The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1897-11-17
THREE iNDlANsLYNcHED.
Tiree Murderers of tho Splcer Family Are
Hanged at Williamsport N. ID.


Tiree Murderers of tho spicer Family Are
Hanged at Williamsport, N. ID.
Bismarck, N. D., Nov. 14.-Alec Cou-
dot. Indian half-breed, Paul Holy
Track and Philip Ireland. full blooded
Indians, the first of whom was sem
fenced to death for the murder of six
members of the Spicer family last Feb
ruary, and had just been granted new
trial by the supreme court, and the lat
ter two self-confessed accessories in
the murder, were taken from the EN-
mons county Jail last night by a mob
and lynched.
The lynching had been. apparently,
coolly planned and was carried out
without a break in the program, and
sudden and swift retribution was me-
ted out by the mob to the murderers.
Williamsport, where the hanging took
place, is about 40 miles. from this city
and off the railroad. The first news of
the hanging was received in this city
this afternoon. when mounted mes
senger arrived, his horse lathered with
foam from swift ride, and announced
that the three men had been lynched.
The sheriff of the county, Peter Shier
was in this city at the time the hang
ing occurred, and it was to him that
the messenger rode in hot haste to this
city.
The men had been under the CUSTODY
of Deputy Sheriff Tom Kelly. and they
were taken from his custody by the
mob and hanged to a beef windlass
several hundred yards from the Jail
where their bodies were still swinging
in the breeze until noon, when the COR
ornor arrived and cut them down.
There We're about 40 men concerned
IN the lynching. They rode into Will
Transport on orseback, late at night,
and tethered their horses short dis
lance from the city, that they might
secure them again as speedily as nee
essary after the deed was done.
1t was about o'clock in the morning
the prisoners were taken from the Jail.
The mob had more consideration for
Coudet as the other two had confessed
their crimes, while Coudet had not, and
as the mob desired to learn from him
whether two others who are under ar
rest for the crime were guilty. The
self confessed murderers were dragged
across the space intervening between
the Jail and the windlass upon which
reaching that spot more dead than
alive.
Coudet was allowed to walk. He
made slight resistance, but it was flu
tile. There are no trees in the vicinity
of the Jail, and the mob was first at a
loss for scaffold. The men were
hurried to an adjacent we'll and an at
tempt was made to hang them from
the curling. but this proved impossi-
BILE. They were then dragged to log
pile near by and an attempt was made
to hang them from the ends of the pro-
iecting logs, but this effort also proved
unavailing.
A huge beef windlass, that had been
erected from which to suspend the car
casses of slaughtered beeves, then of.
fered them the means sought, and the
men were dragged to this and strung
up on cross beam.
Coudet was the first man to be
hanged. Holy Track and Ireland were
1EOu UCluS
They were unable to stand and were
slowly raised from the ground on
which they lay, until their bodies
swung into the air and dangled from
the windlass with that of Coudet, and
the three bodies swayed to and fro in
the bright moonlight, CHASTITY
spectacle.
The mob then dispersed, mounted
their horses and rode away. But few
people in Williamsport were aware
that anything unusual was in pro-
gress.
1t is said that the lynching may have
been precipitated by recent decision
of the supreme court of the state to
Coudert the only one of the five who
had been tried and found guilty of the
crime.