LYNCHING IN AMERICA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8596, 11 September 1889, Page 3

LYNCHING IN AMERICA.

News has just reached New York of a serious lynching affair in the South. The victims were a notorious woman named Kate Maxwell,

commonly known as the "Cattto, Queen," and a Wan named James Averill, both living at the little settlement of West Water, Wyoming. It seems that for years paat Averill (who whs postmastor), assisted by this wotilafl. and a' gang of thieves, made quite a fortune off the cattie they stole from neighbouring ranches. The giuig being r'atusr a formidable one,' tho ranchmm for a long time Were rifrsifl to' openly interfere, but they became so exasperated bt fate, owiug to an increase of the depredations, that a buddeh d6scent Was made on the postmaster's c ibm by ri howling Bibb; and he and his female partner were carried to' an' adfoiuicrg wood, where ropes were put round their necks/ an 3 the^ were suspended to branches, death resulting iv a short tlmo from hanging. Before being lynched Averill beseefihod the mob to use their influence In Dot letting a certain person, whom tho mentioned ,succeed to* his ■facant post; The woman cursed fearfully, but begged tn'e,in to keep the affair quiet for her mother's sake; as she did not know of her evil career. She admitted that the cattle found in her possession were stolon, but said she wanted_ to sell them and give the proceeds to' dorrie friendless girls whom she knew. Tho remainder of the gang have vow dispersed. MR dLADSI'Q'NE'S|GOLDEN WEDDING. Mr and Mrs Gladstone, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding at their residence, in James street, Buckingham Gate on July 25th and the occasion was marked by tho receipt of a great number of congratulatory messages aud gifts from all parts of the United Kingdom. Aniongflt the first of the nie:J3agOS received at the house in James street was. a 4 telegram from tho Queen, in which her Majeflty Congratulated Mr and Mrs Gladstone on the jubilee of their marriage. Her Majesty made reference to the jubilee of her reign, which was celebrated two years ago, nud aleo expressed wishes for the continued happiness of tfie eS-I'remier find his wife. A lett6r couched ,iri the most Mindly terms also came from the Prince of Wales; offer--1 ing the heartiest cougratulatibnfl I'd behalf of : himself and the Princess, and another froiii the King of tho Belgians, expressing his. Majesty's good wishes On the happy occasion. All through the day came a succession of letters and telegrams, each conveying the expression of hopes for the continued welfare of Mr and Mrs Gladstone. Many valuable presents were also made to the right hon, gentleman aud his wife. WINNER 6)R.tse QUEEN'S PRIZE. On July 16 f amidst a' sfce'no" of efcltsmeut of which the like has rarely, if .ever, Deen.wita'esSefl at Wimbledon, Sergeant Reid, 6i the Ist Lanark Engineers, won the great prize of the Wimbledon meeting—the gold medal, gold badge, and the substantial sum of £250. The "Queen's Hundred " went to the firing points to finish the third.and last stage of the contest, at the 800 yds and ftOOyds; punctually at half-past 2, and a crowd, numbering man£ hundreds of spectators gathered .outside the ropes" to witness their performances^ The, common had but an hour before been swept by a storm of wind and rain, and the aspeCt of the weather in the middle of tha day was still threatening. But the occasional showers did not prevent the spectators from congregating until towards the olose of the contest they stood eight er ten deep outside the ropes along the whole rangeUf the firing points. The shooting at the 800 yds gilfe uo indication, of the probable winner, and certainly no one expected Reid to, come to the.front with the highest score eTer recorded* Attention was naturally concentrated at the beginning; chiefly on Wattlewortb, the silver medallist; Rippbniwho won the bronze medal; and Major Heap, who c'aine Up ,in the first three with a score of 200. As it turned out, none of the three acted up to his previous performances. As the end drew near it became evident that the Contest lay between Reid, Major Pearse^ Of the .4th Devon—who Won the Queen's Prise in 18T5—and Armorer Sergeant Jones, Denbigh. Reid finished at 281, leaving Pearse with two shots to fire.- A bull and an inner would have secured for the famous Devon shot the unprecedented honour of winning the great prize twice; but h&.t'u't in only an inner and a magpie, and thus lost by two. Wattleworth had placed himself out of the running by finishing up with two misses and an outer, mishaps which were clearly duo to the nerVbtisness Which so constantly upsets all calculations with regard to the final stage of the Queen's. His total score was only 262j and Jones) whose.eighth shot was a,magpie, and his ninth and 10th outers, i-eafched no higher than 272. Reid's victory was hailed with vociferous cheers by the Scorch volunteers, who had clustered round his firing point, and with an equally generous recognition by those whom, iudividually and representatively, he had defeated. The winner is a telegraph clerk in Glasgow, 26 years of age, and this is only his second appearance at Wimbledon, where last year he did nothing noteworthy. As soon as the contest was decided he was chaired and carried in triumph by his comiades to the Cottage Lawn) where Lady Wantage pinned the gold badge of the association on his arm.