Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1895-09-06
lsrEI WORK OF A. MOB
ness in siskiyou County.

,hastly climax of a reign OF laWless'
less in Siskiyou county for many
months past, the bodies of four accused
nurderers lie this morning on the noor
If fire engine-house in the old MIN
ng town of Yreka. 1t was evident
that Judge Lynch and his jurors had
been at work during the night, and
their verdict was death by hanging
TO four miserable wretches in the coun-
ty Jail.
The victims are Lawrence johnson,
who, on July %, stabbed his wife to
death in the town of Etna; William
Null, who shot Henry Hayter in the
back, near Galatians, April 81; Louis
Moreno and Garland Sender, who are
supposed to have killed George Sears
and Casper Meiererhans at Bailey
Hill, August 5. About 8 o'clock
straggler now and then caught
glimpse of dark objects hanging around
the suburbs of the town, but nothing
was thought of it. Dark objects thick
ened until along toward midnight they
assumed the shape of silent and stern
men. either on horseback or afoot. AT
midnight prearranged plan or signal
drew a small army of some $50 men III
the vicinity of the courthouse square,
while sentinels were placed throughout
the town to ward off the danger OF dis
covery by officers. The fire bells were
tied up and the night watchmen were
sent to other parts of the town on sham
errands, and stragglers were detained.
At O'Clock the midnight avengers
of justice prepared to carry out their
plans. An old rail was taken from the
depot and stretched between two trees
in the courthouse park, and then they
began descent upon the Jail. A de-
mand was made upon Deputy Sheriff
Radford for the keys, but he did net
yield. Henry Bratlaucht, who was
sleeping in the Jail, heard commo-
ton and opened the door to see what
the trouble was, and he was at once
seized by the mob. The doors were
then forced open and johnson, Null,
Sender and Moreno were marched out
to the court yard. The condemned
men were stolid and took their fate
without murmur, with the exception
of young Sender, who begged piteously
for mercy. His age is 10. 1t is said
that the scene was heartrending one,
as young Senior broke forth in an
agonizing appeal and cried out: Tell
my dear old mother l am innocent of
the crime"
Sheriff Hobbs had given strict or
ders that in case any attempt at lynch
ing was made to ring the fire bells and
rouse the citizens, but the mob antici-
pated this and laid their plans we'll.
Every person about the streets in the
vicinity of the Jail was stopped. S. F..
Miles and Sam Roop were going to the
house of the latter's mother, and were
; held at the scene of the hanging.
Nearly every section of the country
was represented in the mob. In fact,
ever since Null's cold-blooded murder
of Henry Hayter, lynching was freely
talked of in the western end of the
country, and when johnson killed his
) wife the avenging sentiment kept on
fermenting. After the Bailey Hill
murder the feeling reached dangerous
stage. During the lynching some one
awoke Sheriff Hobbs, who hurried
down town and as he was going
through the courthouse a Winchester
was stuck in his face and he was com
, PEELED to stand where he was The
whole affair was carefully arranged
, and we'll executed, and not over TWEEN
ty minutes elapsed from the time the
keys were surrendered until the mol
rode swiftly out of town.
I The lynching can in no way reflec
, upon the officers of the court. The in
, formation in the hll case was flee
May 30, and under his plea of limo
cence the law gave him right to senC
q wherever necessary to secure deposi
lions in support of his defense, which
could not be done in less time than al
lowed by the court. This is the onl,
one OF the four cases which was at is
{ sue before the superior court. In tn
I case OF johnson there was demurre
to the information, which was to b.
. argued this week. The other prisoners
9 Senior and Moreno, were to have ha,
= their preliminary examinations tomor
n row, it having been necessary to post
d pone them to that date, in order to al
: low the attorney time to prepare tn
n defense.
All day the excitement Throughout
g Siskiyou county has been intense al
9 though not of condemnation on tn
Il part of the lynchers, for the genera
j. impression is that Judge Lynch's sen
tence was severe though just one
Especially in Yreka has excitemen
run high, people hurrying from all sec
% tions of the country to veiw the ghastl
y. result of the midnight raid on tn
" county Jail. kilograms of inquir
. from newspapers and invdiduals al
up and down the coast have been pour
:, ing in all seeking particulars of tn
y :. most daring wholesale lynching in tn
u history of the West.
= The coroner's jury rendered q vel
9 dict that johnson, Null, Moreno an
Sender came to their death by strangu
lation, at the hands of parties ur
known to the jury. The probabilitie
are that none of the lynchers will h
:. apprehended.
@ A Victory for the Poolrooms.