Omaha daily bee., 1897-11-15
Aggravated by Laws Delay Th,y Take
Case in Their Own Hands,
PR GRAM CARRIED OUT WITHOUT A BREAR
Action Prompted by Granting of New
Trinl to One of the Murdcrers
by the Supreme
Court.

MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi. Nov. IA special
to the Tribune from Bismarck. N D., says,
Alex Coudet, Indian half-breed; Paul Holy
Track and Philip Ireland full-blooded In
dans, the first of whom was sentenced to
death for the murder of six members OF the
Spicer family last February and had Just
been granted a new trial by the supreme
court, and the latter two self-confessed ac-
cessories in the murder, were taken from the
county jail in Emmons county last night and
lynched by mob. The lynching had been
apparently coolly planned and was carried
out without a break in the program. Sud-
den and swift retributlon was meted out by
the mob to the murderers.
Williamsport, where the hanging took
place, is about forty miles from this city and
off the railroad The news of the hanging
was received here this afternoon, when a
mounted messenger arrived, his horse in
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 hanging occurred and 1t was
to him that the messenger rode I'm hot haste
The men had been in the custody of Dep
uty Sheriff Tom Kelley and they were taken
from him by the mob and hanged to a beef
windlass several hundred yards from the
Jail, where their bodies swung to the breeze
during the entire day, the corcner not hay
ing yet arrived and no cne having voluu-
teered to cut them down.
There were about forty men concerned In
the. lynching. They rode into Wiiiamsport
on horseback late last might and tethered
their horses a short distance from the city,
that they might secure them again speed
lily as necessary after the deed was done
LYNCHING ANTICIPATED
The Jail in which the prisoners were con-
fined is a substantial stone structure and was
in charge of Deputy sherif Kelley. Since
the confinement of the prisoners therein SO
great has been the fear that they might es-
cape in some way, one man has watched alp
night within the jail and last night Kelley
was on watch.
There was meeting of the lodge of Wood
men in building near the Jail, and as
Kelley was a member he expected to meet
some of the members of the lodge after the
meeting had adjournd To while away the
time during the night hours he was playing
in front of the cells in which the murderers
were confined.
About O'Clock in the morning there wae
a rap at the outer door of the Jail and Kelley
arose quickly and turned the key in the lock,
thinking that the persons he expected to meet
had arrived. No sooner had he opened the
door than the mob crowded into the corri-
| doris. All Of them were masked and tie
leaders carried ropes purchased for the oc-
casion. Kelley at once realized that the
mob had come after his prisoners.
The lynchers were quiet, but determined.
The leaders presented a revolver at the head
of the deputy sheriff and told him they
wnnted his prisoners and demanded that de
open the cells which they were confined in.
Kelley demurred, but saw that resistance was
useless and unlocked the door.
DRAGGED FROM BED.
Two OF the prisoners were confined to-
gether and the otaer in separate cell They
had been aroused from sleep by the entrance
of the men and sat up half awake and trem-
bling with terror. Holy Track and Ireland
were dragged from their beds, ropes were
fastened about their necks and they were
dragged out on the ground after being told
to prepare for death.
Then men were then dragged to a huge
beef windlass which had been erected to
suspend the carcasses of slaughtered beeyes,
and strung up on crossbeam. Coudot wcs
tho first man to be hanged II is reported
that he was asked before he was hanged
whether Black Hawk and Defender had also
been concerned In the murder for which he
was about to be banged. He answered th.t
they had been. Tne rope which had been
| fastened about his neck was then thrown over
the crossbeam and he was raised off the
ground and suspended in the air.
Holy Track and Ireland were so nearly
unconscious from the effects of the dragging
! that they did not realize what was about to
happen when the ropes about their neeks
were tossed over the same beam. They were
unable to stand and were slowly raised from
the ground on which they lay until thep
bodies swung in the air and dangled from
the windlass with that OF coudot
The mob then dispersed, mounted theis
horses and rode away
Lynch Henry Phillips.
OSCEOLA, Ark, Nov H.-Henry Phillips,
alias Doc Jones, negro self confessed mur-
derer and moonshiner, Was lynched in the
court yard here a; midnight Past night by u
mob composed of prominent citizens Of this