Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-02-25
LYNCHING OF HOMESTEADERS
Archer Pioneer Tells Of Hanging OF
Mitchell and Ketcham.
WERE INNOCENT OF ANY CRIME
ne says They Were Killed because
T7sry Attempted TO Make Homes
on Lxnd Illegally Held
by Olive Gang.

ARCHER, Nob., Feb. 9.-To the Editor
CT The Bee; IN your issue OF February
u IS an article from Galloway. Neb., re-
lat.ag TO the lynehing and burning Of
Mitchell and Ketchem in ISL Your cor
respondent says that the facts were fur
nIshed by man who was on the ground
after the tragedy. Now tins man told
more than he knew. or he knew more
than ne ted. IN fact. his talk sounds
very much like the Olive gang at the
time OF their cowardly lynchIng Of these
two honest homesteadera He either was
there and saw the murder. or he don't
know half as much about II as Us old
homesieaders,
1 was a honlesteader in Merrick county
at the time and was well acquainted with
Mitchell. and have often seen Ketehem-
Old man Mitchell was an honest man.
and neither OF them ever touched Olives
cattle. The fact Ia Olive mover, lest any
cattle. Al that Mitchell and Kstchem
did was to get over the Olive dad line
and tako up homestead. as they were
entitled TO Go. but olive was trying TO
hold several townships Of land that be-
longed TO the government. and he had
succeeded in keeping every homesteadsr
away until Mitchell and Ketehem staked
out their homesteads In ISL and started
TO make for themselves a home on the
Nebraska prairie
shooting of Clint Olive.
70 drive Mitchell and Ketchem out Of
the country olive started the report that
they were stealing his cattle. and sent
hts brother. Clint Olive. over TO notify
them to leave the country. Clint Olive
rode up TO their shack" and as they
came out the door Clint Olive shot
Keichem through tho right arm With
his right arm shattered Ketchem drow
his gun with his left hand and shot Olive
through the body. from which he died a
short time after the shooting. Mitchell
and Ketchem hitched up their team and
drove down through to Merrick county.
and sent word 10 the sherisfs who were
looking for them that they would sur
render n they would wee that they got 4
fair trial. and know. and 30 does every
old settler who lived In this vicirlty al
the time. that if they had had a fair
trial they would never have been con-
yicted. They said that II they were not
turned over to the Olive gang they would
come and give themselves up. as they
could prove that Kstchem had shot Clint
olive In seif-defensa
Lynching at Lexington.
The night before they surrendered they
took supper with my nearest neighbor,
They surrendered TO the sheriff Of Mer-
rick county and were put on tho train
and taken 10 Plum Creek tnow I,exlng-
toni where. the Olive gang were waiting
and they wers taken from the train and
hanged and burnt. They are a number Of
people still living In Merrick. who seen
the bodies after they were brought bach
10 central City. and anyone who seer
the burnt bodies knows that they did MOI
set afire the way the dreamer At Gala
way says. And again the bodies were MOI
buried out theer or at Kearney as h,
says. but the bodies were brought Il
Central City where Mitchell was buried
and the body OF Ketchem was taken back
70 his old home N lows.
shortly after Ketchem's ls-year-old
brother came out from Iowa. went w
70 Plum Creek and arrested olive and
turned him over to the proper authorities,
he was tried and given q NE sentence,
but he had plenty OF money and with the
aid Of Il and Judge Lake he managed
10 act out. He moved to Colorado and
was shortly shot TO death by his hired
man. hope you will print this - you
did the false report from Galloway, for
II pains US old settlers 20 read report 4
making heros Of the Olive gang. when
we know that Mitchell and ketchem were
honest homesteaders. and the olive gang
were no better than band OF outlaws,
T.. NJ. MKENDRY.