Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-09-15
FOUL CRIME AVENGED
MINNESOTA MOB HANGS TWO
MURDERERS.
Dorman MusgrOve and Charles Cinq-
mars, SIayers of Sherin Rogers ut
Glencoe, Taken from jail and Swung
from q Bridge.

Glencoe, Mimi, Sept s.-Dorman
Musgrove and Charles Cinqmars paid
the penalty for numbering Sheriff
Rogers at an early hour Sunday morn
ing. A determined mob of 100 men
took them from the county jail, drag
ged them to bridge half mile from
town, tied ropes tightly around their
necks, and swung them into eternity.
| Both men admitted their guilt, but
claimed they had killeS the sheriff in
self-defense The new sheriff was
taken completely by surprise and it
would have been useless for him to
make resistance, as the mob was suffi-
GENTLY powerful to have overcome
him in a minute.
The hanging was the result of pub
lie indignation reaching climax over
the trial of Musgrove. w. w. Erwin,
their attorney, secured separate trials
for the men, and the trial of Musgrove
began last Monday. 1t took many
days to secure jury. but the trial
was short Mr.. Erwin made an elo-
quent address in favor of the prisoners
and to the surprise of the whole COM
munity verdict of murder in the Sec
ond degree was brought in on Satur-
day. The people of the town and
county were wild with excitement and
Immediately resolved to take the law
into their own hands.
Between II and l o'clock Sunday
night mob of masked men appeared
quietly at the Jail door and raped for
admission. Jailer Edward Waddell
opened the door to see who was there,
and demand was at once made for
the keys to the Jail. On his refusal he
was tied in his chair and the men pro-
ceeded to batter down the doors with
sledge hammer. After breaking the
locks of the cells, they made the pris-
oners dress.
in spite Of their pitiful requests to
be allowed to speak, the two men
were gagged and hustled away. The
mob took them to the bridge over
Buffalo Creek, on the road leading to
the scene of the murder, and, placing
them in the same relative positions as
when they committed the crime,
swung them over the edge of the
bridge. The drop of fifteen feet broke
both their necls. The bodies were lief.
untouched, and when found a short
time afterward their feet were in the
water of the creek.
Jailer Waddell and Guard Uopns
were so much excited over their ey.
perience that they could give little de-
scription of the mob, saying that they
were big men and all wore black
masks. They managed to get word to
the sheriff soon after the prisoners
were carried away, and when the
sheriff and posse found the bodies at
the bridge they were still warm, but
both were dead
The best people of Glencoe and this
county are loud in their denunciation
of the lynching and propose TO see
what can be done to discover who con-
stitute the mob
Sheriff Rogers was killed by Mus
grove and Cinqmars Eve miles south of
here, June 10. They were tramping
through this region. They quarreled
with farmer and pounded him. A
warrant was issued for their arrest
and Sheriff Rogers went fter them in
person. He found them just at dusk,
and ordered them to throw up their
hands.
Musgrove exclaimed, "We don't have
to" and began firing on the sheriff.
Before the latter could draw his re-
volver he bad been shot five times.
The murderers were captured next
day in swamp by posse of 500 men.
An attempt was made at the time to
lynch them, but company of the
state militia arrived at Glencoe from
st. Paul in thcrnorning of June IS and
prevented it. The prisoners were kept
in the st. Paul Jail until the trial was
called the past week.
The men claimed to have come to
the northwest from Missouri and said
they were on their way to the harvest
fields of North Dakota.