The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-08-27
QTADRTPLE LYNCHING
Prisoners Taken from a California
Jail by an Armed Mob.
ONE A BOY OF NINETEEN YEARS.

His Last Words Were; "Tel1 My Old
Mother Am Innocent of the Crime"
The Lynchers Gained Access to the Jail
by subterfuges.
YREKA, Cal, Aug. 97.-Four murderers
were taken from the county Jail by mob
of 25O men at o'clock in the morning and
lynched. A band of citizens, fearing that
the law would not be carried out and
angered over the atrocity of recent crimes
determined to take matters into their own
hands. The lynching was the CHASTITY
climax to the reign of lawlessness which
has prevailed in Siskiyou county for some
months past One of the victims was
Lawrence Johnson, who on the evening
of July %, stabbed his wife to death in the
town of Etna. Another was William
Null, who shot Henry Hoyter in the back
with rifle near Callahan's on April 81
Louis Morne and Garland Seemler, who
are supposed to have killed George Sears
and Casper Miererhans, at Bailey Hill on
Aug s. were also hanged.
At IL o'clock farmers from all over the
surrounding country began to drive into
town, and by midnight the mob was
ready to march to the county jail Before
proceeding, however every precaution
was taken to prevent the plans of the
/ lynchers from being frustrated by the Of
fcers of the law. The sheriff and one of
his deputies were decoyed to another part
of the town by two members of the mob,
who were engaged in sham fight and
the fire bell was muffled to prevent an
alarm being given in that way When
the Jail was reached a number of the men,
all of whom were masked awakened I'm
der Sheriff Radford, and demanded the
keys from him He positively refused to
open the door or to give up the keys, tell
/ ing them that If they broke in the door he
would blow their brains out Finding
that Radford was determined not to give
them the keys they got on top of a stone
wall which surrounds the Jail.
Deputy Sheriff Henry Brahtlacht who
has been sleeping in the jail since the
commitment of 80 many murderers,
thinking some one was escaping from the
jail, fired two shots out of the window to
alarm City Marshal Parks and Deputy
Sheriff Radford. He then opened the
| doors, and was Immediately held up by
the mob, who took the keys from him and
entered the Jail. Having no keys to the
different cells, they were compelled to
burst the locks with sledge hammer.
Lawrence II. Johnson was the first to
receive the attention of the mob They
broke the lock from the door of his CELL
and placing rope around his neck, led
him out of the Jail and across the street
to whore an iron rail was laid between the
forks of two locust trees johnson
pleaded for mercy, but the silent gather
ing gave no heed to his appeals, and he
was quickly strung up, dying from stran-
gulation in a few minutes.
The mob returned to the Jail and then
broke into the cell of William Null Null
desired to make statement, but time was
too valuable to permit any such prelimi-
naries and he was soon hanging along
side of Johnson. Louis Moreno was soon
swinging with Johnson and Null
The last and youngest of the four mur-
derers to pay the penalty Of his crime was
Garland Seemler aged about 10. A rope
was placed around Seemler neck, and he
was led from the Jail in his bare feet.
Seemler begged for mercy, and his last
words were: Tell my dear old mother l
am innocent of the crime"
About this time Sheriff Hobbs, having
been notified, arrived on the scene, and
starting for the Jail door, was commanded
to halt, the command being emphasized
by the display of several revolvers. He
was told that the 'job had been done "
By this time the greater part of the mob
had dispersed, leaving only thirty or forty
men on guard, who left soon after the
sheriff arrived.
Yreka is a little mining town, and years
ago was frequently the scene of mob vio-
lence. The summary manner in which
Justice was meted out to the four murder
ers reminded the pioneers of similar
scenes during the gold excitement forty
years ago, when it was not an uncommon
spectacle to awaken in the morning and
see the body of a notorious criminal dangl-
ing from a tree.