Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-08-29
FOUGHT TO THE DEATH
Man and Woman Barricade
Themselves and Resist
Being Arrested.
THEY KILL DEPUTY CONSTABLE
Mob Then Forms and Sets Fire to the
House-When Inmates Come Out
They Are Shot.

Gilman, Ills, Aug. 27.-Two men
killed, three wOunded-two of them
perhaps fatally-one woman wounded,
and her residence burned, are the re-
suits of an all-night battle between a
mob and Mrs. DR.. G. w. Wright, who
was accused of the murder of Bessie
Salter, the 16-year-old daughter of a
citizen of Gilman.
The dead: John Myers, laborer, EN-
ployed by Mrs. DR.. Wright; Michael
Ryan, citizen, serving as deputy con-
stable. Fatally wounded: Lawrence
Ryan, brother of the dead man, wound
ed in abdomen; George Willoughby,
citizen, shot through left lung; Mrs.
DR.. C. w. Wright, shot through right
shoulder, bullet taking downward
course Seriously wounded: Peter
Lauer, member of the citizens at
lacking party, shot through stomach.
First Act of the Tragedy.
Early in the evening the first act of
the tragedy was enacted, when Con-
stable Nilstead went to the house on
the outskirts of the town, occupied
by Mrs. Wright. to serve on the Occu-
pant warrant sworn out after the
coroner's jury had declared her guilty
of murder. A number of deputies
gathered up on the street, accOmpa-
MED Constable Nilstead. Mrs. Wright
barred the door, and in forcing an en-
trance the constables encountered I'M
expected opposition. They broke the
outer door open and entered the dark
ened rooms. Michael Ryan felt his
way across the first room, and was
about to enter the door of the inner
apartment, when shot rang out and
he fell dead. The constables made Il
hurried exit and formed picket line
around the building.
Dead Mans Family Arrives.
About O'Clock the family of Mich
ael Ryan arrived. The dead man had
been carried to the bushes near the
house where he met his death. A mob
of probably $50 people had gathered.
Most of them were armed. The scene
of grief which followed the arrival Of
Ryan's wife and children fired the
crowd with frenzy. They seized doZ-
ems Of bundles of straw, saturated
them with petroleum, piled them
against the front and sides of the So
called hospital, and applied the torch.
In a moment the place was mass OF
flames. Shot after shot rang from
the upper windows and George Will
loughby, a local representative of the
Standard Oil company, fell with bull
let in the left side. The next victim
was Peter Hauer. a member of the at
lacking party These casualties so
angered the crowd that they volfeyed
the house as fast as they could load
their firearms.
Shooting of Mrs. Wright.
Suddenly. from bunch of timber in
the rear, several shots came i'm the di-
rectiOn of the mob. They were an
swered, a hundred to one, and the fire
was quickly silenced. Members of
the mob rushed to the timber, and in
the dim light of the coming dawn,
found the body of John Myers, a black
smith. who had been employed by Mrs.
Wright, stretched in the death agony.
He was shot in dozen places about
the head and shoulders, showing that
he had been lying on his face, firing
at his enemies, when he met death.
Nearby lay Mrs. Wright, a ragged hole
in her right shoulder. She had been
wounded while lying down in the
same position as Myers. The mob
carried her down town. jeering as they
went. She was taken to the council
chamber and physicians set to work in
an endeavor 10 bring her to conscious
ness.
Three Women Missing,
The mob Immediately dispersed. 1t
had been reported that there were
three women in the house besides Mrs.
Wright, but no signs of them have
been found. The house was destroyed
with its contents.
Mrs. DR.. Wright was about 30 years
old. 1t is stated that she was former
ly an actress. For some time she has
been conducting a lying-in hospital on
the outskirts of Gilman. The death
of Bessie Salter in the house last Fri
day, and the later verdict of the cor
oner's jury Saturday, caused the is
suance of d warrant for her arrest,
which resulted in the wholesale shoot
ing and probable death of the princi.
pal.