The Lamar register., 1907-08-28
EDITOR OF WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
is KILLED IN HIS HOME
TOWN BY RANcHER.
TRAGEDY STIRS KERSEy
BUT FOR TIMELY INTERFERENCE
THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN
COMMON LAW HANGING.

the Kersey Enterprise, through the
heart. Lewis fell dead on the spot
I've got you now" said Simonsen
| with a curse. and replaced the gun
| in his pocket. Excited crowds gath
| cred about him, some clamoring that
he be strung up. Disdainful of
| threats. Simonsen stood with folded
arms until a constable arrived and
placed him under arrest.
The shooting was the result of a
| publication in Lewis paper, in which
the name of Mrs. Simonsen, woman
| of striking beauty. was connected by
innuendo with that of ]. l.. Ewing. a
wealthy ranchman. Simonsen,
though himself fairly well-to-do, is a
tenant on Ewing's ranch, and the two
| men, as far as known, have been on
| good terms.
The innuendo against Mrs. Simon
| sen is said to have been repeated
] number of times in various issues of
| the Enterprise the last ten days ago.
and Simonsen had gone to the editor
and protested. Bitter feeling grew up
| between the two men, and Simonsen
came to Kersey with the purpose. APP
parently. of ending the affair through
procuring the arrest of Lewis.
H. p. Hill, the justice of the peace
|
for the warrant, insisted that the mat
ter be carried to the prosecuting at
torney Simonsen did not have pa
thence to await this action. He was
drinking and. arming himself with a
| revolver, started out on a man hunt
| for Lewis.
Found Victim on Street.
| Simonsen found his man on the
main street, at O'Clock, an hour
when the thoroughfare was crowded
with townspeople and farmers doing
their Saturdays shopping. He walked
| up to Lewis without a word of warn
Ing, and, whisking out the revolver.
| fired at close range.
I've got you now, you - -,
he exclaimed. the sound of his voice
| half drowned by the pistol report.
Lewis, shot through the heart. threw
up his hands. whirled around to the
opposite direction, and fell. face down
ward, on the street.
| Excited witnesses to the cold
blooded shooting came thronging from
all directions.
Hang him! hang HIM" shouted
some in the crowd. Bring rope.
quick"
No you won't. That man got only
what he deserved. Don't touch him!'
cried others, forming a body guard
about Simonsen.
In the middle of two struggling and
about evenly matched mobs, one cry
ing for his life, the other determined
to defer nd him. Simonsen, the only
| collected person in the crowd. was
pushed back and forth over the body
of his victim. The outcome of this
strife was doubtful and looked as
| . iph in VI
Constable James Loustelet succeeded
in pushing his way through the crowd
| to where Simonsen was being buffeted
about The officer drew his revolver
and threatened the crowd. forcing
every one to withdraw to a distance
from his prisoner.
The constable stood his ground un.
til Under Sheriff Fred Williams. who
had been notified of the shooting by
phone message. arrived. after Gov
ering the ten miles from Greeley in
record time. Under Sheriff Williams
took charge of the prisoner and placed
him in the Greeley jail
Two Factions in kersey.
The removal of Simonsen. however,
did not serve to allay excitement in
Kersey. The crowd instead collected
about the morgue where the body OF
Lewis lay, and fought the controversy
| over anew.
The alleged slanderous publications.
| in which the name of Mrs. Simonsen
and Ewing were connected in a man.
| ner that left little to be inferred, be
| gan to appear in the Enterprise some
| time ago. Simonsen, each time. went
| to Lewis, it is said, and protested,
but apparently without effect. The
publications continued to appear, and
| they finally goaded Simonsen to the
point where he sought legal remedy.
Failing to procure warrant for
Lewis arrest, he went to his home to
secure his revolver, determined to
take the law into his own hands.
Mrs Simonsen, a blonde. has never
failed to attract by her beauty She
is stylish in appearance, always well
dressed, and with fondness for jew
elry. Simonsen is thirty-seven years
old ii native of Sweden, but has lived
in Kersey for the past ten years. The
couple have no children.
| Style of journalism.
The style of journalism followed
by Lewis has aroused much adverse
| criticism. On several occasions. it is
said, he was warned that his paper
would be refused transmission through
the mails unless its tone was changed.
He followed a policy of dealing with
topics usually disregarded.
Here are types of his utterances:
IF a certain old stiff from Greeley
| doesn't keep away from certain
woman's house in Kersey, the citizens
will treat him to coat of tar and
feathers" and IF that son of h
known as Brother -, who claims
to be worker in the Lords vineyard.
! don't get out of town pretty quick
| and mend his ways, a rope and tele.
| graph pole will be his fate"
| The publication that caused the kill.
| ing tonight was couched in practically
/ the same sort of language.
| Others of like nature have en-
broiled the daring editor in number
| less fights heretofore.
| Lewis had been publisher of the En-.
! terprise about year. and during that
time the paper has been watched cur
iously by the citizens of Kersey and
| Greeley. Lewis leaves a wife.