Judge Lynch on the Bench Cincinnati, Ohio, May 13, 1881

An Old Grudge, Attempted murder and Swift Punishment

Cincinnati, May 13—The Republican’s Charleston, Mo., special says: “Four men—Frank Brown, Jesse Meyers, James Hamilton and Pat Rhodes—visited the house of William Knox, five miles south of New Madrid last Monday night with the intention of killing him and his half-sister on account of an old grudge.

A man named Coleman was carrying a child and walking the floor in the house, and mistaking Coleman for Knox the party fired on him and wounded both him and the child.

A warrant was issued Tuesday for the arrest of the assassins and Sheriff Walters, with a posse, started in pursuit and overtook them at Bayne’s store, five miles south of Sikeston. The men fled to the woods and secreted themselves behind a fallen tree. When the posse came up they received a volley from the concealed party and Robert LaFarge was killed. The Sheriff’s party returned the fire but receiving a second volley, retired. The desperadoes then robbed the dead body of LaFarge of his watch, money and shirt-studs and fled.

In the evening Pat Rhodes, one of the gang who had been wounded by the Sheriff’s posse came in and gave himself up. This morning a party of vigilantes took him out and hanged him and hundreds of men are scouring the country in every direction for the remainder of the party. If caught they will be served as Rhodes was served.

Source: Charlie Crowell. Capital Punishment Scrapbook, Philadelphia Newspaper Article, about March, 1881.