The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1897-09-16
Indiana Farmers Take Burglars
From Jail at Versailles and
Lynch Them.
Frequent Robberies Have Greatly
Incensed the Citizens in
That Region,
And They Concluded to Put a
Stop to Them---No Troops
Wanted.

LOUISVILLE, KY, Sept. 16.-A special
to the Evening Post from Osgood, Ind,
says: Incensed by numerous depreda.
tions, repea,ed burglaries and daylight
robberies, the people Of Ripley county,
Ind, have taken the law into their own
hands and meted out to the perpetrators
a punishment greater than provided by
the law. Five men who have long been
q terror to the citizens Of this county.
met their death at the hands of an en-.
ragged populace and when the citizens
Of Versailles. the county seat, arose, it
was to find the bodies OF five men dan.
Cling from as many limbs of an elm
tree in the center OF the public square.
Stout ropes not over six feet i'll length,
had served to send each to his eternity,
and their feet were but few inches
from the ground, while theiv hands and
feet had been securely pinned with
strong ropes.
They Had Suffered Long.
Versailles is q town of some 500 peo.
ple. 1t is one of the Oldest in the state,
and, although it is five miles from
railroad station, and has no telegraphic
communication with the outside world,
as have more pretentious towns OF the
county, it is still the county seat. For
four or five years, and even longer, the
farmers of the county have been the vic.
Tins of q lawless gang. Farmers would
come into town with bunch Of cattle
or load of farming products and the
next morning they would be found
along the roadside suffering wound
and minus the proceeds OF their sale.
Old German farmers have been visited
and both men and women have been
subjected to all the tcrtures that a
hardened mind could inflict. Aged
German women have been forced to
stand upon q red hot stove in an effort
to compel them to disclose the hiding
place Of some treasure in the house.
These depredations have continued un.
ceasingly. Arrests have been made.
but the guilty parties had covered up
their lawlessness and it was seldom that
conviction followed.
During the past week robberies had
increased alarmingly. On last Satur-
day word was received by the sheriff
that the store Of Wooley Bros. at Cor.
rect, Ind, 10 miles from here, was to
br entered. With several deputies he
went to the place indicated. He found
two Of the men there and exchanged
many shots with. them, wounding both
,nen-Clifford Gordon and Bert An.
drews. X
Gordon and Andrews succeeded in
escaping and came to Osgood, where
they were arrested. The robbers had
driven out to the place in a buggy be.
longing to Lyle Levi, and from infor.
'mation subsequently gathered it was
learned that the robbery had been
planned at the home Of William Jen.
kins. The tvs latter were arrested as
accessories. All were taken to the Jail
at Versailles. Henry Schuller, "a years,
was put in the Jail for robbing the
barber shop at Osgood last week. Levi
was 81 years old, Gordon %, Andrews
30 and Jenkins ~.
While the citizens have not been able
to fix the various robberies upon these
men, they were thought to be part Of a
gang that has committed host OF
them. When it became known that
they were in Jail, it was quietly sug.
gested by the victims and sympathizere
that .justice" be summarily dealt the
prisoners. A programme was mapped
out and 400 men rode into town to put
1t in operation.
Shortly before o'clock, there was q
knock at the door, and when Keenan,
and the others opened the door. they
were presented with pistols by thre<
masked men, and asked to turn over the
keys This they did, and then the moi
died into the Jail. Three Of the pris
oners, Levi, Jenkins and shuller, were
on the lower door,, while Gordon and