The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-21


Nickel, son of Keis p Nickel. a
ranchman at IRON mountain, fifty miles
north OF Cheyenne. IN route TO Iron
4 Mountain station on the morning of
July is, 1901, TO hire sheepherder. was
met at the gate leading from the Nick
ell pasture and shot down. He re-
ceived two bullets i'm the back The
ASSASSIN then came from his hiding
place among the ROCKS D the left of The
gate, tore oLen che shirt, examined the
wounds. carried the body 100 feet town
the road and placed the head on
stone
The boy not returning from his mis-
sion his parents started a search ana
the dead boy was found in the road on
/ the afternoon of the 18th. Members
of the family Of James Miller, neigh
bors of Nickel. and who had quarrslei
Z with the Nickells, We're suspected or ire
crime, and the father and sons We're
! arrested and brought 10 Cheyenne, but
/ they easily proved an alibi-
The coroner's jury investigated the
! case for several months, but was un-
I able to discover a single clue leading
! to the identity of the murderer, and 2
/ verdict was found that Willie Nickel
was killed by unknown persons
Trapped Into Confession
Tom Horn was suspected of the crime
about a month after its commission, al
! though he had told a straightforward
story at the coroner's inquest he often
/ Dragged of his numerous killings. how
ever, and he appeared 20 be so familiar
with the details of the Nickel murder
that the suspicion against him deVel-
( oped into the open charge that he killed
+ the boy.
/ Early in January Of the following
year Deputy United States Marshal joe
/ IaFors, who had been at work quietly
on the case and who had satisfied him
! self that Horn was guilty, met Horn In
] the formers office and during the con-
VersatioE at that lime Horn admitted
that he killed the bOv. He also referred
! the killing of William Powell and
! William Lewis, two Iron mountain
ranchmen who were assassinated IN
1894. and Of whose murder Horn was
suspected. and stated that he received
/ s. 100 for killing three men and shoot
ling at another FIVE times. From the
I talk il was taken chat Horn meant
| Powell and Lewis and Willie Nickeil
| were the ones killed, and kels Nickel,
who was wounded by hidden assassin
near his ranch two wee ks after ms Doy
was killed. was the one shot at hVe
times. Tom tod where he got the
money who paid it to him. etc. DIT
! ing the talk with LaFOr Horn made
many discriminating statements, and al
I the trial of the case ne admitted on the
/ stand that what he said TO LaFOfs.
which was taken down by Stenographer
Ohnhaus and Deputy Snow, who were
] secreted in an adjOilHng ROOM was
/ practically the way ne had talked. he
said it was all a josh, however.
Convicted and Sentenced.
He was given a two weeks trial, was
/ convicted the latter part of October,
1862, and on Nov. i was sentenced ID
be hanged, the date Of the execution
being set for Jan. Is. A stay OF eXecu-
ton was granted pending an appeal to
the supreme court The motion for Il
new trial was heard last August, ana
on Sept. 80 the supreme court denied
the application, having failed to ind
single error in the case.
Governor ChattertOn was then ap-
lpealed to. although Horn could have
applied to the district court for a new
trial on the ground of having newly
discovered evidence. The governor was
iasked to commute the sentence to lire
Imprisonment. Horn claiming he was
innocent. and his plea being supported
| by a number of affidavits, chief among
/ which were the affidaVits of Miss kim
nell. a school teacher, who during the
trial informed the prosecution she was
willing to testify for the state, but
! who in her affidavit swOre that Vic
tor Miller had confessed to her that
he killed Willie Nickel. Ollie Whit
man and A w. Bristol swOre that Vic
tor Miller had made similar statements
to them.
The state filed numerous counter af-
fdavits, Miss Kimmel was arrested
charged with perjury, and the COVER
nor denied the application for a COM
mutation of the death sentence.
Closely Guarded.
During the twenty-five months that
Horn was confined in the county jail
there were frequent reports Of plots
TO Hberate him Many of these plots
had been arranged, but the publicity
! given them and the preparation made
at the jail to resist an attack had the
, desired effect. On Aug. last Horn,
assisted by jim McCloud, a notorious
character, who is alleged to have muir
dered Ben Minnick in Big Horn cOUn-
ty. overpowered Jailer Proctor and es-
! capped to the street, but the jailer had
bartled with them for nearly half an
hour and the desperadOes were wind
. ed and did not get far from the Jail
} At that time Horn attempted to kill
} Proctor.
It is estimated that the conviction OF
/ Horn cost Laramie county upwards of
S35 600, and that Horns friends spent
even a greater amount in their efforts
TO free him.
, Horn was defended by Judges J. w
, Lacey and T. +. Burke, Matson & Ken
nedy and Z. T. Clark. He was prose
cuted by Colonel W. r. StOn of Chey-
enne.
Biography of the Murderer.
Tom Horn was porn in Scotland
county, Missouri on Nov. D. 1850 and
had he lived until tomorrow he would
, have been 43 years Of age. His aged
mother still lives on the old farm. His
father fed from the Missouri officers a
few years ago because of alleged check
fOrgeries, and took refuge in British
} Columbia, where he died.
Horn left home at the axe Of IA years
{ and went TO Santa Fe. For fifteen
years he lived in the southwest, where
he drove stage coach, herded govern
! mept stock, secuted, trailed and fought
2 Indians. He was the scout in charge
E Of the party that captured Geronimo.
Horn came to Wyoming in 1887, but
? returned south. He came again in 1897
? with a number of Texans and partici-
5 pated in the johnson county raid OF
the wealthy eattlemen against the
5 rustleEs.
Horn was suspected of the murder OF
a Mexican army officer, William Pow
ell and William Lewis. Matt Rash and
: Isham Dart of Browns Park, Colo. and
two or three others.
Horn was a self educated man. He
spoke German, Spanish, Apache and q
, number of Indian languages luently.
Last summer Horn wrote a 100. 600
/ word history Of his career. This book