History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 21

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > Nebraska > Custer County > History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time > Part 21

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

thousands of cattle that roamed over the val- ley of the South Loup river and adjoining country. In common with other men in the same line of business, he had suffered heavy losses from the depredations of cattle thieves. For this reason he became the prime mover in an attempt to drive the cattle thieves from the country. Olive resided in Lexington, Daw- son county, but his ranch was on the South Loup river, about four miles east of the pres- ent town of Callaway. While in a general way he was a good sort of man, and very generous and courteous to those with whom he was on good terms, he was an implacable enemy and

#1. 5

[Photo by S. D. Butcher]

THE OLD I. P. OLIVE RANCH

treatment, but as a cure it is said to have had the desired effect.

THE MITCHELL-KETCHUM TRAGEDY

During the year 1877 a number of settlers located on Clear creek, near the east line of the county, among the number being Luther Mitchell and Ami Ketchum. Mitchell came from Merrick county, was a farmer about sixty-five years of age, and married. Ketchum was a blacksmith by trade, but had decided to become a farmer. although he still worked at his trade for the neighbors. He was unmar- ried and was living with Mitchell at the time of which we are writing.

I. P. Olive was one of the wealthiest cattle men in Nebraska at that time, and owned many

an adept in the use of firearms. His brother, Robert Olive, was a bad man when aroused. It was reported that Bob Olive had previously killed several men in Texas, and to conceal his identity had assumed the name of Stevens and skipped to Nebraska, where his brother I. P. had already established a ranch, and it was 'under the name of Stevens that he was known during his career in Custer county.

A short time previously to the events which led up to the killing of Bob Olive, or Stevens, one Manley Capel had been arrested on a charge of cattle-stealing in Custer county, and in his confession he seemed to implicate Ami Ketchum in the nefarious business. This, with the information obtained from a man by the name of Melndeffer, who was acting as a

161

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

sort of spy for the cattlemen and who, by the way, was hanged as a cattle thief in No Man's Land, a few years afterward, so it is said, so impressed the Olives that they determined to arrest Ketchum. Notwithstanding the enmity that was known to exist between Bob Olive and Ketchum, Sheriff David Anderson, of Buf- falo county, made Olive a deputy to arrest Ketchum.

In the company of two rough and reckless cowboys, named Barney Armstrong and Pete Beaton, Bob Olive started for the home of Mitchell and Ketchum on the 27th day of November. 1878, with MeIndeffer as a guide. When they arrived at the homestead of Mr. Mitchell, the latter and Ketchum were pre- paring to go to a neighbor's, by the name of Dowse, to return a borrowed animal. Mrs. Mitchell was preparing to go with them. Be- fore they started, a stranger rode up and asked if he could have his horse shod. Ketchum explained his plans for the day and asked the man to come the following day and he could shoe the horse. The stranger agreed to do so and rode away to rejoin Bob Olive and the other two men, who were hidden behind a small hill to the south of Mitchell's house. Having failed to get Mitchell and Ketchum separated by the ruse of getting the horse shod. the men now rode boldly up toward the set- tlers, who paid no particular attention to them, as men on horseback were the rule and not the exception in those days. Mrs. Mitchell had already taken her seat in the wagon, and the men were tying the animal to the hind axle of the vehicle.

THE SHOOTING

When within a short distance the cowboys made a dash on their horses, four abreast, and Bob Olive shouted to Ketchum to throw up his hands, as he was an officer of the law, at the same time presenting his revolver. Ketch- um threw up his right hand with a forty- four Colt's revolver in it, and both men fired at the same instant. Several shots' were ex- changed, resulting in the breaking of Ketel- um's left arm. As soon as the shooting

commenced the older man, Mitchell, grabbed his Winchester and took deadly aim at Olive, who discovered him and shouted: "My God, old man, don't shoot!" but it was too late. Mitchell's finger had already pressed the trig- ger and the bullet sped forward to do its fatal work. Olive reeled in his saddle and the cowboys prevented him from falling. He gasped : "Boys, I am done for." Support- ing him on his horse, they turned and rode rapidly away, followed by bullets from Ketch- um's Winchester. which was loaded by a girl named Tamar Snow, a step-daughter of Mitchell, Ketchum being unable to load the gun himself on account of his broken arm. He fired the last shot at a range of 200 yards, just as the cowboys dropped out of sight be- hind the rise of ground previously referred to. One of Ketchum's bullets cut a scarf around Beaton's neck in two, drawing blood. and another shaved off one side of the rim of his hat, close to the head. Another went through Armstrong's foot. MeIndeffer, who afterward described the encounter, declared that Ketchum came as near being the devil as any man he ever saw, and that he believed he would have killed every one of them, even with one broken arm, if they had not gotten out of the way. As soon as the cowboys got .out of reach of the flying bullets, Olive was laid on the ground and a consultation held. The wounded man was then taken to the dug- out of one Harrington, who lived about a quarter of a mile further down the creek, where Olive made his will and sent for his wife. He died three days afterward.

As soon as the cowboys disappeared from sight Mitchell and Ketchum packed up their few movable belongings and started for their former home in Merrick county. As soon as the news of the shooting spread over the coun- try there was great excitement among the cattlemen and cowboys, and the same night a large force returned to the Mitchell house, uncloubtedly to wreak vengeance on the two men, but finding them gone they set fire to the house and burned up the roof, that being the only part of it that was combustible.

162

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

THIE ARREST

When they arrived in Merrick county Mitchell and Ketchum went to the house of George Gagle, and a Dr. Barnes was sent for to attend to Ketchum's broken arm. The next morning, acting upon the advice of friends, and having found a place of safety for Mitch- ell's family, the two men started back to Cus- ter county to give themselves up to the author- ities for the killing of Stevens. On their way they passed through Loup City and consulted with Attorney Aaron Wall, who advised them to proceed no farther, as the cowboys would certainly lynch them. They remained several days in Loup City and then went to the house of J. R. Baker, on Oak creek, in Howard coun- ty, where they were arrested by William Letch- er, sheriff of Merrick county, and E. W. Crew, sheriff of Howard county - giving themselves willingly into the custody of the officers.

I. P. Olive had offered a reward of $700 for their arrest and several officers, among whom were Crew, of Howard county, Ander- son, of Buffalo county, Gillan, of Keith coun- ty, and Letcher, of Merrick county, were anxi- ous to capture them in order to secure the re- ward. But after the capture. Crew and Letch- er were unwilling to assume the responsibility of taking the prisoners to Custer county and of turning them over to the cowboys. They were finally taken to Buffalo county and lodged in the jail at Kearney, in charge of Sheriff Anderson, for safe keeping. The prisoners were at first held without legal authority, as Olive had given the warrant for their arrest, issued in Custer county, into the hands of Bar- ney Gillan, sheriff of Keith county, to serve.

The prisoners had engaged Thomas Darnall, of St. Paul, and F. C. Calkins, of Kearney, as counsel. Their attorneys endeavored to have the prisoners retained in the jail at Kearney. having reasons for believing they would be lynched if taken to Custer county. The feel- ing at Kearney was against Mitchell and Ketchum, as the people had been led to believe that Olive had been shot while fulfilling his duty as an officer of the law. A dispute arose among the sheriff's as to a division of the re-

ward offered by I. P. Olive for the arrest, but Olive declined to pay the money until the prisoners were delivered in Custer county. A proposition was finally made to Sheriff Ander- son to take the men to Custer county, for which service the others agreed to pay him fifty dollars. This proposition was declined by Anderson, unless he were paid enough to enable him to employ a sufficient number of men to guard the prisoners. It was at last ar- ranged that Gillan should take the prisoners to Custer county, as he held the warrant for their arrest, and he promised to notify their attorneys, Darnell and Calkins, so that they could accompany their clients. As Gillan was a sheriff. and his desperate character was un- known to Darnell and Calkins, they thought everything was all right. Nevertheless they kept their eyes on the jail to prevent any at- tempt to remove the prisoners by stealth.

ESCAPED THE KEARNEY MOB

On the forenoon of December 10th, Darnell, fearing that the prisoners were about to be taken away, kept close watch until the west- bound emigrant train came in. After its ar- rival at Kearney he waited at the depot until he thought it was about time for it to pull out. when he started to leave. In the meantime Gillan had taken the prisoners from the jail and hustled them into a car just as the train was pulling out. Darnell telegraphed to Gil- lan at Elm Creek, asking him if he would hold the prisoners at Lexington until the next train. Gillan replied that he would do so. Darnell also telegraphed to Captain McNamar, an at- torney at Lexington, requesting him to see what was done with the prisoners when they got off the train at that city. Lexington was the home of I. P. Olive, and here he was surrounded by many friends and employes. The train pulled into Lexington about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Olive and his friends were waiting at the depot with wagons. into one of which the prisoners were immedi- ately loaded, and a start made for Custer county. Captain McNamar was unable to prevail on Gillan and Olive to wait for the arrival of Darnell from Kearney, and believ-

163

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ing it was the intention to mob Mitchell and Ketchum, he followed the wagon train for some distance. Seeing that they were being followed, the wagons separated, but McNamar kept after the one containing the prisoners un- til it became so dark that he lost the trail among the hills. The Olive party kept on all night, until they met Olive's men from the ranch on the South Loup, about five miles from the Olive ranch, where the transfer of the prisoners from Gillan to Olive took place. The names of the men who received the pris- oners were Dennis Gartrell, Pedro Dominicus, and Bion Brown. After the delivery of the prisoners to Olive's men, Sheriff Gillan and Phil Dufrand walked away a short distance while the Olive men started with the prisoners to a place known as the "Devil's Gap," in a wild canyon about half way between the Loup and Wood River valleys, some five miles south- east of where Callaway now stands. Olive and Gartrell drove the wagon containing the prisoners, and they stopped under a small elm tree. A couple of ropes were passed over a limb and Gartrell tied one of them around Ketchum's neck, while Pedro Dominicus fas- tened the other around the neck of Mitchell. Ketchum was first drawn up. Olive then took a rifle and shot Mitchell. after which the latter also was drawn up until he dangled beside his companion.

The bodies of the two unfortunate men were found at about three o'clock in the afternoon of the following day, by a party of men, among whom were Captain McNamar, Anton Abel. Louis Wambsgan, George Sandford, Al Wise, County Judge Boblits, and perhaps oth- ers. When found the bodies were frightfully burned - that of Ketchum still hanging to the limb, while that of Mitchell was resting on the ground.

After hanging Mitchell and Ketchum, the Olive gang rode about one mile toward the Olive ranch, where two of the men were given fresh horses with which to return to Lexing- ton. It will probably never be known who did the burning of the bodies. or how the same was done, but it is generally supposed that these two men, crazed with drink and

fired with the thought of revenge for the kill- ing of one of their number, resolved to put the finishing touch on the terrible night's work by pouring the contents of their liquor flasks over the hanging bodies of their victims and setting them on fire, as they had to pass along that road to get back to Lexington. The evidence at the trial was convincing that the bodies had been burned, although an attempt was made to prove that Mitchell's clothing had caught fire from the powder of Olive's gun, and that although the fire had been put out, it caught again after the men departed from the spot. A' careful examination of the spot disclosed the fact that the fire had been carefully whipped out for quite a circle around the bod- ies, thus proving that some one must have been present during the burning; otherwise the whole country would have been burned over, as the grass was as dry as tinder. It does not appear, however, that Olive was a party to, or had any knowledge of, this part of the crime.

Steps were immediately taken to arrest the perpetrators of the crime and bring them to speedy justice. The whole state was aroused by the tragedy, but the well known desperate character of most of the men concerned in it made the question of apprehending them a very serious one.

JUDGE GASLIN'S STORY

Judge William Gaslin thus relates the meth- ods employed to arrest the criminals :

"I first heard of the lynching of Mitchell and Ketchum while on a train on my way from Nebraska City to Sidney, where I was to open court the next morning. When I opened court there was such an excitement that there was no disposition or readiness to do business, and upon seeing an article in the newspaper pub- lished at Kearney by the Eatons, denouncing the governor for not taking active steps to bring about the arrest of the murderers, and complimenting me by saying that there was one man in Nebraska who would see that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice. and the man was Gaslin, I called my reporter. F. MI. Hallowell, who resided at

164

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Kearney, and instructed him to proceed to that city on the first train and tell Eaton not to make further mention of my name in connec- tion with the matter, as I had a plan to cap- ture the desperadoes and did not want my name mentioned for fear of putting them on their guard. Late that afternoon I adjourned court and took the train east for Lexington, where quite a number of the Olive gang lived. I found assembled at the residence of Attorney General Dilworth a number of the law-abiding citizens of the city, armed to protect them- selves against the outlaws who had threatened the lives of those who should attempt to bring them to justice. Among these I now recall Captain MeNamar, an attorney, and Jack Mac- Coll, clerk of the district court. I learned that the officials of Custer county, where the lynch- ing was done, could not be expected to render much assistance. I left on the first train for Kearney, to look up the law and see if I, as an examining magistrate, could not issue warrants for their arrest, which plan I divulged to no one. I was in constant touch with General Dilworth, soon satisfied myself that I had the authority, and set to work preparing com- plaints and warrants to have the outlaws ar- rested. After I had matured my plan I met J. P. Johnson ( then residing in Kearney, three score and ten, hale and hearty ). and in con- versation he remarked that if the officers were afraid to arrest the criminals he would furnish men to do it if I would deputize them. I informed him that I had confidentially ar- ranged for a meeting of the sheriffs of Dawson and Buffalo counties, General Dilworth and a sacred few others, and invited him to attend. There were present at this meeting. in Judge Savidge's office, the Judge. J. P. Johnson, Gen- eral Dilworth, the two sheriffs, and myself. I told these men the conclusion I had come to. and the complaints having been filed before me. I made out the warrants for the arrest of the criminals and offered them to Sheriff James of Dawson county, and Sheriff Ander- son of Buffalo county, both of whom declined to take or serve them, on account of a fear of their lives, as they said.

DEPUTIZING A POSSE

"I then turned to Johnson and asked him to give me the names of the men he agreed to furnish, which he did, and I deputized them, there being. I think, five or six of them, and gave them to Johnson for delivery. One of the men deputized was Lawrence Ketchum, a brother of the man who was lynched, and an- other was a powerful young fellow by the name of Young, a deputy sheriff of Clay coun- ty. A third was named Pingree, and the fourth was a man from Illinois. A plan was arranged, in strictest secrecy, for a part of the deputized men to go across the country to Cus- ter county to arrest part of the gang who were at the Olive ranch. Another party was to board a freight train at Kearney about mid- night, which arrived at Lexington a little be- fore daylight. The railroad people were in the secret and stopped the train a little before Lexington was reached, where the officers left the train and walked into town, where they effected the arrest of all the gang who were in the city. Lawrence Ketchum, Bob French, and others went from Kearney, and were as- sisted by some of the constables of Lexington. When the other party arrived at the Olive ranch they found that the men they were after had fled the country. Among them was the delectable Barney Gillan, sheriff of Keith county, who had delivered Mitchell and Ketch- um over to the murderers, and who secured the $700 blood money paid by Olive. On the afternoon of Sunday the parties who arrested the desperadoes at Lexington landed them in Kearney on a freight train, where they were put in jail and a strong guard placed over them. Thousands of people were at the train when it arrived with the prisoners. Some of the prisoners. I think, were subsequently taken to the state prison for safe keeping until the April term of the district court in AAdams coun- ty, where the trial had been set. the prisoners waiving preliminary examination before me.

TURNS STATE'S EVIDENCE

"All kinds of lawyers - good, bad, and in- different -were employed by the defense. some

165

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

for ability and legal lore, and some to insult and bulldoze the court - for which they occa- sionally got fined for contempt. The trial had not progressed long before the prosecuting at- torney secretly informed me that he had made a secret arrangement with one of the prisoners, Bion Brown, to turn state's evidence, and to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Brown was in jail with the other defendants, heard and knew all their plans, and daily communi- cated the same to General Dilworth, the pros- ecuting attorney. He said at one time that they talked of having their friends, who were in disguise in the town, shoot General Dil- worth and me and have horses ready for the prisoners, who would be enabled to escape in the excitement. I then gave orders for no one to occupy the gallery opposite where I sat, and I had a large number of bailiffs secret- ly heavily armed scattered over the court room, with nothing to indicate they were officers. One day it was reported that a number of the Texas friends of the prisoners were secreted in the hills near the Platte river, armed to the teeth and provided with good horses with which to swoop down on the court and liber- ate the prisoners. Other things came to the knowledge of Sheriff Lewis Martin of Adams county, a most excellent officer, which induced him to procure a company of regulars. from Omaha, which was sent by the commanding officer as soon as possible. The soldiers were tented on the public square of Hastings, op- posite the hall where the court was being held. The legislature appropriated $20,000 to be ex- pended in the prosecution of the case, to be paid out on vouchers approved by me, a part of the money being paid for the subsistence of the soldiers. Bion Brown and Pedro, the Mexican, were used as witnesses for the pros- ecution, the latter testifying through an in- terpreter. A better witness I never heard tes- tify. On cross-examination he testified almost, if not exactly, to what he did in direct.

"The trial commenced in Hastings in April and continued almost through the month. Some of the ablest lawyers of the state were en- gaged on the case, among them being General Dilworth, the prosecuting attorney; District

Attorney Scofield and John M. Thurston, for the state ; and F. G. Hamer, General Connor, and Hon. James Laird for the defense. An indictment was found against Ira P. Olive and eleven others for the murder of Luther Mitch- ell, and I. P. Olive and Fred Fisher were placed on trial to answer for the crime. There were about 100 witnesses, among whom we find the names of Captain McNamar, Anton Abel, Louis Wambsgan, James Kelly, Phil Du- frand, George Sandford, A. C. Woodworth, David Blackman, George Arnold, Sheriff O'Brien, Dan Haskell, James Gray, II. C. Stuckey, S. C. Stuckey, John Myers, Andrew Pancake, E. S. Finch, W. H. Kilgore, and S. R. Ritchie. Phil Dufrand and Bion Brown, two of the defendants, turned state's evidence and testified against their associates in the crime. The witnesses for the prosecution tes- tified to the facts substantially as heretofore related, while the witnesses for the defense confined themselves to testifying as to the good character and reputation of I. P. Olive."

The arguments of the attorneys were lengthy, able, and eloquent, and the case was given to the jury on the evening of April 16th. Be- fore morning the jury arrived at a verdict, to the effect that I. P. Olive and Fred Fisher were guilty of murder in the second degree, Judge Gaslin immediately sentenced the two men to the penitentiary for the rest of their natural lives, and they were taken to the pen- itentiary forthwith.

JUDGE BOBLITS TAKES A HAND

Immediately after the sentence of Olive and Fisher their friends began proceedings for their release. The following year their ef- . forts were successful, the supreme court hand- ing down a decision to the effect that the pris- oners had a right to trial in the county where the crime charged against them was committed. This not having been done, the prisoners were sent to Custer county for trial. Custer county had recently been organized from territory that had formerly been in two different judicial districts. The court held that the county was not now in any judicial district, and conse- quently the prisoners could not be tried before

166

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

any district judge. This was the decision of two of the supreme judges, but Judge Samuel Maxwell. the third member of the court, dis- sented from this view, in what is said to be one of the ablest legal documents ever prepared in the supreme court of Nebraska.

Under this decision the only court having jurisdiction over the case was the county court. Accordingly Olive and Fisher were brought before Judge E. J. Boblits, but from some mysterious cause no complaining witnesses put in an appearance and the prisoners were dis- charged.

The county judge's docket at that time was kept in an account book, and the court pro- ceedings are mixed up with notes of sales and purchases of calves, steers, and cows, together with memoranda of expenses for hay, barbed wire, and other ranch requisites. The follow- ing, which we find on the same page with some items of expense incurred in the plastering of the judge's house, shows the disposition that was made of the celebrated Olive case :

STATE OF NEBRASKA? Custer County SS

In County Court Before E. J. Boblits, County Judge.

I. P. Olive, W. F. Fisher, in custody of Sheriff O'Brien, the court finding no complaint on county docket and no complaining witness- es, the court orders that the prisoners be dis- charged till further proceedings can be had. This 17th day of December. 1880.

E. J. BOBLITS, County Judge.

The decision of the supreme court of course put an end to the proceedings against the other defendants, but in the meantime most of them had been allowed to escape from the various jails in which they had been confined, and as far as we know Olive and Fisher were the only ones that ever had to do any time in the penitentiary for participating in the Mitchell and Ketchum tragedy.

THE HAUNSTINE TRAGEDY

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 21

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180