The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-29
MOB HANGS WOODWARD
THE DAY SENTENCE NAMED

/ regained consciousness. and called for
+ his deputies. who were at the house
to come and get Kim. While the sheriff
was calling for assistance, and while
! be was in the thrOes of the death
agony, Woodward came from the barn
and. going up to where the oflcer was
( Writhing in his life blood and tossing
about on the ground in much the same
manner as a chicken after its neck IS
/ severed on a chopping block, deloer-
ately struck him in the face with the
butt end of his six-shoOter. thus knock
ing the last spark of life out OF the
already dying man
After satisfying himself that Kicker
( was dead he took about Sf5 in money
4 out of the officers pockets; he also Sc
/ cured the revolver and cartridge belt
Of the dead sheriff. Woodward then
dragged the body several feet toward
the barn and left IT, He went into the
/ barn. turned two of the horses out
1 and prepared TO make his escape, when
/ he heard the deputies coming They
/ were Smelling the barn with their Win
I chesters. and during the heavy IRE
/ Woodward went back behind manger
and laid down. where he remained for
/ about an hour.
BY this time the shooting had become
less frequent. Tying long rope 10
/ his horse he threw il out Of the barn
/ door: he then crawled out of a window
/ in the rear, and crawling around on his
hands and knees he got hold of the
I rome and led his horse from the barn,
/ mounted and dashed away in the dark
ness.
When the news Of the murder of
/ Sheriff Kicker was brought to Casper
/ two days later by one Of the deputy
sheriffs the people were frantic. a
| posse of over 100 men was at once or
gained and every saddle and rifle in
the city was engaged. The posse start
/ ed toward the scene Of the murder. but
/ many Of the horses gave out, While
| some of their riders, who had thought
nothing about food, soon became hum
/ CRY, and fully two-thirds of the party
was forced to turn back. A supply
/ wagon with food for man and beast
was started for the ranch as soon as
J the stra ggiers returned to town The
/ county commissioners aided in many
| ways and offered a reward of $1,000 for
/ the capture of the murderer.
/ Mrs. Kicker. when she heard of the
death of her husband, started out with
/ the posse and met a deputy forty
/ miles out bringing the body Of Ger nus
> band in.
/ When the posse reached the ranch it
/ was divided into small squads and the
/ search for Woodward was commenced.
/ There was a heavy fall of snow on the
night Of the murder and WOOdward's
trail was completely Obliterate5. The
/ posse secured the hills and timber in
/ every direction, and a week passed by
without finding a single trace of the
/ murderer. All Of the officers save three
/ finally gave up the chase and returned
to Casper. The three men that re-
manned in the field struck Woodward
trail and followed it to a sheep camp
/ on Powder river. where Woodward had
/ stopped one morning for breakfast.
Murderer Disguises Himself.
Here it was learned that the fugitive
I had shaved off his moustache while i'm
/ camp and made other changes in his
/ appearance for the purpose of aiding
I IL his escape After leaving the sheep
camp he headed for the B. & NJ. rail-
read near Gillette, finally reaching the
I little station of Arvada. He had been
( out in the hills for two weeks now and
/ The privations through which he had
! passed and the constant fear Of cap
/ ture had almost broken him down.
! Some days he was compelled to go
/ without food, while on others all ne
got to eat was jack rabbit half
/ cooked. He slept in abandoned huts
or in his blanket on the open prairie.
| the weather being bitterly cold at the
/ time
/ At Arvada Woodward abandoned his
horse and boarded a train for Billings,
+ Mont From there he went to Laurel.
where he met Wilson owens and John
( RerkheimeT. He was offered a job by
( Owens and left at once for the ranch
to go to work He gave his name as
Bill Cad. A few days later owens read
an account of the murder Of Sheriff
J Kicker. and at once recognized in Bill
/ Cad. Charles Woodward. the murder
/ err Owens accused Woodward Of the
| crime. and showed him the newspaper
/ accounts. Woodward owned up and
1 said. You see where I am at and
/ then told of the crime and how it had
/ been committed.
Owens promised to protect Wood
ward but later. when he read in the
/ paper that a reward of $1,000 had been
( offered for his capture, dead or alive,
/ the ranchman set about TO effect the
/ capture of his hired man. Owens went
TO Billings and told the officers what
he was going TO do. Borrowing hand
cuffs. he returned to the ranch. and
one day while Woodward was eating
dinner. Berkheimer slipped up behind
/ him and dealt him q severe blow with
the butt Of his gun Woodward had
previously thrown his two guns on TO
a bed. being the first time since the
murder that he had parted with his
pistols. and he was pOwerless to resist
/ Berkheiner and Owens. The latter had
covered Woodward with a gun when
/ Berkheimer dealt the blow, but for all
this Woodward jumped up and for
few minutes q fierce struggle occurred
The ranchmen finally overpowered the
murderer and placed the handouts
upon him. They had used their guns
as clubs and Woodward was badly
( beaten.
The prisoner was taken TO Billings.
and afterward BROUGHT to Casper b.
/ Sheriff Tubbs For a time il was feared
Woodward would be lynched upon his
arrival here. but about 200 citizens were
at the depot when the train arrived
and escorted the murderer to the cOun-
tx iail. There was some talk Of string
ing him up. but the lynChers concluded
to wait until after the trial
The only thing that Woodward said
when he saw the large crowd was.
Say. but this is a big delegation to
meet me-
The district court was in session
when woodward arrived which prob
ably had a good deal to do with his
not being lynched at that time. The
lava biding citizens promised that he
would have a speedy trial and the case
was Immediately taken up During the
trial which lasted for three or four
DAYS. Woodward was led to and from
the court house. a distance of three
blocks. with a chain attached to his
handouts. Had not this Drecaution
I been ia ken it was feared he would have
made a break for liberty and it would
have become necessary to shoot him.
Was His Only Witness.