The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
“If you don't let this matter drop, we will make it hot for you.”
Stories from Mica
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A Missing Man, a Secret Silver Oath, and a Sheriff's Certainty
Charles K. Gloystein vanished after refusing a vigilante pledge; Sheriff Pugh blamed political enemies in Spokane County's Populist hotbed.
“There is not the slightest doubt in my mind but that Gloystein was murdered by his political enemies.”
Hanged in Effigy, Then Gone: The Disappearance at Mica
A Spokane County man who campaigned against the Silver Federation was abducted and is presumed murdered — and an exchange paper lays the blame squarely on the movement's rhetoric.
“If Gloystein has been murdered, the Silver Federation will have to be held responsible for it — not because the organization is composed of murderers and thugs, but because it has by resolutions endorsed lawless acts.”
The Vanishing of Charles Gloystein and the Secret Society That Armed a County
In 1894, a Spokane County man disappeared. Rumor blamed a secret Populist order, and neighbors began answering their doors with shotguns.
“In said society there is but one penalty, one punishment—death—and all that disobey must suffer.”
The Body in the Box: A Political Murder Haunts Spokane County
Charles F. Gloystein crossed the Freeman's Protective Silver Federation and disappeared. Now his neighbors are offering a $1,000 reward—not for a killer, but for the body.
“We must have the body. The man is dead, beyond all doubt, in my mind, and he was murdered by the Silver Federation, but we can never hope to prove anything unless we can produce his body.”
A Midnight Knock, a Bloody Hat, and the Farmer Who Vanished
Charles Gloystein joined an oath-bound farmers’ society near Mica, tried to leave, and disappeared. A bloody hat was all searchers found.
“He stepped out into the darkness and that was the last seen of him.”
He Walked Out of the House and Into a Whirlpool of Whispers
A well-liked Spokane County farmer vanishes near Mica, and forty neighbors turn the countryside upside down hunting for him — but the deeper they dig, the stranger the trail becomes.
“A feeling of dread pervades the vicinity. Neighbors are growing to distrust each other, and conversations between friends are carried on in whispers.”
Murder at Mica: A Midnight Political Killing in Spokane County
Charles Gloystein was called from his home after the Oregon election. Local papers blamed the Farmers’ Protective Silver Federation—and said neighbors were too afraid to talk.
“Everyone living at Mica firmly believes that Gloystein is murdered; and it is absolutely true that the Mica people do not feel free to say what they think.”
A Bloody Hat and a Missing Republican Farmer in Spokane County
Charles Gloystein was called from his bed at midnight and vanished. A search party found his hat bloodied and cut, and neighbors pointed to the Populist feud that had already hanged him in effigy.
“His hat, cut with an instrument and covered with bloody hair, was found today by a searching party.”
A Farmer Vanished Near Mica, and His Neighbors Blamed a Populist 'Shotgun Club'
Charles F. Glovstein disappeared from his Spokane County farm on July 28, 1894. Republicans called it political murder; the governor could offer only $1,000 for answers, and a secret 'protective association' was said to hold its members for life.
“In that society there is but one penalty, one punishment—death—and all that disobey must suffer.”
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