USA > Iowa > Jackson County > The history of Jackson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Iowa miscellaneous matters, &c > Part 46
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"News had reached Galena of the day fixed for the arrest of the gang, and Capt. Harris, of the steamboat Otto, had collected a few men, and tied his boat at the upper end of town. They were too late, however, to participate in the fight, and contented themselves by looking on. Before we started to march, strict orders were given not to fire a gun unless we were fired upon, still think- ing when Brown saw our attitude, he would meet us with a flag of truce and surrender. In this we were disappointed.
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"THE ASSAULT UPON BROWN'S HOTEL.
"Our squad moved in double file, and not a word was spoken until we came within thirty paces of the house, when the word ' charge !' was given, and in a second the whole squad were as close to the front of the house as they could get. Brown was standing about the center of the room, with his rifle raised to his shoulder. Col. Cox and myself, both with our pistols presented at him, said : 'Surrender, Brown, and you shan't be hurt.' He lowered his gun, no doubt with the intention of surrendering, but it went off, the ball pass- ing through Col. Cox's coat. The crack of Brown's rifle was no doubt a signal to the balance of his men, as a general firing commenced from them up-stairs. From this fire several of our men were slightly wounded, one badly, Mr. Vaughn, who, in later years, died of his wounds. Before Brown could speak, several shots were fired into the house in the north window, on Front street. One of the shots passed through both of Brown's jugular veins. He fell and died without a struggle. The general fight was kept up for about fifteen minutes.
" Those of Brown's men down-stairs fought with perfect desperation. The fight was now a hand-to-hand combat. The house was entered by our men, compelling the enemy to retreat up-stairs, where they defended themselves from any assault with pitchforks and by firing down the stairway. Finding it impossible to ascend the steps, I gave orders that the house should be fired. The fire was kindled at the south .end of the house. . While kindling the fire, our party was attacked from a building just south of the main building, where a portion of Brown's men had been placed. Seeing the house about to be fired, they commenced shooting those who were applying the torch. As soon as it was ascertained where the ambush was, the house was entered and one of the men captured. Before the fire was fairly under way, it was discovered that the enemy were making their escape by jumping from a shed at the rear end of the house. Pursuit was given, and thirteen of the number captured. Negro Brown and six others made their escape. The fight ended. The fire was extinguished, and the captured men put under guard for the night.
" Our loss was four killed-Henderson Palmer, Andrew Farley, John Brink and J. Maxwell. Wounded-William Vaughn, severely ; Col. James Collins, shot through the hand ; John G. McDonald, shot in the hip; William Vance, shot in the thigh, and a number of others received slight wounds. Of the enemy, there were killed W. W. Brown, Aaron Day and old man Burtis. Buckskin Tom, alias Tom Welch, was badly wounded, and several others were slightly injured.
"THE THIEVES TRIED AND SENTENCED.
" The once bold, defiant Fox, Long and Chichester were now humble suppli- cants for their lives, and it was pitiable to behold the cringing cowardice of these fellows, who had so often boasted of their bravery, but who were now whipped into the most slavish and contemptible subjection. The sight of the ghastly, lifeless forms lying in and around the house, the blood-stained and bespattered walls, the weeping and sobbing of wives, mothers and children who hovered about the lifeless bodies of those who but a few moments before were well and full of life and hope, was a scene calculated to melt the heart and arouse the most violent passions.
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" Vengeance ! Vengeance ! was the cry that arose on the air. Ropes were called for, and the cry was, 'hang them all.' Preparations were now speedily going on to begin a wholesale execution of the bandits, so far that ropes had been adjusted around some of their necks, when David G. Bates, H. K. Magoon, Parks, Reed and others began to address the men, advising them to mercy and moderation, and begging them not to do an act under excitement, for which they might be sorry in time to come. Order being partially restored, it was asked that the prisoners should be disposed of as the majority might designate. These appeals were but little heeded, and the fate of those under arrest, to all appearances, was sealed. At this juncture, I mounted a box and asked their attention for one moment, saying that Col. Cox had a few words to say to them and hoped they would be silent and attentive while he was addressing them. With. one sliout they said they would hear him. The venerable old man addressed them as neighbors and citizens, and in a few words told them they had a higher duty to perform that evening than to hang the cowardly scoundrels they now had in custody. Pointing to the women and children who were hover- ing around the lifeless bodies of those who had fallen in the fight, saying, ' Your duty to them, first, and to-morrow, whatever a majority of the citizens may say shall be done, I pledge you my word that you shall not only have my sanction, but my help.' The earnest and expressive words of Col. Cox had the desired effect. The prisoners were placed under a strong guard, and the culprits felt thankful to the Colonel for this temporary respite, hoping something might turn up to spare thein their lives. We left the prisoners in charge of a strong guard, to care for the wounded and make preparations for feeding the men who had eaten nothing since morning. Runners were sent to Galena and Dubuque for surgeons. Dr. Crawford, of Galena, and Dr. Findlay, of Dubuque, promptly put in their appearance, and at once went to work dressing and bind- ing up the wounds of the wounded of both parties. They were all cared for alike. The dead were taken to their respective homes, and preparations made for their burial. This portion of the work was assigned to the Rev. Joseph Kirkpatrick. who did much toward soothing and consoling those who were left to mourn the loss of relatives and friends. Jesse Burke, with the assistance of a detailed force, had, in less than two hours, prepared meals for over one hun- dred persons. which was readily disposed of. Precautions had been taken as soon as Brown's house had been captured, to knock in the heads of all barrels containing liquor, and emptying out into the street every drop of liquor that could be found. There were two reasons for this, first, there were strong sus- picion that the liquor had been poisoned ; second, the men were already excited to the highest pitch, and should they get under the influence of liquor, the inno- cent might suffer as well as the guilty. It was long after midnight before the people could be persuaded to retire for rest.
" Some of the most prominent citizens retired to the residence of James L. Kirkpatrick, to agree upon what disposition should be made of the prisoners. Among the prominent men who attended this meeting were Col. Cox, Alex. Reed, T. H. Parks, Anson Harrington, J. K. Moss, H. K. Magoon, Col. Collins, Lew Hilyard, David G. Bates, John T. Sublett and others. The meeting was organized by calling J. L. Kirkpatrick to the chair, when I addressed the meet- ing, asking and urging that I should be sustained in maintaining the authority of the law, in bringing these men to answer the charge set forth in the warrant. In this I was ably sustained by David G. Bates, Alex Reed, T. H. Parks, and H. K. Magoon. Anson Harrington and Col. Cox took the opposite view of the matter, saying it was utterly impossible to hold them under arrest, as we
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had no jail ; that the prisoners had friends, both in the East and the West, and, in all probability, they might be taken from us by force, and, in such case, no man's life or property would be safe, and, as we now had them in our power, the friends of the fallen demanded that summary justice be dealt out to each one of them, and nothing short of death would satisfy the community. These declarations were stumpers to us; to oppose such men as Col. Cox and Har- rington was up-hill business, for they not only held the esteem of the people, but were capable of impressing their views on those whom they wished to influ- ence in this or any other matter. To hedge was now onr policy ; to obtain, if possible, a lighter sentence than death. D. G. Bates, comprehending the situa- tion, and seeing it utterly impossible to carry out the proposition to hold them subject to the law, offered the following resolution : 'That we shall meet at 10 o'clock A. M. on the morrow, and the prisoners shall then be sentenced as a majority of the citizens shall then designate; and we pledge ourselves, one to another, whatever that sentence may be, we will see it faithfully carried out.' Mr. Bates sustained his resolution by an able speech, saying they were not all guilty alike ; they ought to be punished according to their crimes. The reso- lution was accepted and adopted unanimously, and the committee retired at 4 A. M. for a few hours' rest ; about 8 o'clock A. M., a steamer from Dubuque landed at our wharf. Among the passengers were James Crawford, Prose- cuting Attorney, George L. Nitengale and Sheriff Cummins. The most promi- nent among the arrivals was Rev. Babcock, who was prominently connected with the robbery of the Quartermaster's store at Prairie du Chien. He, hear- ing of the fight, had come down to claim certain goods in Brown's store, which everybody believed were stolen by Babcock and placed there for sale. In coming up the bank, he was at once recognized by Col. Cox, who took him by the hand and welcomed him to the town, saying he was the man he had been looking for. Others recognized, and were about to carry him to prison, when he applied to Col. Cox for protection. The Colonel remarked to the boys not to hurt him, saying to Babcock, ' We will treat von well to-day, but, damn you, we will hang you to-morrow.' This was poor consolation for Babcock, who was led, trembling and praying for his life, and placed with the rest of the prisoners. Capt. Van Horton, who was an old and particular friend of Col. Cox, made a personal appeal to him, and asked his release on account of Babcock's wife, who was aboard the boat and in great trouble for the safety of her husband. The appeal was not in vain. Babcock was released on condition that he would never again place his foot on the soil of Bellevue. This promise, I think, he has kept to this day. The lesson here taught caused him to mend his ways ; he grew into respectability in one of the western counties of Missouri, following his old occupation of preaching; but of late years, we see in the papers, he has fallen from grace, and was strongly suspected of belonging to a gang of despera- does who have been robbing trains and committing other outrages in Missouri.
" At 10 o'clock, the prisoners were brought in, their haggard countenances showing plainly that they anticipated the worst. Col. Cox, the Chairman of the meeting, stated to them that ' the people of Bellevue had met for the purpose of prevailing on them to surrender to the law. The officer who was in charge of the writ for their arrest, held out every inducement to them for a peaceable surrender, and the people here assembled had offered them, throngh him, their protection and a fair and impartial trial ; all these offers they had indignantly refused ; this refusal had cost them the life of their leader and some of their companions ; in consequence of which, we, the citizens, have had to sustain the arm of the law in discharging that duty, are left to mourn the loss of some of
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our best citizens, and as the spokesman of this meeting I am directed to say to you that we will relieve the Sheriff of his duty, and take your cases into our own hands. What sentence the people here may pass upon you, I am not pre- pared to say ; your fate is in their hands, and whatever a majority may decide upon will be carried out to the letter.' This was about the substance of the speech.
" Chichester asked permission to speak in behalf of his comrades and him- self. Unanimous consent was given, and he commenced in a low and trembling voice, gaining confidence as he proceeded. He had the attention of every one in the house; his appeal to spare their lives was one of the most fearful appeals I have ever heard. He said they were all ready to acknowledge they were guilty of all we charged to them, and were willing to submit to any punishment the law would inflict for such crimes. Mr. Crawford, seeing that Chichester had created some sympathy in the meeting, made a short and pointed speech. He said he advocated the turning-over of the prisoners to be dealt with accord- ing to the law. There was no place to keep them with safety, and he had been informed there were strong probabilities that their friends in Illinois and the western counties would rise in such force that the citizens would be overpowered and they released. Aside from this, he well knew from the character of the men present that any opposition he might make to the course they had deter- mined upon would have no weight; but he would ask that no greater punish- ment be inflicted than the law prescribes in such cases. Anson Harrington, who had been compelled to leave his home for his personal safety, and only returned to assist in arresting the men who were now under trial, made an able argument in favor of hanging every man of them. He was opposed to turning them loose to prey upon some other community. They were all desperate characters. They were lost to all sense of honor. They were past reforma- tion. No man's life or property was safe with them at large. He was raised and reared in a Christian and law-abiding State. He had come to Iowa to make it his home, with the expectation of meeting. with law-abiding and Christian people, where the law could be enforced and his life and property could be protected. 'What has been our effort to bring these men to justice ? Have we succeeded in a single instance ? The very fact of their being able to prove an alibi in every instance when they have been arrested for crime has demoralized the country, and men who came here law-abiding and Christian men are now giving comfort and sanction to flagrant violation of law. The time had come when people would take the law in their own hands; as much as he had heretofore deprecated what was termed mob violence, he was now ready to admit the law was ineffective in the present case, and nothing short of the people rising in their might and taking this case into their own hands and making an example of the desperadoes whom they now have in charge would save society from depredation in future. Mercy to such men is only jeopardiz- ing the lives of others. Free them to-day, and, ere six months, either you or some one else will pay the penalty for this clemency. Fear alone makes them penitent to-day. Revenge is depicted in every countenance of the criminals now present. Reformation in such men is impossible, and I, for one, am unwilling to turn them loose to prey upon any community. Upon your votes depend the character and standing of the people of Jackson County. If these men are to escape the halter, I, for one, am ready to pull up stakes and abandon the country to them. Sympathy for such men is no act of charity. It is a duty we not only owe to ourselves, but to those who may here- after emigrate here, to decide this day whether this county shall be ruled and
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controlled by a banditti or a civilized and Christin people. I have listened atten- tively to the appeal made to you by Mr. Bates and others for their lives. Were I to suffer my sympathies to control me on this occasion, I too would plead for their lives. But I have a higher duty to perform, and should I have the casting of a vote, the fate of those men should be a terror to all evil-doers for all time to come.' Mr. H. closed his speech by making the proposition that we decide by ballot whether they should be hanged or whipped and forbade ever coming into the county again. This proposition was put to a vote and carried. Before the ballot was had, every man in the room pledged himself by rising to his feet, to abide the decision of the ballot, and the ballot should be a formal one, and carried out in a manner that might be designated by the meeting. Two of the members were appointed tellers, while two were appointed to pass round the room, one with a box with white and colored beans, the other with all empty box. On approaching each person, the one with the beans would cry out, 'White beans for hanging, colored beans for whipping,' when the party approached would select his bean and cast it in the box. The beans were then counted as cast and found to correspond with the number of persons casting them, and the tallying commenced. All was still as death. The result was presented to the Chairman. Holding it in his hand, he called upon the pris- oners to rise and hear the verdict. Before announcing the vote, he wished another pledge from the people to abide by and carry into effect the wish of a majority, which pledge was made by all rising to their feet. The result was then declared to be three majority for whipping. Silence was broken. Mr. Harrington rose and attempted to address the Chair, when he was immediately called to order by the Chair saying it was not a debatable case. Harrington explained by saying. ' I rise now to make the vote unanimous.' This motion, coming from Harrington, was applauded all over the house. Chichester, who was standing near him, took him by the hand, and could only say, ' I thank you.' The motion was put and unanimously adopted. It now devolved upon the Chair to pass sentence on each one of the prisoners. Commenting on the depredations and charges against one of them, he proceeded to sentence them with from four to thirty lashes on the bare back, and, after being whipped, they should be placed in skiff's, with three days' rations, and if caught again in the county, to be hanged. Among those appointed to carry out this sentence, was L. J. Hiffley, now of Kansas. He was assigned to whip an Irishman whose name I cannot now recollect, who had made himself very conspicuous on the day of the battle by parading the streets with the red flag and shouting at the top of his voice, ' If they wanted hell, to come on.' He was sentenced to twenty-five lashes. In applying the lash, Mr. Heffley proved himself an expert, every stroke taking pieces of flesh from his back. He fainted twice during the whipping. He was decidedly the worst whipped man in the gang, and, when placed in the skiff to take his departure, was unable to sit up. Fox was whipped by Lew Hilyard the lightest of any that were punished, owing to the intercession of friends who knew his family in Indiana. About sundown, they were placed in skiffs, and took their departure, except the Irishman, thanking the people for their light punishment, and pledging themselves they would never return again. This pledge was kept by all but Fox.
" Neither did Fox ever again return to Bellevue. About two weeks after the whipping, some one who was on the island, opposite the city, brought to Sheriff Warren the intelligence that Fox was on the island, and wanted to see Warren alone. The latter, fearing this to be a scheme to have revenge on
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him, and that Fox was not alone, refused to go on the conditions named, but, taking several armed citizens with him, proceeded to the island.
" Fox came creeping out of the thicket to meet them in a most pitiable condition, covered with dirt and rags. He at once began to apologize to them for coming back contrary to orders, and begged them to spare his life. He seemed completely humbled. It was policy for him to appear so, under the circumstances. Being assured that he would not be harmed, he called Sheriff Warren aside and told him he had come back for his pocket-book ; that he had given it to Mrs. Brown the day of the fight, for safe keeping, and had had no opportunity of receiving it again from her; and begged Warren to cross the river and get it for him, promising to leave immediately, and never to return.
"The Sheriff did as he was requested. On making known to Mrs. Brown the return of Fox and his request, she said Fox had given her his pocket-book, but she had never opened it. It was given to Warren, and contained near $400. Mrs. Brown also informed Warren that she had there a good suit of clothes belonging to Fox, and asked if he would carry them to the fugitive. The Sheriff did so. also taking some provisions to Fox, and a more grateful man is rarely seen. He left immediately, and was never seen in the vicinity of Bellevue again. July 4, 1845, he assisted in the terrible murder of Col. Davenport, at Rock Island, for which he was arrested in the State of Indiana, but subsequently escaped, and was never brought to trial.
" After such a struggle and at such a cost was Bellevue freed from this band of ontlaws, nor was the city ever again similarly troubled. The harsh measures became a necessity ; there was no other relief, and the verdict of all time since has been that the lawful citizens were perfectly justifiable in their course. Those who took an active part in driving out the thieves lived a life of considerable anxiety for some months, lest some cowardly vengeance might be visited upon them for their part in the matter, and they took care not to expose themselves alone after night. But those who had felt the heavy hand of the citizens of Bellevue cared not to provoke it farther, and we have no fur- ther deed of violence to record, with pleasure be it said.
" James C. Mitchell was indicted for manslaughter April 17, 1840, and released on $2,000 bail, Anson Harrington, John Howe, John T. Sublett and Joseph Whitam being his securities. He was brought to trial June 19 follow- ing, and found not guilty. He was therefore discharged by the Court."
JACKSON-PERKINS MURDER AND EXECUTION.
There has been but one man lawfully hanged in Jackson County. This was Joseph T. Jackson, who forfeited his life as the penalty for murder, on the 15th day of July, 1842, being the first man ever hanged legally in the Terri- tory of Iowa.
The story of Jackson's crime was briefly as follows: He lived upon the south fork of Maquoketa River, near the mouth of Bear Creek. He had a neighbor, one Z. Perkins, with whom he was on quite intimate terms. On one occasion, they took a long hunt together, and in company they visited Dubuque. At that time, the lead furnaces back of Dubuque were in full blast, and it was customary for the lead companies to cart the lead up the steep hills from the mines, over the heavier grades, and there unload it by the roadside, awaiting a more convenient time to transfer the product to the river, which could be hauled from that point in much larger loads. As Jackson and Perkins were returning from Dubuque, the latter said to his companion, " Jump out and get
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one of those pigs of lead, and we will have enough to last us for a year." Jack- son did so, placed the lead in the wagon in which they were driving, and pro- ceeded homeward. Subsequently, Jackson and Perkins quarreled about some trifling matter, and, in a fit of revenge, Perkins filed an information before a Justice to the effect that Jackson had stolen a pig of lead. Z. Perkins had a brother Xenophon, who appeared as a witness in the Justice's Court, and swore that Jackson had acknowledged to him that he had stolen the lead without the assistance of Z. Perkins, and that the latter had nothing to do with it. This so enraged Jackson that he told Xenophon that he knew he had perjured him- self ; that he (Jackson) had never said anything of the kind ; then said, "Now, Xen. Perkins, you mark my words-I'll kill you for this !"
Jackson's claim was on the east side of the river, and that of the Perkins brothers on the west side. However, they had a corn-crib a little beyond Jack- son's cabin, and went over there daily to feed their cattle, it being in the win- ter and the river being frozen. The next morning after the trial, the Perkinses crossed on their usual errand, and, as they passed Jackson's house, began to yell their taunts and jeers at him. On their return, they repeated the perform- ance. Jackson was still in bed, but, being angered at their talk, he sprang up, hurried on his clothes, and started after them, with a small pistol in his hand. They took to their heels and crossed the river, with Jackson in pursuit. When they reached the opposite bank, Z. Perkins stopped, and, with a stick he held in his hand, struck Jackson on the head, just as he reached the bank, making a long and bloody scalp-wound. Jackson was stunned for a moment, and, recovering, fired at Xen. Perkins, who was about thirteen paces distant, and who fell mortally wounded, and died a few days afterward.
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