Gen. Tarsney was kidnapped from the
Alamo hotel a few minutes after mid
night by masked men, taken to the sub
urbs in a hack, and there tarred and
feathered. Several unknown men took
part in the outrage. After the assault
the acknowledgement was left lying on
the prairie. When the officers arrived
Gen. Tarsney could not be found, and up
to s a. m. he had not been heard from.
A large posse is securing the prairie in
search of him. The kidnapping caused the
greatest sensation and excitement here
as soon as the facts became public, and
also at Cripple Greek to which place the
telephone company carried the news.
Gen. Tarsney has been in the city for
several days attending the examination
of the arrested Bull Hill miners, for
whom he and Col. B. f. Mont
gomery of Cripple Greek appeared
as attorneys. At five minutes
past II o'clock call came over the tele
phone for Tarsney. The clerk sent the
night porter, the only other man in the
hotel office, to call Gen. Tarsney. He
appeared in very few minutes and
stepped up to the phone. He had hardly
spoken a word into the receiver when
two men with masks on their faces en-
tered from the street. One hastily adj
vanced on Gen. Tarsney, the other re-
naming near the door, just inside of the
office.
I'VE want you said the first masked
man as the general turned his face from
the phone on hearing footsteps. The
scared hotel clerk and porter were the
only witnesses
What do you want?' quietly asked
Tarsney.
ave want you to come with u.s." was
the reply.
But don't want to go anywhere" re-
turned the general, at the same time
making an effort to release himself.
At this the masked man lunged for
ward, pistol in hand, and struck Gen.
Tarsney a hard blow with the weapon.
The masked man near the door advanced
to his companions assistance, and lars
ney staggered toward the office counter.
He was ruthlessly seized by the two
masked men and hurried toward the
street The clerk did not interfere tie
had been warned to keep his hands off by
a third masked man who had suddenly
appeared at the door
In front of the hotel two hacks were
standing. -Four other masked men were
seen there. Drivers, who it was after
wards learned had been inundated, sat
on their boxes and the victim was hustled
into one of the vehicles. the masked men
scrambled into them, the drivers We're
ordered to be off, and up the street the
party moved at a mad gallop. In fifteen
minutes Police Capt. Gastright and 9th
GERS Harland and Henry were on horses
and riding furiously in the direction
taken by the kidnapers and their victim.
The officers had Il poor trail to follow; 1t
was pitch dark and they only knew that
the masked party had gone out OF town
to the north. 1t was over an hour before
the facts became known. The drivers of
the two hacks first brought the news to
town. 1t was that the masked men had
taken their victim to point near Austin
bluffs, between two and three miles out
of town, and after removing Gen. lars
ney'S clothes had covered him over with
tar and feathers.
Sherman Crunley, one OF the drivers,
told the following story: My brother
and / own the hacks. Shortly before
midnight two men came to our stand and
said they wanted to engage two hacks for
q drive They did not wear masks then.
They told me to drive in front of the
Alamo. l saw the struggle inside the
hotel office, and knowing that some
thing unusual was up l started to drive
away, but was stopped by men with
masks on their faces and pistols i'll their
l was told where to drive to for the first
time. They compelled me to whip the
horses. On arriving at place near Aus
tin bluffs they all got out. They made an
awful lot of noise and kept on swearing
and making threats. Several times on
the way out | heard them threaten Tars-
neys life 1 think they had Tarsneys
clothes off by the time they ordered the
hack stopped; at least l did not see many
clothes on him when l first saw him on
the ground They had a bucket and a
brush and the deed was soon done
Tarsney was left lying on the ground
and the masked men took to their heels.
They drove to the Rock Island tracks and
there dismissed their drivers, not paying
them, but simply saying, Good night,
Johnny That was the last seen of the
masked men and the drivers came on to
the city.
Driver Crunley says that after the ta-
and feathers had been applied Tarsney
was told to move on out of Ell Paso coun-
ty: that he was not wanted in either
Cripple Creek or Colorado Springs, and
that # he ever showed up again he would
meet a worse fate than a dose of tar and
feathers. There was a meeting of TWEEN
ty-fve deputy sheriffs at Antlers' park at
10 o'clock, and it is believed the plot
against Gen. Tarsney was Matched there.