Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-07-17
JOPL|N'S LAST BAD, BAD MAN Twenty Second Anniversary
 of the Most Memorable
 Lynching Bee in the Zinc
 Country Is Recalled BAD JOE" HANGED After He Had Held the Whole Com-
 'Dunity of a Missouri Town in Fear
 for Years-Sometiling of Joe Thornton's Exploits.
BAD JOE" HANGED

Joplin, Mo, July 17.-Twenty-two years ago tonight occurred Joplins most memorable lynching bee, with the towns most famous and fear some bad man. playing the princi- pal role in the obsequies. The date is one long to be remembered by the older citizens of 'the town that Jack built, since it marked the beginning of the end of the wild and lawless mining camp. With the passing out of Bad Joe'' Thornton at the end of a rope change come over the from tier village. The four-flushing gun man" who had bulldozed the people of the incipent city was left without leader and immediately left for tha wilder West or retired into innocuous deseutude. In the lawless affair of July IS, 1885, the present compara- lively peaceful and quiet zinc metrop, oils had it's beginning.
 Bad Joe" Thornton came to Joplin in the summer of 1884 and established a thirst quenching resort near the Kansas line. Prohibition was then prohibiting in the SunfloWer State, and Thornton carried on brisk business in liquors of kind that were guaranteed to kill or maim at forty rods. In addition to maddening moisture, Joseph kept large stock of trouble on hand at all times. His place became a hang-out for all the toughs within a hundred miles and the orgies-some of them exceedingly bloody-that took place under his auspices were sufficient to shock anyone not wholly lost to sense of decency.
 Whenever he tired of the society of his "bad men" friends, which was very often, Thornton came to Joplin and proceeded to paint the town. His reign while in the city was complete and no one dared deny his slightest wish. He was the dictator of Joplin and not even the hardest of the towns officers dared deny his su- premacy-none except old Dad" Sheehan. Dad" fearless Irishman, attempted to arrest Thornton, and was shot down like dog by the "bad man." After a desperate re- sistance, Bad Joe' was captured by mob and hanged. It was the towns first lynching bee. Bad Joe" ">was the last of his kind in Joplin. The dang ling body was warning to all other bad men" that their society was no longer wanted, and they immediately proceeded to betake themselves hence.
 Old settlers in this city tell many stories of Thornton's exploits. Ac- cording to their weird tales, the bor der ruffian of fiction has been under drawn rather than exaggerated. Like most men of his type, Bad Joe" was proud of his marksmanship and his chief joy was to shoot cigars from the mouths of startled tenderfeet and to perforate their silk hats. To the mirthful Joe all men were but tar gets. A hatless frightened man run ming down the streets of Joplin was sure sign that Bad Joe" was in town and had been testing his shoot ing irons. As an unique character. Thornton has the edge On all other Joplinites, and his untimely demise is still mourned by few admirers of lurid fiction who have never had the pleasure of meeting a real bad man" in the flesh.