Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-11-30
BRUTAL MUDDER AVENGED
CONTINUED from page one.)

seemed trying to say more at this
point, but could not speak.
Rev. Father Moore again read G
prayer, and was followed word by
word by the condemned man.
Then the prisoners arms and legs
were pinioned, and the black car
adjusted about his head, the moose
slipped over it, and the trap was
sprung. Death followed in a few
minutes.
The execution was witnessed by
only small number of people. The
jury of IL, required by law, were
present, several officers Of the law,
sheriffs, constables, half a dozen
members of the press, II or 10 stu
dents from the medical department
of Willamette University and that
was all. Among these were j. NJ.
Hansen, OF Crook county, who is a
brother-in-law of Mrs. Ben zell.
For the first time in the history
of hangings in the prison, Shepherd
insisted that the death warrant be
read in full. Superintendent James
did this. DR.. Shaw and DR.. Browne
examined the man when he died, and
made formal statements to that eff
feet, as the law requires.
Shepherds Awful Crime.
The crime for which Fred A.
Shepherd paid the capital penalty to-
day is one of the most brutal, horri-
BILE and heinous of any that has ever
stained the pages of the criminal
history of Oregon. The awful crimes
of the negroes in the southern states
that bring about the lynchings in
that sections about which so much
has been said. are of the same class
but no worse than this.
Shepherd murdered Ben f. Zell at
his home in Crook county, Septem-
ber "a. of this year. At the same
time he crimlnally outraged Mrs.
Zell after making her, at the point
OF the gun, assist in carrying her
dead husband from the barn to the
house.
Zell was a rancher and cattleman
and lived on his place about 25 miles
from Prineville and Shepherd wal
one OF his two hired men.
To have proper conception OF
Shepherds horrible crime II must be
remembered that his is OF the lowest
and most brutal type of human in
telligence. Without cause. he be-
came madly infatuated with Mrs.
Zell, in his coarse brutal way. and
the evidence showed that he had been
contemplating this outrage for sew
eral weeks.
On the fatal morning he left the
barn where he slept with another
hired man called Dakota" and wen,
barefooted to the house and entered
the sleeping room of the Zells. He
fired at Mr.. Zell and threw a rope 10
Mrs. Zell and tried to make her as
sist in tying Zell. The Zells ran from
the room and TO the barn. Shepherd
followed and when they reached the
barn Zell was shot again and fell
dying. Dakota" saw his life was I'm
danger and ran TO a ditch camp two
miles distant where some men were
at work and gave the alarm. The
men soon returned TO the Dell place
where they took Shepherd into GUS
todye
After old Dakota" left the place,
Mrs. Zen TO save her life promised |
Shepherd II he would let her go TO |
the nearest neighbor's house she
would help him fasten the crime on
Dakota" Shepherd fell in with
this, and allowed her to mount
horse still bloody and in her night
clothes and ride away TO the neigh
bors. When she returned she fell
on her horse and dramatically point
Ing at Shepherd cried: That's the
man who killed Ben"
Escaped Lynching.
IL was then that the eoolness of
The men who had Shepherd in GUS
lody asserted itself. Most men
would have executed him on the
spot.
Shepherd was taken to Prinevine
ma was tried in due time with
Judge Arthur L. Frazer, of Multno-
nah county on the bench. Frank
Aenefee' OF The Dalles was district
attorney and he was assited in the
prosecution by Judge w. A. Bell, of
Prineville. Shepherd made a full
and tried to impllcate
drs. zell but soon afterwards aban-
ioned that plan. His counsel set