Seward County KS Archives Obituaries.....DUNN, Sam January 5, 1892 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Jim Laird jlaird@bellsouth.net October 10, 2007, 12:07 pm The Liberal Lyre Seward County Friday January 8, 1892 Murdered! Sam DUNN, Sheriff of Seward County, one of the bravest men in Southwest Kansas, was shot to death on the morning of the 5th inst., by a mob of 40 or 50 men. On the evening before, Judge BOTKIN was informed that six men were lying in wait for him about two miles south and a little east of Springfield, about half way between the Judge's residence and Springfield. The Judge ordered Sheriff Dunn to get a posse of men and look after the matter. He did son, and got Under Sheriff LARRABBE and son Sid NIXON, Wm. CUSTER, Roy GUYMON, and G.S. STEIN, and went to Judge Botkin's about midnight, and back to where they expected to find the outlaws about 4 a.m. They took shelter in the head of a small canyon and about daylight they discovered about 40 or 50 men approaching. Sheriff Dunn called to them to halt, that he was the sheriff of the county, and demanded the peace. They opened fire on him and he was hit five times, one ball entering the front and right side of neck and coming out four inches below the neck and two inches to the right of the backbone. One ball entered right side and through collar bone, coming out six inches below the two inches to the right of the backbone. One ball entered ankle in front and coming out lower part of the heel. One ball entered left thigh two inches above the knee cap and ranged up. One ball entered middle and inside thigh and ranged up,--neither of these ball coming out. Also a rib broken on the right side, either by a kick or but of a gun. The people of Springfield wer not aware of any trouble excepting those who were summoned to accompany the Sheriff, until the part returned about sunrise and reported S.W. Dunn and Roy Guymon dead. People who were up at that time saw three covered wagons and one spring wagon coming north on Springfield and Fargo road within one-half mile of Springfield where they took a northwest course to a point due west of Springfield on the Springfield and Woodsdale road, which they kept until they were out of sight. At the point where the wagons turned to the north west, a party of five or six men started due east on foot until they came east of Springfield and thence north and thence west again to Springfield to the back of a building on the east side of public square and thence east again to an old building formerly used as lumber office, which was the last seen of them. Immediately a searching party was formed to search for the death bodies. Roy Guymon was found unhurt, except a sprained ankle, lying in the bottom of a canyon. S.W. Dunn was found where he fell, lying on his back dead, wounded as described. No one tried to follow the mob and no one seems to know who they were. The good people of Springfield deplore this murder, and we believe that if S.W. Dunn had asked he could have got 100 men to accompany him, but Sam was brave, and thought is posse was equal to the emergency. On the 6th two companies of militia from Sterling and Topeka came to Arkalon and thence to Springfield for the purpose of protecting Judge Botkin while he hold this term of court. T.J. McDermott. ==== KS-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List ==== File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/seward/obits/d/dunn1894ob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 3.7 Kb