Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-03-26

%.fS
Ep d." only recommend.
6 alton for public
approval was it's centra location, the
place being almost exactly in the
center Of the county. TO the people OF
the struggling little frontier town Wild
Rock was a world within itself. It's one
short dusty business street, with tho
county courthouse and jail-the most
commodious building In the place-at
one end of it, was the center of the uni
verse to them.
But twice week Bill Wagner's stage
coach, drawn by four big black mules,
brought to them news of the outside
world from the little telegraph and
way station on the Southern Pacific
road, some 40 miles to the south.
One of the latest additions to Wild
Rocks population had been Frank
Wagner, a younger brother of the big
brawny frontiersman who supplied
the town with it's semi-weekly mail
and such other commodities as it was
necessary to bring from the railway
station. This younger Wagner had
settled in Wild Rock, first, because
his brother was there, and, second,
because the place was "out west" He
had come west, like thousands of
others, in search of health, and in less
than a years time had found it, only
to be brought face to face with death
in a much worse form-on the
gallows.
Before he had been in the place ten
months Wild Rock awakened one
morning and found one of her citizens
dead, murdered at his home during
the night. Had Bill Wagner been at
home instead of at the railroad sta
ton he would, no doubt, have been
arrested as the murderer, because he
was the only enemy the dead man was
known to have. But, as it was impos-
sible to fasten the crime onto the stage
driver, the citizens of the place has
tened to lay it upon the shoulders of
the younger Wagner, and had Frank
arrested before night.
1t lacked but six weeks of election
day, and the county attorney, eager to
be the choice of the people for another
term, was untiring in his efforts to
weave chain of circumstantial evi
dence around the young man that
would certainly convict him. Could
his purpose be accomplished, it would
win for the lawyer the plaudits of the
people, and secure him their support
at the polls, because the young mans
polished eastern manners and good
clothes had never been popular with
Wild Rocks male population.
Good counsel for the defense was
secured in the east, but all to no pur-
pose, for, do what they could, it was
impossible to secure an unprecedented
jury, and their only hope for their
client lay in the judge. When the
case came to trial the few persons who
were willing, and knew enough about
the case to testify, were placed on the
stand in the young mans favor, but
the eastern attorneys knew, before
half the witnesses for the state were
examined, that their case was lost.
Even the hope that they might secure
some clemency for the prisoner from
the judge decreased gradually as the
case proceeded, owing to some Of the
rulings he made in the states favor.
After the testimony was all in and
the county attorney had thrown all of
his pent-up eloquence into an appeal
for justice to the people, for ian eye
for an eye and tooth for TOOTH"
md after the attorneys for the de-
Tense had shown to the jury the weak
points in the purely circumstantial
evidence against their client and had
spoken of his good character, known
both in Wild Rock and at his eastern
home, the fate of the prisoner was left
to the IL men chosen to represent the
law in Navajo county.
In less than Is minutes they returned
and announced to the court that they
had found Frank Wagner guilty of
murder in the first degree, and recon-
mended that he be sentenced to hang.
Never had life seemed so dear to
young Wagner as when the judge, in
a voice evidently calculated to carry
warning to all in the courtroom
sentenced the prisoner at the bar to be
hanged by the neck until dead on Fri
day, November %, 1892, between the
hours of four and ten q. m.
That date was but five weeks away
and every chance of saving the pris-
oner's life must be tried in the mean.
time. The motion for new trial was
overruled by the judge, and an ap
peal was denied. Two weeks before
the day of the execution there was Blu,
one hope left, and it was with heav,
hearts that Wagner's attorneys, thor.
oughly convinced of the young mans
innocence, started for Washington tc
lay the case before the president, anG
appeal to him for pardon for thei,
client
The time Of execution was less thar
"a hours away, already the gallows had
been erected in the Jail yard, and moth
ing more encouraging than that The
president had taken the case under aid
visement had been heard from Wash
&ngton.