The Criminal Record.

The early as well as the later settlers of Allen County were for the most part orderly and law abiding citizens, and in the forty-six years of its history its records have been darkened by comparatively few crimes of so shocking and unusual a nature as to attract general attention and interest.

The first tragedy to arouse public sentiment after the two or three homicides growing out of early land troubles and already recorded, was the lynching of E. G. Dalson which occurred on the night of June 27, 1870. Dalson lived in the south part of the County and was accused of the murder of his adopted son. He was brought to Iola and placed in jail. Late in the night of the above named date three men appeared at the jail and demanded admittance telling the sheriff that they had brought a prisoner from Neosho county for safe keeping. Sheriff John Harris (still living in Iola), opened the door when a number of men crowded in and demanded the key to Dalson's cell. This was refused. The mob quickly overpowered the sheriff, however, and the deputy who had come to his assistance, and placing a rope around the prisoner's neck they led him away. The next morning his body was found hanging in a deserted house on the old townsite of Cofachique. It was reported that before being hanged the old man had confessed the crime with which he was charged, but said that it was not intentional. He said that he had occasion to punish the boy and finding him hard to conquer had thrown him down and placed his foot on his neck, with no thought of doing him serious injury. On raising his foot he found the boy lifeless and fearing the consequences of his act he had concealed the body where it was found. Dalson had some friends and there was a good deal of indignation over his summary execution. Efforts to ferret out the perpetrators of the lynching resulted in the arrest of R. T. Stephens, but he was released on bail and it appears that he never came to trial.

As is stated elsewhere the dispute over land titles in the eastern part of the County, out of which grew the organization known as "The League" resulted in a number of crimes of a more or less serious nature. And the singular part of it is that the most serious of these crimes resulted from disputes among the Leaguers themselves. Perhaps the most noted of these cases was the killing of James Harclerode and Robert McFarland by Hugh, Isaac, Joseph and William Guilliland which occurred in 1884. All the parties concerned were members of the League. Harclerode and McFarland were building a house on land which the Guillilands, father and sons, claimed. The latter went to where the two former were at work to drive them away and the quarrel which ensued

resulted as above noted. The Guillilands were brought to trial and were all convicted. Hugh Guilliland and two of his sons were sent to the penitentiary for life, and the third son was sentenced for three years. After serving a few years of their sentence all were pardoned and when last heard from were living in one of the central counties of the State.

Shortly after the above occurrence one Columbus Carter, living in the same neighborhood, quarreled with an old man by the name of Grisham and in the fight which followed gouged out one of his eyes. A few days afterwards Carter was waylaid and shot. It was very naturally suspected that a son of Grisham had done the deed, but no arrests were ever made.

On December 8, 1884, A. W. Ashcraft, a constable, attempted to arrest one Voght, at Humboldt. on a warrant charging him with violation of the liquor law. Voght resisted arrest and was killed. Ashcraft was exonerated.

On November 23, 1885, J. W. Browning shot and killed A. A. Earle in front of what is now the Hotel Thomson in Iola. Earle lived at Bronson where Browning had been selling organs. Earle charged Brownin with the ruin of his daughter and forced him to come with him to Iola to be delivered over to the officers to stand trial for the crime. From the Iola depot they drove to the hotel in an omnibus. Earle got out first, and as he did so Browning shot him twice, killing him instantly. Browning was tried and acquitted, claiming self-defense. He immediately left the State and has not since been heard of by any of his old associates.

On July 9, 1896, the body of Della Hutchison, a young girl, was found in a pond some miles east of Humboldt, nude and shockingly mutilated. Jacob S. Rogers, a farmer living near, was convicted of the murder, the testimony showing that he was the father of the girl's unborn child, the concealment of the lesser crime being the motive for the perpetration of the greater one. Rogers was sentenced to a term of twenty-one years in the penitentiary.

On July 4, 1898, Byron Cushman was shot and killed by J. W. Bell at Humboldt. Both of the men were said to have been intoxicated. Bell was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years.