The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1906-02-23
HANGING OF BILL MCDONALD
EARLY DAY DRAMATIC INCL.
DENT RECALLED
EYE WITNESS TELLS THE STORY
j. ]. Bump, Well Known Pioneer
Writes for the Union the
Stirring Tale

One pleasant morning in June, 1876,
my next door ueighbor, who ran q
grocery, came into my place and said
he had been robbed and that someone
had entered his place in the night and
carried off his trunk which was q large
bellows top one, filled with clothing
and keepsakes and some 5000 in gold
dust. All he had left was handful Of
groceries. Ee wanted to know if I
bad any idea who we had in the camp
that would do thing Of that kind.
1 told him had not the least idea who
itcould be. We had not had any theft
or burglary committed in the camp up
to that time and there was no need Of
any one steuling to live, for there was
plenty Of work at good wages. l adj
vised him to say nothing about 1t and
would put friend of mine to work
and try to run down the thief which
Immediately did. In course of the
forenoon the trunk was found not more
than fifteen rods from the Grocery, on
the bank of Deadwood creek in a
thicket of brush where it had been
broken open and the best of tho cloth !
ing taken,-the dust and keepsakes
were gone.
About two o'clock my detective came
into my place and told me he had the
thief spotted. asked him who it was
and he said It was Bill Mcdonald, /
said to him, "you must be mistaken as
there is not an more honest man in the
camp" Mcdonald was an experienced
miner and commanded the highest Of
wages going. The only fault he seemed
to have was that he would take a lay
off once in two weeks and have drunk
that would last for two or three days.
1t was while on one OF these sprees that
this robbery was committed. I asked
the detective what reasons he had to
think it Mcdonald and he said he had
found where he had paid out some Of
the dust and that he then had the
balance in his jacket. 1t was hard for
me to believe that he was the guilty
one
told the detective to bring him in
and we would search him which he did
and we found all of the dust except
about $4,000, also some:silver spoons he
had in his pocket and other keepsake 8
which of:course was evidence enough so
we organized miners trial and select
ed jury. We tried to have Mcdonald
confess to the theft but he wonld not
and the jury agreed to hang him. That
was nard thing for me to do but
there was no use for me to stand out
alone for they would hang him at any
rate. The room was full OF spectators
every man carrying his winchester and
all clamoring for the execution TO come
off at once. The spectators were asked
to give the room TO the jury aud the
prisoner until things could be got read y
and then they would be allowed to
come in and witness the hanging. We
at once set to work to rig up scaffold.
We took small box and put q beer
keg on to that. then got the prisoner
up on the keg and then we opened the
door aud let the hungrey crowd out.
side do the rest. We got rything
ready, got rope over a joyce AMI go,
up on the keg to put the rope
around his neck and tie another one to
the box which we had decided to let
the spectators pull away. When they
woul pull the box Bill would land on
the other side of Jordon. As every thing
was about ready, Bill motioned for me
to come to him which did. He said
he would like one or two requests
granted and 30 asked him what it was
he wanted and he said he would like tc
have his boots taken off as he did no,
want to die with them on and also no,
to have his name in the papers or lie,
his folks know how he had died. AS
was ABOUT to bid him goodbye, with
tears falling from his face, he says, :'I
1 will tc!! Gil know about this affai,
and promise to leave this .gulch and
never return won't you let me live.'
I mentioned it to the rest of the jur,
and they agreed to let him tell his stor,
and thy would consider it, SO we tool
him down from the scafold to let hin
tell his story.