History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/1/27
IN early days, before Iowa Territory was organized, Bellevue, in Jackson County, became infested with men of disreputable character, who were guilty of many crimes and gave that locality a bad reputation.
In 1857 a party of immigrants landed in Bellevue, claiming to have come from Michigan. They had considerable property, consisting of good teams, wagons, household furniture and money. The land had not yet been surveyed and the only titles were claims held by the occupants. But as these were respected by all reputable persons and protected by rigid claim laws, towns were laid out on these claims, lots and blocks staked off and recorded, which were bought and sold with as much confidence in the claim titles as ever existed in later years after titles had been secured from Government sales and patents.
The leader of this Michigan colony was W. W. Brown, a man of intelligence and engaging manners. He built a hotel and was elected a magistrate. He was liberal and charitable, always ready to assist the unfortunate and soon became one of the leading citizens of the new town.
He employed a number of men in various enterprises and it was soon discovered that a large amount of counterfeit money was in circulation. Upon investigation it was in almost all cases traced to some employee of Mr. Brown. Citizens on both sides of the river began to lose horses, and it was discovered that some of them were found sheltered in the vicinity of Bellevue. Many horses were brought into the town by strangers and exchanged for other horses which were brought by other strangers, who claimed to have come from Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
It was ultimately discovered that Bellevue was the headquarters of a large gang of counterfeiters and horse thieves who had confederates scattered through portions of Wisconsin, northern Illinois and extending down the Mississippi River into Missouri. The large body of timber in Jackson County, known as the “Big Woods,” made an almost secure place for secreting stolen property. There were stations extending through Jones, Cedar, Johnson, Mahaska, Scott, Louisa and Lee counties. Brown’s hotel was one of the stations and it was there that a battle was fought in 1840 that went far for a time to banish the boldest of the gang from Jackson County. Among the desperadoes who belonged to the gang were William Fox, Aaron and John Long, Richard Baxter, Granville Young and Mr. Birch, all of whom were afterward concerned in the robbery and murder of Colonel George Davenport. On the 8th of January, 1840, many of the citizens of Bellevue were attending a ball given to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans. James Thompson got several members of the gang of desperadoes together and robbed the residence of J. C. Mitchell, and grossly abused a young lady who was the only person in the house. She recognized Thompson in the struggle and after a desperate resistance made her escape to the ball-room and gave the alarm. Mitchell armed himself and started out to find Thompson. They met in the street. Thompson fired first and missed. Mitchell sent a bullet through his heart before he could fire again and the desperado fell dead. Brown hastily gathered members of his gang and they swore vengeance on Mitchell, whose friends armed themselves and standing at the head of the stairs awaited the attack. A number of shots were exchanged, when Brown’s party retreated, and going to a saloon nearby formed a plot to blow up Mitchell’s house and destroy him and his family. They broke into a store and secured a tin can holding fifteen pounds of gun powder. The can was placed in the cellar by William Fox,
HEADQUARTERS OF BROWN’S BANDITTI
Erected in 1837 near Bellevue in Jackson County
and in casting lots to determine who should apply the slow match it fell to Mr. Chichester. Fortunately a gap had been left in strewing the powder and thus the can was not reached by the fire, and a terrible tragedy was narrowly averted.
The citizens now became thoroughly aroused and began to organize for mutual protection and the arrest and conviction of the members of the gang. A consultation was held in Dubuque, at which there were present Sheriff W. A. Warren of Jackson County, James Crawford, the prosecuting attorney, and Judge Thomas S. Wilson. A warrant was issued, charging W. W. Brown, William Fox and Aaron Long and twenty others as confederates, with theft, robbery, passing counterfeit money and other crimes. As soon as it became known to Brown’s gang that warrants were out for their arrest they armed themselves and swore that they would resist to the last extremity.
Captain Warren called to his assistance a posse of about forty determined men, and all, well armed, marched to Brown’s hotel, where the gang had decided to give battle to the sheriff and his party. The squad moved in double file and as it arrived within thirty paces of the hotel Captain Warren gave the order “charge,” and the men sprang forward, quickly surrounding the house. Brown was seen standing at the head of his men with a rifle raised to his shoulder. Warren demanded instant surrender, and as Brown’s rifle was lowered it was discharged and his men opened fire generally, wounding several citizens, one fatally. The sheriff’s men returned the fire and Brown fell dead. His gang fought desperately for fifteen minutes as the posse forced an entrance and drove them up the stairs where a hand to hand struggle with gun barrels, pitchforks and bowie knives continued. Finding it impossible to force a barricade on the stairs, Captain Warran gave the command to fire the house. Before the fire reached the second story the gang began to escape by jumping from a window to a shed in the rear.
Thirteen of them were captured as they leaped down and fled, while six escaped. The sheriff’s party lost four men killed and seven wounded. Three of the gang were killed and several wounded.
Fox, Long and Chichester were among the prisoners and when the battle was ended and the wives and children of the slain citizens were weeping over the mangled remains of the husbands and fathers, a fierce cry arose, “hang them.” Ropes were quickly thrown round their necks when they begged and pleaded in the most abject manner for their lives.
The venerable Colonel Cox mounted a box and urged the citizens to let the law take its course, pledging his word that the fate of the prisoners should be determined by a majority of the citizens when they had time to deliberate. A strong guard was placed over the prisoners while the leading citizens retired to the residence of James L. Kirkpatrick to determine their fate. A long and heated discussion then ensued between the advocates of the execution of the desperadoes and the more merciful who favored whipping. Colonel Cox presided over the deliberations and it was finally determined to take a vote on the penalty and every man pledged himself to abide the decision of the majority. Two men were selected to conduct the ballot. They secured two boxes, one of which contained white and colored beans. Two more were chosen to pass the box around. Each person present was told to put one of the beans in the empty box; white meant hanging and colored meant whipping. The prisoners were present trembling and begging for mercy. The venerable chairman commanded order and a deathlike silence ensued. One by one the unique ballots were silently dropped into the box until all had voted. The result was handed to the chairman who commanded the prisoners to rise and hear the verdict. Colonel Cox then called upon all present who would pledge themselves to abide the pending decision to rise. Every man arose. There was three majority for whipping. It now developed upon the chairman to pass sentence upon each of the prisoners by deciding how many lashes he should receive. The chairman then proceeded to give the culprits their quota and warn them that they were to leave the State as soon as each sentence was executed and, he added, “if you ever return you will be promptly hanged.” Executioners were appointed to lay on the lash and when the ordeal was ended the cowering, groaning wretches were placed in skiffs with three days’ rations and sent down the river. Fox, the smoothest villain of the gang, used his tongue to such effect as to get off with the lightest punishment; and after several years of criminal career planned and helped to perpetrate the murder of Colonel Davenport.
The banditti were also numerous in Rock Island, Carroll and Ogle counties, in Illinois, and their haunts extended across the State into Indiana. In many localities their sympathizers were strong enough to control elections and choose justices of the peace, constables and sheriffs from members of the gang. In Ogle County, Illinois, they burned the court-house and jail, released criminals, destroyed court records and organized a reign of terror.
On the Fourth of July, 1854, Colonel George Davenport was at home alone on Rock Island. He was known to be wealthy and was supposed to keep large sums of money in his house. Five members of the banditti were chosen to rob his house. They were secreted on the island several days taking observations and on the morning of the Fourth saw the members of Colonel Davenport’s family cross to Stephenson (now Bock Island) to attend the celebration. They hastened to force an entrance into the house and shot the colonel as he was seated in his chair, found the key to his safe, procured six hundred dollars, the family jewelry and fled into the heavy timber. For many weeks no trace of the murderers could be obtained, when Edward Bonney, a fearless officer, determined to ferret out the perpetrators of the crime. Disguising himself, and knowing some members of the banditti, he passed himself off to their confederates as a member of the gang. In that guise he soon learned that Fox, Birch, John Long and Richard Baxter were the murderers. One by one he ran them down, arresting one at a time until he had all of them in jail. Aaron Long and Granville Young were arrested as accessories. Birch turned State’s evidence, escaped from jail and was recaptured. Baxter was convicted and died in the penitentiary, while Granville Young, John and Aaron Long were executed after making a confession. For a time the banditti sought other parts of the country for their depredations.
During the next ten years fifteen murders were committed in Jackson and Clinton counties, and in all but one case the murderers escaped punishment. Lawyers found a way to secure the acquittal of their clients or they escaped from jail and it seemed impossible to punish crime through the courts.
A particularly atrocious murder was committed in March, 1857, where a citizen, John Ingle, was murdered by Alexander Gifford for parties who paid Gifford to do the deed. He was arrested and lodged in jail at Andrew to await his trial. The impression prevailed that his attorney would secure his acquittal and the citizens, exasperated by the continued escape of the guilty, secretly organized a “Vigilance Committee.” One afternoon, about three weeks after the murder, a hundred men marched into Andrew, battered down the door of the jail with sledges, took Gifford from his cell, placed a rope around his neck, threw the other end over the limb of a tree, and called upon the prisoner to confess. The trembling wretch, hoping to receive lighter punishment by a full confession, told the story of the crime. He said that he had been hired by Henry Jarret and David McDonald to put Ingle out of the way and had received $150 for doing so. But the confession only sealed his doom. There could now be no doubt of his guilt, and strong men grasped the rope and quickly put an end to his career of crime. His confederates escaped, as no legal evidence could be secured to corroborate the confession of the murderer.
The citizens of Jackson and several adjacent counties now assembled in conference and effected an oath-bound organization for the purpose of ridding the State of the remaining members of the gang of desperadoes who were stealing horses, robbing houses and farms and circulating counterfeit money. In 1854 a cruel murder had been committed by a Mr. Barger, in Jackson County, whose wife had secured a divorce from him.
He went one dark night to the house where she was living with her children, and watching until she came to the door, shot her dead with his rifle. He was seen by a neighbor running from the scene of the murder, was arrested and tried three times, always convicted, but through the skill of William E. Leffingwell, the best lawyer in the county, secured rehearings and new trials on technicalities, finally got a change of venue to Clinton County, and was removed to the De Witt jail to await another trial. The respectable citizens became thoroughly exasperated at the continued thwarting of justice and determined to take the punishment into their own hands. On the 28th of May, 1857, more than three years after the murder, the “Vigilance Committee” to the number of fifty assembled at the jail, secured the keys, took the murderer back to Andrew and hanged him to the same tree upon which Gifford had been executed. Soon after this affair the members of the “Vigilance Committee” sent a statement of their object and purpose to the Jackson Sentinel for publication, from which the following extracts are taken:
“We further warn all officers that they must not commence proceedings of any kind against those who helped to hang Gifford or Burger, as we believe they should have been hung long before they were.
“We will avenge the unjust death of any member of the Committee at the cost of life or property.
“We will further punish with death any person joining this Committee whom we find has been or is concerned in horse stealing, counterfeiting, robbery or murder, and all spies will share the same fate.”
It was ascertained that not less than seven hundred citizens of the counties of Jackson, Jones, Clinton, Scott, Cedar and Johnson were members of this organization. They were bound together by the most solemn oaths to stand by each other under all circumstances and permit no member to be arrested or subjected to punishment for any acts of the committee.
For fifteen years the law had seemed to be powerless to effectually protect peaceable people in person or property in this region and the most atrocious crimes generally went unpunished. The members of the gang of desperadoes usually lived in sparsely settled sections among the brush and timber lands bordering on the Maquoketa, Wapsipinicon, Cedar and Iowa rivers and their numerous tributaries. Every member knew where the log cabins of their confederates were located, and that they would be sheltered and the stolen property secreted until it could be disposed of at places distant from where it was taken. Thus banded together in the perpetration of crime, with witnesses always ready to prove an alibi, there was small chance of punishment. Early in the “’50’s” there was living on Camp Creek, in Polk County, a man by the name of J. W. Thomas, who was usually called by his neighbors “Comequick.” He was the terror of the entire settlement. He took long trips to the eastern part of the State and often returned with plenty of money and good horses. He never was known to work and no one doubted that he was a member of the gang of desperadoes so numerous in the Mississippi Valley. He frequently changed his residence and no one dared to offend him as he was known to be a reckless and dangerous man. In 1852 he robbed an old man living on Camp Creek of $1,000 that was kept in his cabin. He was arrested by Lewis Todhunter and Dr. Sellers and lodged in jail. But some of his confederates were on the grand jury and prevented an indictment being found against him and he was released.
In September, 1856, a young man and his wife stopped at the Nine Mile House, near Oskaloosa, took dinner and inquired for a good piece of land. They said they had a thousand dollars with which to purchase a farm. Old Mr. Thomas (“Comequick”), who was present, said he lived near Des Moines and knew a farm that would suit them. The young man and his wife were traveling in an emigrant wagon and Thomas started off with them on horseback to take them to the farm. Nothing more was seen of them until about two weeks later when the bodies of the man and wife were found, hidden in shocks of corn near the Skunk River, in Poweshiek County. A brother of the murdered woman procured a description of “Comequick,” and, after a long search found him, with the stolen wagon and horses which he had sold. He was arrested and lodged in jail, but afterward released on bail through the efforts of M. M. Crocker, of Des Moines, whom he had secured as his attorney with the stolen money.
When the time for trial came his attorney secured a continuance to the next term. When the case was called up next term Crocker secured a change of venue. The principal witness was the brother of the murdered woman, who lived in Illinois, and had spent all the money he could raise in hunting the criminal and trying to bring him to justice. The murder was so atrocious that intense excitement prevailed in that region and more than 2,000 citizens had gathered at Montezuma to hear the trial. When Judge Stone granted a change of venue the rage of the people was intense. The brother of the murdered woman mounted a log and said to the crowd of excited men:
They made a wild rush for the court room, dragged the struggling wretch to the nearest tree, put the rope around his neck and raised his writhing body high in the air, where it was left until cut down for the coroner’s inquest.
During the years of 1855-56-57 many horses were stolen from the farmers of Jackson, Jones, Clinton, Scott, Cedar and Johnson counties. The settlers at that time possessed but little property, many being in debt for their land, paying in most cases from twelve to twenty-five per cent. interest on their indebtedness. Prices of farm products brought little and they were working hard and economizing in every possible way to support their families, improve their farms and meet their obligations. Good horses were worth from $200 to $300 a team and the loss of a horse or team, at that time, meant deep distress, and often left the farmer without means to cultivate his land or save his crops. Many arrests were made, but the employment of the best lawyers and the testimony of other members of the gang were almost sure to prevent conviction. This emboldened the thieves to continue their depredations, and finally many of the farmers determined to join the “Vigilance Committees” and take the arrests, trials and punishment of the thieves into their own hands. The persons who resorted to such remedies became known as “Regulators” and eventually a large majority of the farmers in the section infested by the thieves became members of the organizations.
The little town of Big Rock was for some time the headquarters of the “Regulators.” It was situated in the northwestern part of Scott County and close to the Clinton County line, about three miles from Clam Shell Ford, on the Wapsipinicon River. Here many of the meetings were held and plans formed for hunting down the thieves. No records were kept of the proceedings and no member of the organization has ever been known to divulge the names of the members, or make a full revelation of their transactions. Hence it is difficult to give a reliable history of the terrible punishment they inflicted upon suspected persons who fell into their hands.
Alonzo Page was a young married man, who lived near the east line of Cedar County, about two miles east of the present town of Lowden, in what was called “the barrens.” His cabin was built of logs and was surrounded by scrub oak trees, near which was a small clearing cultivated by him. He was an intelligent, industrious young man, often working out among his neighbors in haying and harvest. He had in some way incurred the enmity of a Mr. Corry, living on Rock Creek and soon after the Regulators were organized, this man caused a report to be circulated that Page was connected with a gang of horse thieves. Acting upon this report in June, 1857, a party of Regulators rode to the Page cabin and notified him to leave the country. When informed of the charge against him, Page solemnly protested against the attempt to drive him from his home and declared that he was innocent of the charge. He was again warned to leave the country by a certain time or take the consequences. He consulted with some of his neighbors after the Regulators had gone and they advised him to remain and pay no attention to the threat.
One dark night some time after the expiration of the date fixed by the Regulators for him to leave, Mr. Page heard the tramp of horses near his cabin and the furious barking of his dog. He hastily barred the door, looking out of the window, saw strange men riding up near the house. Soon raps came on the door and a request for admission. He inquired who was there and what was wanted, but received no satisfaction. He could now see from the window that the house was surrounded by armed horsemen. Mrs. Page was very ill and greatly alarmed for her husband’s safety. The pounding on the door continued with threats that it would be broken down unless opened. Mr. Page told the mob of his wife’s condition and that no strangers could come into the house, he realized his danger, remembering the threats made on his life when warned to leave the country, and prepared to defend himself and protect his wife to the last. He loaded his double-barreled gun with buckshot and warned the Regulators to leave or take the consequences. After further parleying the door was broken down and Page stepped to the opening to fire upon the crowd. As soon as he stepped in sight a rifle ball pierced his body and he fell in the doorway mortally wounded. The Regulators then retreated leaving the dying man and his frantic wife. It was not believed that the Regulators engaged in this tragic affair intended to deliberately kill Mr. Page, and it was charged that the fatal shot was fired by his personal enemy, who instigated the raid on his house. The Regulators were led to believe that Page was connected with the horse thieves and expected to be able to drive him out of the country, but the young man, conscious of his own innocence, refused to be driven from his home and died in its defense.
The next victim was Peter Conklin, who had committed many crimes in Johnson County and was believed to be a prominent member of the gang of horse thieves. A band of Regulators was scouring the country near Yankee Run, in Cedar County, on the 27th of June, and came upon Conklin in the woods on horseback. He fled, was pursued, overtaken, shot down and instantly killed. There was little doubt that he was a desperado of a very dangerous character.
Charles Clute, a carpenter, living on a farm nine miles northeast of Tipton, fell under suspicion and suffered persecution, if not death, at the hands of the Regulators. He married the daughter of Mrs. J. D. Denson, a widow, and for several years attended to her business. They kept a hotel and carried on the farm. The widow finally married J. A. Warner and the two men worked harmoniously together at farming, building and hotel keeping. One day in the winter of 1856, a peddler, named Johnson, stopped at the Denson House, and becoming blockaded by a snow storm, remained several days. Some months later Johnson came to the Denson House with a good team, and left it to be sold by Mr. Clute. Johnson was arrested some time later for stealing horses in Wisconsin, taken to that State and lodged in the jail. As Mr. Clute had sold the horses for Johnson, he was charged by some of his neighbors with harboring horse thieves. He was arrested, but no evidence could be found against him and he was released. One night a gang of men called upon him, took him to the woods and gave him a terrible whipping. He was then released and returned home. Late in the summer Mr. Clute was again arrested, charged with assisting Johnson in disposing of stolen horses. But there was no evidence produced against him when the time for trial came and he was again discharged. After the organization of the Regulators, in 1857, a body of them seized Clute and Warner, who were building a house in Scott County, claiming to have a warrant for them. They were taken across the Wapsipinicon at Clam Shell Ford, and given a trial by the Regulators in the woods near the residence of Bennett Warren, who was also a prisoner in their hands. As in all previous arrests there was no evidence whatever against them, but the Regulators decreed they must leave the country. They were compelled to witness the hanging of old Mr. Warren; then taken back to Big Rock, kept over night at Goddard’s tavern and terrified into promising to leave the country. In a few days Clute disappeared and was never seen or heard of even by his family. It was afterward proved by Johnson that Clute was in no way implicated with him in horse stealing, and there is little doubt that he was entirely innocent of all charges made against him. It was believed by his friends that he never got out of Scott County, but was made way with by the Regulators. On the other hand, many believed that Mr. Clute had become convinced that his life was in continual danger from the Regulators, and that his only safety was in going to some distant State.
In 1857 there was living in Clinton County, near the Wapsipinicon River, about four miles northeast of Wheatland, a farmer named Bennett Warren. He was about sixty years of age and an old settler in that section. He kept a sort of public house, entertaining travelers. Persons strongly suspected of belonging to gangs of horse thieves and counterfeiters often stopped at his house, and it was believed by many that Mr. Warren was in some way connected with these law breakers. The Regulators had organized for the express purpose of breaking up and bringing to swift punishment these bands of horse thieves.
On the 24th of June, 1857, several hundred of the Regulators gathered at Big Rock in Scott County and marched into Clinton County to Warren’s house. They took him to a grove near by to select a jury of twelve men from their number, R. H. Randall, a well-known citizen of Clinton County, presiding over the court thus constituted. Charges were preferred against Mr. Warren of harboring horse thieves knowing them to be such; keeping and secreting stolen horses knowing them to be such; passing counterfeit money knowing it to be such. Mr. Warren had no voice in the selection of a jury, was given no time or opportunity to prepare for defense and no chance to procure counsel to aid or advise him. Witnesses were called and sworn to convict, but none in his defense. It is not strange that after such a trial the jury found him to be guilty of all the charges. The chairman then called upon all who were in favor of punishing him to step to one side of the road. The vote was unanimous for punishment. Then came the vote on the nature of the punishment—shall the prisoner be whipped or “hung.” The vote was taken in the same way as before.
The accounts disagree as to what followed. The History of Clinton County says:
As the argument progressed one by one and in knots of twos and threes, the people passed over the road so fateful to the doomed man who was a silent witness to these proceedings, until a clear majority stood for the death sentence. A rope was placed around Warren’s neck and he was asked if he had anything to say. His only response was, “I am an old man and you can’t cheat me out of many years.” The rope was thrown over a limb, men seized it and amid silence the signal was given and Bennett Warren was ushered into eternity. The body was taken down and carried to the house and left with his agonized and terror-stricken wife and children.
R. H. Randall, of Spring Rock, one of the best known and most respectable citizens of Clinton County, gives the following items relating to the Warren tragedy:
Edward Soper was a young man living three miles southeast of Tipton, and Alonzo Gleason was staying at various places in that vicinity, having no regular occupation. In the spring of 1857 these two young men, in company with three other bad characters, stole a valuable horse belonging to Charles Pennygrot, who lived two miles from Lowden. With this horse and another they had stolen from near Solon, they started for Illinois to dispose of the property. By traveling nights and avoiding the public roads, they escaped without detection, crossing the Mississippi and going on to the Illinois River. Here they sold the horses and after some weeks returned to Cedar County to resume their stealing. But the citizens became aroused and caused their arrest by the sheriff. They were taken to the old court-house at Tipton on the 2d of July, confined in a room on the ground floor, guarded by twenty men selected by the sheriff, John Byerly. About midnight a large body of Regulators overpowered the guard, seized the prisoners and conveyed them to a grove on the farm of Martin Henry, south of Lowden. The Regulators came from all directions, generally armed, until more than two hundred had gathered. They organized a court, and selected a jury to try the prisoners, who stood surrounded by determined-looking men and trembling with fear. They remembered the terrible fate of Page and Warren and had little hope of escaping the same fearful punishment. After the evidence was presented the jury brought in the verdict—“Guilty!”
Then in the hope that their lives might be spared, the two men confessed their guilt, and told of the particulars of the theft of the last horses taken, and where they had been sold. But there was no mercy for them and the death sentence was sanctioned by a large majority. Very little time was given them, although Soper broke down and begged piteously for mercy. Gleason was firm and reckless to the last. Ropes were fastened around their necks, they were placed in a wagon beneath the white oak tree that was used for the gallows. A score of men caught the ropes and the wagon was drawn from under them, leaving two more victims of the Regulators.
The law abiding people now began to denounce these lynchings, the killing of men for stealing and in some cases without evidence of guilt. It was felt that no citizen was safe, when suspicion could be aroused by personal enemies and innocent men be executed to gratify malice. The lawless acts of the Regulators were denounced and efforts were made to stop the crimes of armed bands called Regulators. A determined effort was made by Judge Tuthill, of Cedar County, to secure the indictment and arrest of the known leaders but so threatening were the demonstrations that the witnesses and jurors were notified that such action would imperil their lives. Citizens who denounced the deeds of Regulators were threatened, and for several months there was a reign of terror prevailing in that section of the State. Those who approved of the lawless acts, together with the large number engaged in them, were a vast majority of the citizens and it soon became apparent that they would not tolerate the punishment of any who had participated in the lynchings.
The last victim was a farmer of Jones County, named Hiram Roberts. He had long been suspected of being connected with the horse thieves, as he frequently made visits in Cedar County among the bad characters. On the last of October, 1857, Roberts went to James W. Hanlin’s, four miles northwest of Tipton. The Regulators, hearing of his visit, quietly notified a large number of the members, who, at a time fixed by the leaders, gathered at Hanlin’s and captured Roberts. He was taken over the line into Jones County and placed in a barn belonging to George Saum. Here he was left in charge of several men who had been engaged in his capture, while the others retired to some distance for consultation. After a short time a young man from Cedar County, fearing that another tragedy was about to be enacted, refused to be a party to the crime and went to the barn to get his horse to ride home. Upon opening the door he was horrified to see Roberts suspended by the neck from a beam overhead and writhing in the agonies of death. It was soon learned that the men left in charge of the prisoner, while waiting for the result of the consultation, had tried, condemned, sentenced and executed the helpless victim. Six of the prominent actors in the tragedy were arrested and bound over to appear at the next term of court at Anamosa. In the meantime witnesses were got out of the way, friends of the accused were on the grand jury and, as the prisoners appeared at court, surrounded by several hundred armed Regulators, no indictments were found and the perpetrators of the crime escaped punishment as had all of their confederates. While public opinion was largely on the side of the Regulators, there was a minority of the best citizens who were firmly opposed to their defiance of law and to the summary lynching of persons accused of crimes. Their influence was making a strong impression in the community against the lawless acts of the Regulators.
In view of the danger of severe punishment that might be inflicted upon them, a number of Regulators undertook to intimidate the most active advocates of legal trial for all charged with crime. Canada McCollough, a near neighbor of Alonzo Page (who was killed by the Regulators), one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Cedar County, was outspoken in his denunciation of that cruel deed and firmly believed that Page was innocent of any wrong doing. He was waited upon and warned that he must cease his denunciations of the Regulators or leave the country. McCollough was an old pioneer, skilled in the use of the rifle and fearless of personal danger. He owned a large farm and had no idea of abandoning his home and property or the right of free speech and determined to defend both with his life if need be.
One day after the time had expired in which he was warned to leave, he saw a large band of horsemen approaching his house. His rifles were loaded and ready for use. He stood in the doorway of his strong log house, rifle in hand, as the Regulators approached, led by William George, a well known farmer from Rock Creek. As the band came within easy rifle shot, McCollough drew a deadly bead on the leader and ordered him to halt. The party stopped and a lengthy conference ensued. McCollough assured them that he should defend his home with his life, that they knew he was a law abiding citizen, guilty of no crime, that he had a legal right to express his opinions and should do so; that they might murder him but he should kill one or two of them first, as they well knew he never missed a deer within gunshot and that he had friends who would surely avenge his death. They hesitated, parleyed with him and tried to get a promise that he would keep still in future. But he stood firm for his rights as an American citizen and would make no concessions. His fearlessness convinced the Regulators that he had armed friends in the house who would defend him to the last. They were aware that a large number of law-abiding citizens, whom they had sought to intimidate, had counseled together and had an understanding that they would aid each other in case violence was threatened. This band also knew that they would not be supported by the better class of those who had acted with them in driving good citizens from their homes; so after conference they decided to give McCollough further time and rode away. This was the last organized effort to intimidate good citizens.
While the terrible tragedies enacted by the Regulators must be condemned, the effect was to terrify lawbreakers in that part of the State so effectually as to banish the gangs of horse thieves and counterfeiters who had long defied the law and carried on their criminal traffic with impunity. While all efforts to secure the arrest, trial and punishment of persons engaged in lynching were unsuccessful, the Regulators realized the fact that their defiance of law would no longer be tolerated, and no further attempts were made by them to usurp the duties of courts and legal officers and we hear no more of their meetings.