The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 1, 1901, Page 1

VOLUME XC-—NO. 1. INFURIATED SOLDIERS DETMOLISH A PRES SALOON AND MURDER IS ONLY AVERT RESIDIO ED BY % THE LICEMEN NERVE AND PROTTPT ACTION OF THREE PO 7 7 \\ "'(g\f/(, : 1 Ty ~;mem il Riot Grows Out 7of-RumorrsWTfilét Two Vofilimteers of the Forty-Sixth Infantry Had Died After Being Given “Knockout” Drops in the Place and Robbed of Money ETWEEN 700 and 800 men of the Forty-fifth and Forty- sixth Volunteers participated in a2 riot at the Lombard- street entrance to the Pre- sidio gates last night that re- sulted in the complete demo- lition of the saloon at the corner of Green- wich and Beker streets, kept by Mrs. Mary Powers. Considerable damage also was done to White & Crowley's saloon, and but for the bravery of three police officers the riot would have ended in the murder of helpless women. The trouble was the culmination of an attempted rob- bery of a soldier earlier in the day. The Forty-sixth Regiment was paid off in the morning and mustered out of the service. With hundreds of dollars in their pockets, the discharged men started out to celebrate their release from military service. The saloons in the vicinity of the Presidio were visited and it was not long ere many of the ex-soldlers fell into the hands of the “sharks” who infest the en- trances to the Presidio on payday. About 4 p. m. two men of the Forty- sixth Regiment were found by some of their comrades in a comatose condition near the Lombard-street gate of the res- ervation. The men were taken into the camp of the Forty-fifth Regiment and were treated. When they came to their senses they told a story of being drugged and robbed in a saloon. The men of the Forty-fifth Regiment were soon in possession of the details of the, victims' stories, and with repetition e occurrence was distorted and magni- fied. Jt was even rumored that the two men hed died. SOLDIER FOUND UNCONSCIOUS. Abcut 7 p. m. two men of Compeny G, Forty-fitth Infantry, found a man named Morgan, & private of the Forty-sixth In- fentry, lying on the sidewalk near tho junction of Greenwich and Baker streets covered with blood. Gaptain Loye of the Forty-fifth Regiment was passing on a car and went to their assistance and had Morgan conveyed to the camp of his com- pany. He found $175 in Morgan’s pockets, and the soldiers who first discovered the unconscious man said that two civilians bad tried to rob him, but that they had driven them off. Medical aid was given to Morgan and he revived sufficiently to talk, but could give no clear account of what had happened to him during ‘the evening. 3 Again the men of the Forty-fifth Regi- ment heard a story of an attempt to rob a comrade, and knowing that they would be paid off next Monday and that similar at- tempts might be made to rob them, they at once proceeded to form a plan to wipe out the saloons in the vicinity of the Lom- bard street entrance to the Presidio where the soldiers feared they might be de- spoiled. About 7:30 p. m. Police Officers Hogan and Jackson observed groups of soldiers standing at the corner of Greenwich and Baker streets. The officers scented trouble, as the soldlers moved away each time they approached the groups of uniformed men. HURL ABUSE AT MRS. POWERS. While the police officers followed one group, another entered the saloon of Mrs. Powers and started to abuse .her. The vilest of names were hurled at the woman and she was accused of being a party to the alleged drugging of soldiers earlier in the day. Mrs. Powers remonstrated with the men, but they would not listen to her, and when a man named Harris interfered and told the soldiers to behave the spirit of deviltry was let loose. “He 1s one of the dope gang!” yelled a soldier of the Forty-fifth Regiment. “Let us hang him!" cried another. ““We might as well do up the whole — crowd!” yelled a third. The uproar reached the ears of Police Officers Hogan and Jackson, who were half a block away, They ran at full speed to the saloon and forced their way in. The action of the officers was observed and in a few seconds soldiers were head-' ing for the scene from all directions, while shouts of fury filled the air. The crowd grew with startling rapidity. Nearly 800 men were gathered around the saloon, all’ velling like demons. Most of the men belonged to the Forty- fifth Regiment and oaly a few of the For- ty-sixth could be seen. OFFICERS RESCUE HARRIS. The police officers forced their way to the door with Harris and there found themselves confronted with a big crowd of infuriated soldiers. ““They are going to get him away from us,” shouted hundreds of voices. “Damn him, kill him, kill bim,” came the ery from all sldes as the soldiers hemmed the police officers around. Suddenly a rush was made and Harris was felled to the ground. Murder was In the eyes and hearts of the crowd as blows were rained with heavy sticks upon the prostrate man. With drawn revolvers the two police officers kept a narrow circle around Har- ris and threatened to Kkill the first man who came nearer. “Let's kill the whole lot,” went up from many throats, and at that instant Police Sergeant T. Ellis dashed through the crowd from the rear. Madly fighting for their prey the sol- dlers panted around the little group of police officers and the man who lay at their feet. In the scuffiing the officers and Harris were forced to the wall. Sud- denly, as the surging of the mob left an = ig ,‘v'.‘. OF R \WHITE “ fy/( AND N i W2 F3/C DN g o9 ENTRANCE To _2f WRECKED JALGON - - | ? TIREMEM™N IVING RICTERS KANs1TH HOSE i Wi Pt INTERIOR OF WYHVIE ANB, CROWLEYS SALOON | SAVED DRST RUCT?&-_ SCENES NEAR TEE ENTRANCE OF THE PRESIDIO, WHERE A MOB OF INFURIATED SOLDIERS TOTALLY WRECKED ONE SALOON { AND DAMAGED ANOTHER BEFORE BEING DISPERSED. — ¥ PRICE FIVE CENTS. MODOC COUNTY MOB LYNCHES FIVE MEN FOR PETTY THEFTS : I Frontiersmen Take Aged Calvin Hall, His Three Sons and Their Comrade From Officers and String Them Up Constable Carpenter and His Deputies Are Compelled by the Avengers to Assist in the Hanging of the Culprits — VICTIT1S OF THE MODOC LYNCHERS. CALVIN HALL, 72 YEARS OLD. FRANK HALL, 26 YEARS OLD. JAMES HALL, 19 YEARS OLD. MARTIN HALL, 16 YEARS OLD. | | B. D. YANTIS, 27 YEARS OLD. o3 Special Dispatch to The Call. LTURAS, May 31.—Five men lynched for petty thievery! Swift and awful was the vengeance visited upon a quintet of culprits by a Modoc County mob last night. Hanging to the stringers of a bridge on the outskirts of Lookout, a little town ten miles west of Adin, the bodies of Calvin Hall, two of his three sons and another young man who had shared his home, are still swaying in the breeze. From a culvert between the town and the bridge the body of the third son is suspended. Shorter shrift was accorded him than to the others of the lynchers’ victims, because he fought for his life. The mob was in no mopd to be delayed. FHalting long enovgh to choke out the life of Frank Hall. it proceeded on its way to the place selected for the execu- tion. There the father and his remaining two sons and their comrade were put to death. No time was wasted. The victims of the mob's vengeance were not even given the opportunity of making a farewell statement. Ome by one they were stretched up, willing hands pulling at the ropes that hauled them into eternity. Never in the history of California has there been such wholesale punishment a5 this meted out to frontier offenders. And their crime had not attained even tie dimensions of horse-stealing—always a capital offense In those counties yet on the borderland of civilization. They were petty thieves, no more: their booty was the proceeds of nocturnal ralds upon clotheslines and woodsheds. STOLEN ARTICLES FOUND IN THEIR HOME. Calvin Hall was 72 years of age—an old man tottering on the verge of the grave. He was a squaw-man, and his thres sons—Frank, aged 26; James, aged 19, and Martin, aged 16—were the half-breed progeny of his life-union with an Indian woman. B. D. Yantis, who shared the Hall home, was 27 years old. For some time past the Halls and Yantis have béen suspected of the thefts ot numerous articles, such as barbed wire, pieces of harmess and articles of rai- ment taken from the clotheslines of Lookout. They were arrested on Saturday and constables with & search warrant .vepafred to-their honiel ™ Briet search served to bring to light eviienceof thelr guilt, and they were taken from the Hall ranch to Lookout and there detained in custody to await examination and trial. In the meantime the search was continued, and halters, dishes and more articles of clothing were zound hidden away. The simple and honest popu- lace was aroused to the highest pitch of excitement as one by one tha stolen ar- ticles were restored to their owners. From the day of the arrest of the culprits there have been muttered threats, and the Halls and Yantis knew that only a leader was needed to place their lives in jeopardy. The aged father was charged with petty larceny, consisting of the pilfering of several hayforks only, and he was allowed to go free on his own recognizance. His arraignment was to have taken place this morning. The other four faced burglary charges, and their examinations were set for June 3. They remained in custody, having been unable to procure the $300 bail demanded by the Justice of the Peace before whom they had been brought. There being no jail in Lookout the four prisoners were held in custody in the Lookout hotel. In guarding them Constable Carpenter was assisted by R. Nichols, J. W. Brown and 8. Goyette. The former two remained on duty from noon until midnight, when they were relieved by the others. Calvin Hall re- mained as a guest of the hotel, =0 as to be near his sons. MOB OF LYNCHERS OVERCOMES THE OFFICERS. At 2 o'clock this morning a mob of masked men, their number variously es- timated at from thirty to fifty, suddenly appeared In the street before the hotel. No hint of their coming had beem given and the two men on guard were taken completely by surprise. No attempt to spirit the prisoners away to a place of safety or to defend them fromthe mob was possible. Brown and Goy- ette faced the overwhelming odds of two score of determined men well armed. They looked into the muazzles of rifles and shotguns held by steady hands, and gruff voices from behind the masks ordered them bluntly to keep still if they were not ready to die. The two guards were powerless to make resistance and they attempted none. While some were disarming Brown and Goyetie, others of the mob broke in upon the accused men and dragged them from their quarters. The masked men knew their ground thoroughly, and lost no time in rounding up the frightened quintet. The old man, Calvin Hall, was dragged from his bed and hurried out and thrust into position by the side of his sons, while preparations were under way for the grim march to the Pitt River bridge, which had been chosen for the scene of the mob's terrible vengeance. The hands of each of the accused men were bound securely behind him, and a rope was noosed about the neck of each. The mob worked swiftly and silently in the dim light of lanterns and torches, and few words were heard except the entreatles of the doomed men, begging for their lives. GUARDS ARE FORCED TO AID THE AVENGERS “Now come with us,” one of the leaders sald to the two guards. “We need vour help.” And Brown and Goyette were shoved into the ranks of men holding the ropes that tightened about the necks of the trembling prisoners. The mob moved swiftly and silently through the streets and along the road leading to the bridge that spans Pitt River. There was no hesitancy or discus- sion. The details were well planned and had been decided upon at the mob's rendezvous—wherever that may have been—for the coming of the mob and its going after the lynching was done are velled in mystery. Frank Hall, the oldest of the three sons, stopped pleading when the mercl- MOb Flna“y DISDersed b-y Flremen Wlth less purpose of the vigilantes became evident. He set his teeth with the grim a Hose, Assisted by Details of Cav- alry and Infantry From Reservation opening in its ranks, Sergeant Ellis pulled Harris to his feet and started to run with him up Greenwich street, while Officers Hogan and Johnson held the crowd back at the points of their revolvers. In the darkness Harrls managed to escape and then the mob turped to vent its fury on the saloon of Mrs. Powers. ‘With a cry of “burn the place down and kill every one In it,” the riotous soldlers rushed into the saloon. Volley after vol- ley of stones was hurled through the win- dows by those in the streets, while the men inside quickly finished their work of demolition. “For God's sake, boys,” cried Sergeant ‘Ellis, “there are women upstairs; don't harm them.” The only reply to the sergeant’s appeal was & shower of stones through the up- - per windows of the house, where Mrs. Powers and her three daughters lay huddled, trembling with fear for their lives. | b In thirty 'seconds from the assault on the salcon the place was a wreck and ‘when the cry was raised, “Let’s do the rest.of the joints,” the police officers re- alized that they could not cope with the mob. DISPERSED BY WATER. With quick instinct Sergeant Ellis pulled open fire alarm box 425 and turned in an alarm. In quick response came po- lice officers from all directions and a de- tachment of the fire department. The general call sounded within the Presidio, calling out the guards. Squads of the Fifteenth Cavalry and the Eighteenth In- fantry were hurried to the scene and formed up in skirmish order. ‘While the guards of the Presidio were hurrying to the scene the fire department turned a hose on the riotous soldiers, dis- persing them in all directions. The po- lice charged with drawn clubs and the law breakers were forced back and then driven Into the Presidio by the military guards. Yelling in disappointed rage, the riot- ers hurled showers of rocks from within the walls of the reservation, shattering the windows of White & Crowley’s saloon close by. ‘Again the military guards charged in- Continued on Page Two, stofeism of his mother’s race, and refused to proceed. He fought his captors with the strength of despair, and even after he had been choked almost into unconsclousness by the tightening noose he still offered stubborn resistarce. The mob was in no mood for wasting its time with a refractory victim, and the struggling prisoner was dragsed and tumbled along to a culvert over u deep gulch conveniently near. The rope was made fast, and young Hall was pushed from the roadway into the gulch, with a sheer drop that left little life n his body. When his executioners became assured that the swinging body was past resuscitation, they dragged the old man and his remaining two sons and Yantis away from the sight of the fate that was to be theirs, and hastened on to- ward the bridge. AGED FATHER THE FIRST TO BE HANGED. The chosen scene of execution reached, no delay was permitted. No one ask- ed the doomed men if they had prayers to offer or confessions to make, Calvin Hall, the renegade white man whose half-breed sons had grown up to be thiev- ing accomplices of thelr father, seemed to be a particular object of the mob's wrath. He was chosen for execution first of all, and with scarcely the delay of a minute his body was dangling from the north side of the bridge, Yantis and the two young Hails, both of them mere boys, were hustled un- ceremoniously to the other sie of the bridge and In a few minutes more their swaying bodles were keeping ghastly companionshlp with that of the old fron- tiersman. Their grim work done, the lynchers did not tarry. Five minutes after ths last victim was strung up to the bridge timbers, the mob haa dispersed. Not a mask or a lantern was left, and thelr going was as silent and untraceable as their coming. fnm the bodies of the vietims were discovered this merniug the news of the lynching spread lik wildfire, and people hastened from miles around to view the gruesome sight. Information of the mob's work was at once telegraphed to Sheriff Street, of Modoc County, and District Attorney Bonner. Both of these officials and the Coroner have left Alturas for Lookout determined to ferrst out the perpetrators of the outrage, v e