Sunday, March 22, 2015

March 22, 1893: William Frazier

Today we learn of a lynching in Iowa from The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California) dated March 23, 1893:

KILLED THEM BOTH.

And Then a Mob Took Him Out and Lynched Him.

DES MOINES, March 22.—A brutal tragedy was committed at Hiteman, a mining town on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, in Monroe County, to-day. William Frazier, a miner, whose wife left him a few days ago on account of drunkenness, went to where she was staying and killed her and her sister, Mrs. Smith, who ran to Mrs. Frazier's assistance. Mrs. Frazier had a knife ran through her and died immediately. Mrs. Smith ran into the room where she heard her sister screaming and was instantly stabbed in the breast, dying in a few moments. The brute then made an attack on his child, mutilating it. As soon as the facts of the tragedy became known public indignation was aroused and Frazier was lynched by an angry mob. Great excitement prevails in the mining town, but no further trouble is feared.

The details of the affair show it to have been one of the most horrible crimes ever committed in the West. Frazier went to the house and entered the room where his wife was with her little child.

But few words passed between them when when Frazier drew a large knife and advanced toward the unfortunate woman. It was then that she uttered the scream for help that brought her sister to the room. The word had hardly left her lips when the knife was plunged into her heart and the woman fell to the floor a corpse.

Then, turning on Mrs. Smith, Frazier stabbed her repeatedly in the breast. The infant child was next attacked, and with one sweep of the sharp knife the inhuman monster almost severed one of its limbs. Not satisfied with this he cut it again in the arm before leaving the house.

It can hardly recover. Frazier did not succeed in getting far from the scene of the tragedy and the mob of avengers had little difficulty in finding him.


Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.  

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