The Afro-American., 1895-08-31
EXECUTED BY mob.
-Four Murderers LynChed in a
California Town.
A REIGN OF DISORDER.
Fearful of the Laws Delays the
People Took the Administration
of Justice Into Their Own
Hands - Hanged Side
by Side.

-Four murderers were taken from the
coun'y jail at Yreka, CAL, by mob Of 25e
men at O'Clock in the emorning and lyncheJ.
land Of citizens. fearing that the law
would not be carried out, and angered over
the atrocity OF recent crimes, determined to
take matters In their own hands.
The lynching was the ghastly climax to
the reign Of lawlessness which has prevailed
in sisikyou county for some months past.
One Of the victims was Lawrence Johnson,
who, on the evening Of July 2s, stabbed his
wife to death in the town of Etna. Another
was William Null who shot Henry Hayter in
the back with a rife near CaIlahan's on
April p. Lou.s Moreno and Garland Seem
Ter, who are supposed TO have killed George
seers and Caspar Msirefhans at Bailey Hill
on August 5, were als5 hanged.
AT II O'Clock farmers from all Of the sur
rounding cou try began to drive into town,
and by midnight the mob was ready to
march to the county jail. Before taking 8
step, however, every precautlcn was taken
TO prevent the plans OF the lynchers from
being frustrated by the officers of the law
The sheriff and one his deputies were de-
oyed to another part OF the town by two
members OF the mob who were engaged in a
sham fght, and the fire bsll was muffleI to
prevent an alarm be- ng given in that way.
When the jail was reached a number of
the men, all of whom were masked, awak-
ened Under Sheriff Radford, and demanded
the keys from him. He positively refused to
oi en- the door or to give up the keys, telling
them if they b. oke open the doors he would
blow their brains out.
Finding that Radford was determined not
to give them the keys, they went across to
Ire jail and got on top OF a stone wall, which
surrounded the jail. Deputy Sheriff Henry
BrahtIacht, who has be n sleeping in the Jail
since the commitment Of so many murderers
thinking some one was escaping from the
jail, fired two shots out OF the window to
arm G ty Marshal Parks ani Depu Sher-
if Radford. The latter then opened the
doors, and was immedia ely held up by the
mob, who took the keys from him and en-
tered the jail. Having no keys to the different
cells they were compelled to burst the locks
with a sledge hammer, which they proceeded
to do at once.
Lawrence Fl. johnson who brutally
stabbed his wife to death at Etna on Sunday
evening, July 28 was the first to receive the
attention of the mob They broke the locS
from the door OF hi4 cell, and placing rope
around his neck ed him out OF the jail and
across the street to where the iron rail was
laid between the forks of two locust tree.
Johnson plead for mercy, but the silent
gathering gave no heed to his appeals, and
he was quickly strung up, dying from sttan-
guation in a few miuutss.
The mob returned to the Jail and then
broke into the cell of William Null, who shot
Henry Hayter, at Callahan's, on April 21, in
dispute oH er a mining property Null de-
sired to make statement, but time was too
valuable to permit any such preliminaries,
and he was soon hanging a onGside OF
johnson.
Louis Moreno, who is charged with having
killed George Sears on the 5th OF this month,
was taken from his cell and was soon swing
ing with Johnson and Nul.
The last and youngest of the four murder
ers to pay the penalty of his crime was Gar
land Seemler, aged about nineteen, who, in
company with Moreno, was charged III
having killed Caspar Meirerhans at B .iley
Hill on the 5,h of this month A rope
was placed about Seemler's neck and he was
led from the jail in his bare feet. SeemIer
begged for mercy and his last words were9
"Tell my dear old m other I am innocent
OF the crime"
Yreks is little mining town and yelrs
ago was frequ Mt y the scene OF mob vio-
lence. The su nmary manner in which JUS
tice was meied out to the four murderers
remind the pioneers of similar scenes dur
Ing the gold excitement forty years ago,
when 1t was not an uncommon spectacle to
awaken in the morning and zee the body OF
a notorious criminal dangling from "a tree.
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