The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1909-11-19
VICTOR PAYS
THE PENALTY
SLAYER OF THE CHRISTIE FAM.
llY ExPlATES TO LAW FOR
AWFUL CRIME
MURDERED four PEOPLE
ON A FARM NEAR RUDOLPH IN
BROWN COUNTY WITH IN.
TENT TO ROB

victor, a young
man formerly of East Aurora, N. Y,
was officially executed in this city OF
Tuesday for the fanton killing Of four
persons. His victims were J. W. Chris
tie, a grain buyer at the little town of
Rudolph. Brown county: Mrs. Christie,
Mildred Christie, aged ~. and Michael
Ronayne, a young man. The quadru-
pie murder was committed on the
morning of July 3, the motive being
robbery.
In a confession made by Victor he
slater that he hid during the night in
the Christie barn, awaiting the coming
of Christie to do the morning chores.
when he intended to pound him into
in~sensibility and rob him of the large
sum which he expected to find in his
possession. However. he killed Chris
tie, and. young Ronayne appearing up
on the scene. he also killed him in or
der to cover up the first crime, and
then also felt compelled to kill Mrs.
Christie and her daughter so there
would be no living witnesses against
him. Victor secured only about $13 in
cash and jewelry as the fruit of the
murders.
Victor was the seventh person to die
on the gallows in South dakota since
the state was admitted to the union.
The six who have been hanged were:
John B. Lehman, Jay Hicks, Two
Sticks Ga Sioux Indian. gorge Bear
and Allen Walking Shield, also Sioux
Indians. and Nathaniel X. Thompson.
Lehman was executed for the muir
der on uly IL, 1889, of James H.
Burns, a constable. Burns had gone
to the home of Lehman to arrest MIN
or a minor charge. Lehman had been
warned by friends, and as 20 as
Burns appeared he fired upon him,
the charge passing through the Of
ficer's body and causing almost in
slant death.
The murderer fled and was not cap
tured until Sept. /, 1889, when he was
found at Rushville, Sheridan county,
Neb., near which place he had secured
ClIiplty lIlcIlt oI a q " III ldSC d
a remarkable one in several respects,
one Of which was the fact that Len
man was sentenced to death no less
than three times.
Jay Hicks was hanged at Stureis on
Nov. Is, 1894, for the cold-Dlooded
murder of an old Meade county cat
tleman named Meyers. whom he killed
for purpose Of robbery.
Nathaniel X. Thompson suffered
death or the gallows at DeSmet on Oct
Z. 1893. closing one Of the most brutal
charters Of crime in the history of the
state. Thompson's wife had obtained
q divorce from him and had gone to
the home of Mrs. Electra j. Billion, a
resident of the town of Arlington.
Thompson went to the Billion home to
see her. After a brief interview, at
which Mrs Billion was present, Thomp-
son drew a knife and attemnted to
stab his former wife. Mrs. Billion, to
protect her friend, threw her arms
around THOMPSON and received the
knife intended for Mrs. Thompson.
She soon died from the wound.
The murder created intense excite
ment throughout Kingsbury county,
of which DeSmet is the county seat
and Arlington one Of the PRINCIPAL
towns, and for a time there was strone
talk Of lynching Thomson. But wiser
counsel N walled and the law was per-
mitted to take its course.
Two Sticks, a Sioux warrior whose
home was on the iPne RIDGE reserva-
ton. was hanged at Deadwood for the
murder Of some boys at the ranch OF
Isaac Humphreys. near the border OF
the reservation. GEORGE Bear, a Brule
Sioux Indian. whose home vas on the
Rosebud reservation. was ..anped in
Sioux Falls in the fall Of 1902 for the
murder OF his nephew and a govern
ment employee named j.. w. Tavloe,
who was the government agent in
charge of the district where Bear re-
sided.
Allen Walking Shield. who also vas
a Brnle Sioux Indian. with his hime
on the Rosebud. was hanged in Sioux
Falls on Oct. "a, 1902, for the murder
Of an Indian woman, whose daughter
he forciblv abducted after killing the !
mother. who objected to the attentions
raid by him to her daughter.
II IS an interesting coincidence tina,
" III" six ItiSbHS HdHSeN III CbHjN I"-
kota since statehood. three were ax-
ecuted by the state authorities. while
the other three were executed by the
United States authorities for South
Dakota. The three executed by the
state authorities were white men,
while the three executed by the feder-
al authorities we're Sioux Indians.