The record-union., 1898-06-14

GREAT BEND (Kas.), June 13-In
the public. square, fronting on the
principal business street of this city, a.
murderer was lynched at o'clock this
evening by mob of probably 500 per-
sons. 1t is estimated that at least
LOCO of Great Bends population of
2,oOO persons witnessed the tragedy.
The victim was John Becker, a white
man, aged about 80 years, who on
April Sth killed Myrtle Huffmeister the
l6-year-old daughter of William Huff
meister,, a farmer living midway be-
tween Great Bend and Ellinwood, the
second station east of here. s
Becker was employed by the farmer.
and professed passionate love for the
daughter, and the tragedy followed the
girls refusal to accept his advances.
When the girl came to the stable in
the evening Becker shot her to death,
sending eight bullets into her body
after which he set fire to the farmers
stables
AT first it was reported that the
murderer had shot himself, and that
he had died in the flames, but later it
became known that he had fed, and
search was instituted. On April 18th
a posse of farmers captured the mur-
derer near ST. John, Stafford County,
and for safe-keeping he was taken by
the Sheriff to Hutchinson. there having
been many threats that he would be
lynched if brought here.
This morning Becker was brought
here from Hutchinson to be put upon
his preliminary examination. Early in
the day farmers from the neighborhood
of his crime began coming into town,
and by o'clock this evening the
streets -
became known that the murderer had
been granted a change of venue to
Lyons, and that Sheriff Abeer would
take his prisoner east on the Santa F'e
train this evening, there were signs of
threatened trouble, as a big crowd be-
gan TO gather at the railroad depot
Snerln Abeer, appreciating the danger,
took Becker into a buggy and started
Tor crossing east of the city intending
to flag the train there
BY this time the crowd at the depot
was openly threatening a lynching.
When the tran pulled in the purpose of
the Sheriff's strategy had become ap-
parent to all The would-be lynchers.
quick TO act. boarded the train and
rode on. When the Sheriff at the
crossing. saw that the train was
crowded to the guards, he did not flag
it. but hurriedly drove back to Great
Bend with his prisoner. At Dart
mouth the lynching party left the train
and started back to this city. having
hired all the conveyances available
there
In the meantime Sheriff Abeer had
hurried back, and had lodged his pris-
oner at the County Jail
few minutes before 8 o'clock the
mob was swarming around the jail.
Evidently believing that he could out
Wit the lynchers by flight, the Sheriff
rushed Becker out of the Jail to his
buggy. but he had no sooner done so
than he and his men and the prisoner
were surrounded The Sheriff aided by
United States Deputies made a stub
born defense. and the prisoner. realiz-
ing the fate that threatened him. fought
desperately with them.
After they had fought their way back
almost to the entrance to the Jail. the
mob, through sheer force Of numbers.
prevailed. Securing the murderer. they
bore him away to the public square
"A rope was drawn around Becker's
neck, and, after he had been beaten
almost to insensibility, the rope was