The Vigilantes’ Bones: Seattle Dug Up Its Most Notorious Lynching

That most tragic event, the lynching of Murderers James Sullivan, William Howard and Benjamin Payne, on the morning of January 18, 1882, on the north side of James Street, in front of what is now the Pioneer block, is vividly called to mind by three boxes of bones, a pile of clothes, one shoe and three pieces of half-inch rope with the hangman's knot, which stood in the dispensary at the county hospital yesterday. Those bones were the remnants of the three men whose lives were sacrificed on the gallows at a moment's notice, to satisfy the feelings of a public which had been goaded to desperation by repeated acts of lawlessness from robbers, highwaymen and thieves. After thirteen years of communion with mother earth, that part of those men which was earthly has been resurrected, and after passing through the boiling and scraping process, under the direction of County Physician F. B. Whiting, will be assigned to the important position of giving tender-hearted medical students a correct idea of how wonderfully man, even though he be a murderer, is made. Dr. Whiting wanted some specimens of bones, so he turned his attention to the old 'potter's field,' which is located on a beautiful piece of ground just north of the new county hospital. In that plot of ground bodies have been laid away, and the new field is fast becoming populous. Incidentally one remarked that the bones of the lynched murderers were in the old cemetery, and that they would be just what the doctor wanted. The exact location of the grave—the three were not honored with separate interments—was settled by A. L. Maple and Constable Michael Kelly. The story of how Maple knew where the grave was is worth telling. In burying the men the hangman's nooses were left around their necks and the ends of the ropes kept on top of the ground. School boys and girls would run over to the graves and give the ropes a jerk. It was great sport, and many a bump have the three 'deadheads' received at the hands of 'young America.' Strange as it may seem, the dignified, immaculately dressed ex-coroner George M. Morton used to give the ropes a jerk and listen for the thump of the head against the coffin as he returned from school to the Morton mansion at Georgetown. A. L. Maple helped bury the three men. Saturday afternoon Dr. Whiting, Michael Kelly, Keeper A. A. Osborn and Mr. Maple, armed with shovels, went to the place designated by the latter and commenced to dig. The murderers were buried deep. First was found the plain board coffin in which were the bodies of Sullivan and Howard, the former's head being toward the east and the latter's toward the west. The flesh had long ago resolved itself into its component parts, but the skeletons and clothes were remarkably well preserved. Around the neck of each was the rope that had been pulled first by an angry mob to satisfy public sentiment and then by school boys and girls for fun. In one of the pockets of Sullivan's coat was a long plug of chewing tobacco and in Howard's pockets were found a bunch of matches, a clay pipe and plug of Climax chewing tobacco, showing where pieces had been cut off with a jack knife. Under this coffin was the one in which Payne's body lay. Payne had on a black silk necktie and the rope passed around his neck over the tie. Fully twenty men grabbed the rope and hauled him up toward the bar that acted as a scaffold. By the size of the noose it would now appear as if 1,000 men had jerked on the rope. The necktie is perfectly preserved and shows the exact marks left by the rope. A pair of yellow woolen stockings that Sullivan had on are in a state of almost perfect preservation. Dr. Whiting will probably commence boiling the bones of the murderers today, a very suggestive operation in view of the wickedness of departed souls. The history of the lynching has been lost sight of in the past few years through the continual happenings which make Seattle a city of sensations. It appears that on the evening of January 17, 1882, George P. Reynolds, a clerk in W. A. Jennings' store, was stopped by two footpads near the corner of Marion and Third streets. He resisted and as a result was shot and died two hours later. Several robberies had been committed, presumably by the same ruffians. A vigilance committee was immediately organized and during the night two men, giving their names as Sullivan and Howard, were discovered among some bales on Harrington Smith's wharf. Gardner Kellogg, John and William Jones are credited with making the capture. The prisoners were turned over to Sheriff L. V. Wyckoff and John H. McGraw, chief of police. The proof against the men was incontrovertible and during the night a mob demanded their surrender by the sheriff. Serious trouble was narrowly averted, the compromise being that the prisoners should be brought before Justice Coombs the next morning. At 9 o'clock January 18, the hearing was begun in Yesler's hall, one of the most historic of the old landmarks removed by the rush of brick building. The prisoners were placed in the middle of the stage behind the justice, while the attorneys and Yesler dignitaries, including Chief Justice Greene and Judge Lewis, were grouped to their right and left. The hall was crowded with people, among whom were the members of the vigilance committee. As it became certain that the prisoners were guilty men, the mob quietly withdrew from the hall by the front door, but entered by the back entrance, which led to the stage. Just as Justice Coombs announced that the prisoners were held for trial without bail the mob burst from the rear of the stage and with yells of rage rushed Sullivan and Howard from the hands of Justice. All those who were likely to object to the irregular administration of justice were rendered helpless. Judge Greene tried to cut them down, but he was quickly hustled away. About this time some one mentioned that Benjamin Payne, who was in jail awaiting trial for murdering Officer David Sires in October previous, was equally guilty. The hint was sufficient. They started for the jail, tore down the south side of the yard, forced their way in and dragged Payne into the street. A rope was thrown around his neck and in a few moments his body struggled in close communion with those of Sullivan and Howard. The coroner's jury rendered a verdict that death was at the hands of parties unknown.