Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1885 — Reminiscences Suggested by a Tragedy. [ARTICLE]

Reminiscences Suggested by a Tragedy.

Philadelphia, August 31,1885. Tc the Editor of the Democrat and Sentinel: The following telegraphic report of a common enough western tragedy? which I happen to know will excite some local interest in Lewistown and vicinity, aopeared in the daily morning papers on Friday last

Killed Lynch and Got Lynched. Dead wood, Dak., Aug. 27. — Dr. H. P. Lynch, of Sturgis, was shot dead Monday night in his office by Corporal Ross Hollis, of Company A, 25th United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Meade, and the latter was lynched Tuesday by a mob. Some time ago Hollis beat a colored woman and broke three of her ribs. Dr. Lynch was called to attend her and was also summoned as a witness before the grand jury. Hollis was indicted and threatened to kill the doctor. The night of the murder he deserted the fort, got a change of clothing, went to Sturgis, crept stealthily up to the doctor’s office, and fired at his victim through the window. Reading this telegraphic news item set me to thinking, and thinking of it prompts me to write. To the general reader the item possessed no special interest, of course, and was read if read at all by such only as an every-day-order of news paragraphs, to be forgotten within the hour. But to the writer it was not so. To him it came with the startling suddenness of a personal dispatch conveying intelligence of a personal sorrow. To him it possessed the vital interest of a brief and unsatisfactory report of th a tragic death of an intimate companion of his youth and a highiy esteemed friend of his mature years. The pleasant remembrances of other days in connection with the victim of this most foul assassination awakened by the reading of this report of the occurrence, impels me to speak of them through the columns of the Democrat. I believe that lam not mistaken in assuming that there are ;lo,= among your regular readers who will bo interested in what I may write.

Nearly forty years ago, during ■ the summer and succeeding winter,; of 1847, three young men then in their “teens,” did all the work of printing and issuing the Lewistown True Democrat, then under the editorial direction of H. J. Walters, Esq. The names of these three you jg men, in the order of their years and experience in the business, were John M. Bowman, William F. Shaw and H. P. Lynch. The first named had served his hi) l term of apprenticeship of three years “for his victuals and clothes ’ in the Lewistown Gazette office, under the direction of Capt. William Ross, who died some years ago, and at the time spoken of was “doing” his first “journey work.” Shaw had worked for some time at the business, I cannot say how long, in one of the offices at Mifflintown. Lynch was an apprentice, and, although physically able to “down” either of his companions in the office, including the “boss,” if occasion demanded, was therefore the junior boy or “devil” of the establishment—an appellation, by the way, which he never accepted kindly, and which he promptly resented when applied to him in an offensive sense.

Sometime during the autumn of 1816 ho had come into the office in response to an editorial request for a boy io learn the printing business, with the usual qualifications* “a boy from the country preferred.’ Red faced, broad shouldered, big fisted, and decidedly a countryfled looking youth—the sou of a Ferguson valley Irish farmer —he was rather an unpromising looking subject, so far as outward appearances indicated, out of whiel :o make a printer. He soon proved, however, that he was not s.‘ much of a fool as he looked. He was aggressive in his ambition to acquire a knowledge of the trade, and took it up rapidly, so that in an unusually short time he was able to do his full share of all .work in the office. His robust physical development gave him unusual strength for a boy of his years, and this made him especially desirable to have about the office on press day. The old-fashioned Hoe hand-pr ss was but a plaything in his sturdy arms, and he could run off the edition of the paper in less time and with greater ease then anybody about th*, affix \ He was generous to a mult and good matured; but would not be imposed upon. If anybody attempted any practical joke upon him, orito take any unfair advantage of him in any way, his Irish blood was up in an instant, and somebod'. was liable to be hurt — This was Peter Lynch—“ Pete,” we called him for short —the printer’s apprentice in the True Democrat . office in Lew istown in 1847—the original of the man Dr.. H- P.fLynch who fell a victim to the in sane vengeance of a cowardly ii 'gro assassin at Sturgis, Dakota, in 1885, as briefly told in the news dispatch above printed. Perhaps by the time this reaches you the papers will ffurnish fuller details of the tragedy. * It was part of my plan, in conceiving this letter, to add a brief sketch of the subsequent career of each of these three young men in connection with my notice of the tragic death of one of their number, but I discover that such sketch, however brief, would extend my letter to too great length. It occurred to me that such details as I would be able to give respecting them in after life would be especially interesting to the older members of the Apprentices’ Literary Society of Lewistown who still linger in your midst, of which very worthy organization all three were active members. And here permit me to say, parenthetically that while I do not know how far their connection with this society influ•ncee. the subsequent lives and conduct of its members generally, or to what extent it awakened their skim boring intellect end inspired tkc .t. -mental activity aud intellectual improvement, one of them at least gratefuily acknowledges his indebtedness to it for much of the inspiration that made a better man of him than he otherwise might hav 3 been. Reluctantly abandoning the idea, therefore, of the proposed personal sketches, suffice to say that each of the three developed some individual talent, aid did not live in vain. Each pi-, cd a part in the affairs of the world by no means obscure and not wholly ivithout results. But one of the trio remains, and he the senior < f the three. He helped to bui y his early companion Shaw in this city some two years ago, and still lives in good health and vigorous intellect to record with sadness the death of the junior of the trio. To him it is a melancholy and admonishing reflection that of the many, office companions of his youth, men and boys, but two, so far as he knows, remain—Adam J. Greer, of Altoona, his first';boy acquaintance in a printing office, and Henry Frysinger, of Chester, the last with whom he worked in the old Gazette office. Harry Devine, his old yireeeptor, William H. Wilson, William R. McCay, Charley Matthews, Jimmy Stackpole, Henry Snyder, Billy McKinney, Jimmy McEwen, Will Shaw, Peter Lynch —a long list—are all gone. The

list of those remaining is noticeably short and u ill soon be obliterated. While death has been thus ruthless in tlie ranks of his office companions, it is a noticeable fact that the two employers to whom he rendered the most service in Lewistown are still living —H. J. Walters and George Frysinger.— May their span of life be further lengthened and their days yet many and peaceful in the land. With man / kind greetings to old friends who may recognize the hand of the writer in this letter, many of whom will join him in deploring the untimely and tragic death of his friend, Dr. Lynch, he subscribes himself Very truly yours,

2335 St. Albans Place.

J.M.B.