The Dickinson press., 1912-04-27
LIFE OF lYncnED MAN
IS A WARNING TO MANY

IS A WARNING TO MANY
An account of the murder of Mrs.
William Merrill al her home at Joppa.
a little Montana station east of Forsyth,
wal given in the PRESS last week. also
the reported lynching of the murderer.
Henry Hoefner.
Hoefner, q hobo who wal given work
at the Merrill ranch q few days pre-
vious, was in the act of robbing the
house when Mrs. Merrill interfered.
He shot her. took all the money he
could find. saddled a horse and
made away. The only child of the Mer-
rill family. a 15-year old boy. arrived
on the scene at this time and ran for
assistance to a freight train which
was taking water at that place. The
Engineer Frank Regain. after ~telephon-
ing Supt. T. H. Lantry for orders. ran
his engine and caboose to Rosebud for a
posse of men and three horses who had
been advised by Supt. Lantry of the
engines coming. and in a little more
than an hour after the Merrill boy
appealed to the engineer for help. Hoef-
ner was in custody and in a box car
bound for Forsyth. He admitted the
crime in a cold deliberate manner and
said he would plead guilty. but contrary
o his assertion he took the stand and
pleaded mot guilty." This made it
necessary that he be tried before a jury
and the date for trial was set for May
e..
Remembering that the four murders
within a year in that county had result
ed in aggregate sentences of only 30
years and fearing that the perpetrator
of this terrible crime would escape his
just deserts, a mob of determined.
masked men took Henry Hoefner from
the Rosebud county jail at Forsyth and
hanged him to a cottonwood tree in the
most prominent part of the city early
Thursday morning. April 18th.
Sheriff McMullen and Deputy Fleming
were held prisoners by the mob who
took their weapons away from them.
while the sheriff pleaded with them to
no avail. The doors of the Jail were
battered down with heavy crowbars.
A. f. E~llickson, freight conductor.
formerly of Dickinson. who happened to
be in Forsyth. was attracted to the jail
by the noise. On learning the situation
he started to leave but was greeted by
the mouth of a gun and commanded, as
were all of the non-participatine spec
tators. to remain where he was and he
did. Mr.. Ellickson said Hoefner mani
tested the most remarkable nerve he
ever saw. Confronting the leaders of
the mob from whom he knew he could
expect no mercy, he declared, YOU'RE
nothing but a gang of cold-blooded
mlrderers."
The Glendive Review of last week
had the following to say of the life of
young Hoefner, which it is hoped will
prove a lesson to many a young man :
Henry Hoefner's rapid descent from q
life of apparently well-ordered respecta-
bility at Brooklyn. N. Y. to the awful
ignominy of death at the hands of a
righteously- indignant mob in the West.
is fraueht with startling lessons to
young men and to the parents of the
boys and girls of this era of unsettled
and uncertain social conditions.
The Review has received a copy of q
statement given out for publication
by Henry Filter. uncle of the lynched
murderer Of Mrs. Merrill. who is a high
" respected citizen of Lima, Mont.
Accompanying Mr.. Filters statement
is a letter from Will Hoefner, brother
of the murderer. According to this let
ter, the misguided young man was .un-
til recently a Woodworking, helpful
member of the family living at ISL
Sixth street, Union Course. L. l. He
was dutiful to and thoughtful of his
mother, bringing her practically all Of
his wages.
Then he got it into his head that he
wanted to go Vest a laudable de-
sire in any young man who is hamper
ed by the restrictions of hereditary en-
vironment in the east, but evidently
inspired in this case by reading trashy
literature. At any rate, young Hoef-
ner made some terrible mistakes at the