OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRE. 97 stock from the barrel. He then picked up the Larrel of the gun, and as she passed out the door he struck her several times in quick ancces. sion, the force of the blows orushing her skull, and from which she died. The Indian then stepped into the house and made a search for money, hut did not find any. He then went out of the house, and drawing the woman's infant of afew months from under her dead hody he put the child in the house and left the place. The only persons present were the woman and the Indian and the womau's children, the eldest a lad of 8 years, thenext a girl of 4 years, and the infant. It was not possible for the ch~ldrent o get their moth-er's hody into the house, and it lay outside during the night. Upon the coming of daylight of the following morning the little boy hastened away to the neighbors for assistance. Upon his return with some of the neighbors it was found that the hogs had gotten into the yard and had partially devoured the body of the woman. The bodv was then cared for a i d devel~rlyi l~terreda ud a luesseoger disl)atcf~edfo r the husban~lo f the wtman, wllo was aeverill mile6 away. Mr. Lrurd was accompanied to his l~orne by a 11uu1ber of persons from Oklahoruu. I I I I I ~ as s o h as the burial serv<ces were closeti those present organiied a posse to hunt down the woman's murderer. This posse was heavily armed, and rode all over the western border of the Seminole Nation, taking into custody nearly every Indian who came across its path. All were taken before the little boy for identification, and many of them he was able to state positively did not do the bloody deed. Others he was doubtful in so clearly stating their imoeeuce, and all such Indians were then tortured in an eEort to make them confess that they were the ones or had had something to do with the crime. Finally a coufessiou of guilt was extorted from Palmer Sampson, an ignorant, full-blood Seminole Indian, who also implieated Lincoln McGeisy. The latter denied the charge and until the very last declared his entire innocence. The mob held these boys (for I am advised they were about 18 or 19 years of age) several days, and on the night of Friday, January 7, carried them over into Oklahoma, and chaining them together by their necks with chains, securely fastened them to a tree and piled hay and brush around them, and about 3 o'clock of the morning of the 8th set fire thereto and burned them alive. They con-tinued to burn for about twelve hours, and when fouud by a searching party their legs and arms were burned from their trunks. The tree was cut down Saturday (8th) afternoon and their remains taken to the Sem-inole Nation and buried, still chained together. The first information received of there being any trouble in that wnutry reached me on Saturday night (8th) in a telegram from Deputy Marshal Buchuer, who was at Eoldeav~lle, and who wired me that there was a raging mob in the Semiuole Nation, and asked for iostruc-tions. I immediately endeavored to ascertain the cause of the disturb-ance, and was advised of the deathof the two boys as above related, also that the mob had burned the farmhouses on the McGeisy place. The mob having dispersed before this information reached me, I consulted with United States Judge William M. Springer, and wired my deputies at Holdenville and Wewoka to meet United States Oommissioner Fears at Wewoka and obey his orders concerning au investigation. Dommis-sioner Fears went to Wewoka on the 10th and at once issued process for witnesses and a warrant for the interpreter who had served the pur-poses of the mob. On the 10th I also wired Assistant United States Attorney Parker, then at South MoAlester, requesting him to proceed to Wewoka and aid in the investigation. Mr. Parker did so. I would 5976-7 |