Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1894-01-25
BOMBER y 1 B RG | II Is TX ECUTED
THE NORTH DAKOTA aIURnrp,
DROPS THROUGH THE TRAr "

THD NORTH DAlkOTA sIURnnp,,,
! DROPS THROUGH THE TRAP.
s.s rs S ri ss -. w H;
He Goes to His heath ,sv,tbo,,
FlinchinK-His Week 'Brok3 b by ~.
Fall--History Va Of the Crime 10.
which He Wns Hanged.
Cando, N. D., Jan. 2O.--At exact,,
lao yesterday afternoon the tran fun
and Alfred II. Bombcrger, the murdere,
of six members of tile Krcider family
was strangled to death.
Sheriff McCune with two deputies
drove to the Goor of the, court house
little after noon and in a few moments
he, with his prisoner and deputies, were
speeding away toward the scaffold,
short mile away. Bomberger looked With
interest ut the crowd gathered and also
gazed ut the scaffold.
+ AS they drew. near a hush fell over
the crowd, which numbered fully 1000
people. As the solemn party drove down
the incline and stopped Mt the door of the
enclosure Bomberger did not lose his
self-control. The party assembled the
steps to the platform above, the prisoner
walking up the steps. His knees smote to.
gether and for an instant his wonderful
nerve, which, till then, has stood by him.
seemed to waver. The trap had alreudy
been put in position and everything was
ready for the final act. Sheriff Mcclure
asked the prisoner if he wished to make
any remarks.
Bomberger then made the following
statement on the gallows: ,"Gentlenpn
l have a few words to say to you be-,
fore leave you. I am sorry for the
crime which l have committed, and /
hope none Of you will follow in my foot.
steps. Furthermore, wish that no
preacher be allowed on the scaffold. Good
by, gentlemen"
The deputy then put on the black cap
and the sheriff adjusted the moose and
stepped back to the lever and pulled it
ard Bomberger, the murderer, was
launched into eternity.
The body was turned over to couple
of his cousins, the only relatives present
AS soon as the body was cut down the
souvenir tends went to work at the rope
and enclosure. The day was calm and
everything moved off without hitch.
The body will be inferred within
quarter of mile of the scene of his
crime, in fact, the little girl who rode
into town to give the alarm passed over
the ground in which he will lie.
The crime was committed on the 7th
day of July, 1893, at the family resi-.
dence of the Kreiders, one mile east of
Cando. About o'clock in the morning
the citizens of Cando were startled by
the sudden appearance of Anna Ikreider
iii their midst, very much excited, con.
veying the more startling news that AL
bert Bomberger, the hired man, had killed
her father, mother, three sisters and
brother, and then started off on horse
back Scarcely believing the girls story,
the citizens at once began flocking to the
house, some in buggies, others in wagons
and some on foot. There they found tho
girls story was true in every particular.
the father having been shot apparently
while asleep, the mother while preparing
the morning meal and the four children
up stairs in their bed room, which pre-
scented sight never to be forgotten by
any one of the Mortified spectators. The
wound of each one of the six, which pro-
duced death, was instantly fatal, although
some of the children had more than one
wound. Daniel S. Kreider, the father,
was shot in the left corner of the mouth
the shot penetrating the brain; the moth
er was shot in the throat, the shot tear
ing away the whole front of the throat
and destroying all of the important struc-
lures of the neck; Beatrice was shot in
the left side of the head, every particle
of the brain matter being blown out
Mary received slight flesh wound in
the left arm, but her fatal wound was
stab in the throat, as she lay wounded
upon the floor; Murbey was killed by
gun shot wound in the back part of the
head, crushing the skull; while David
was shot.in the jaw, the shot dividing, a
part passing over and a part under the
jaw bone penetrating the brain.
At the inquest it developed that the
father was the first one killed, the mother
next, and then the fend started up
stairs, and meeting Anna upon the land;
ing at the head of the stairway, ordered
her into his room, which was just across
the landing from the room occupied by
the younger children. He then stepped
to the door Of the cbildren's room and
fred three shots in quick succession into
the room, killing Murbey and David and
wcrnding Mary, while Beatrice escaped
through The window, jumping to the
glcurd, without at first being missed by
the mur !erer. who, upon finding that
Merry was not fatally wounded, went
down stairs, got the butcher knife, and,
coming back, stabbed the poor girl in the
throat. BY that time he discovered
that Beatrice was missing, and immedi-
ately began search for her, and found
her at the barn in the act of getting
pony to give the alarm. Bomberger
stopped her, and taking her into the
house allowed her to look at her parents
who lay dead there; he then marched
her UP stairs, and upon her refusing to
go into the room where Anna was he
pushed her into the room and fired upon
her, being in such close proximity that
the fire from the gun burned her dress
sleeve on her left arm with which she
was apparently trying to ward off the
death blow. The murderer, turning to
Anna, remarked "she dropped like
cat, didn't. she?" After, the killing of
Beatrice he went into the room where
Anna was and outraged her, then made
her go down stairs and get breakfast for
him, which he ate in the kitchen standing