In 1868, a Mississippi-born outlaw met his maker at the hands of an
angry mob in far-off Colorado. It was perhaps a fitting end for a man who spent
much of his life on the wrong side of the law.
Lee H. Musgrove, better known as "L.H.," was born in Como, Mississippi,
in Panola County, possibly in the early 1840s. Like many, Musgrove left
Mississippi in search of gold and headed for California, where he settled in
the Napa Valley. While there, he earned a reputation as a gunfighter and was
forced to leave his adopted state after killing a man who reportedly insulted his Southern heritage. Musgrove, who was described as a "man of large stature, of
shapely physique, piercing eye and steady nerve," killed two more men in
Nevada and another man in the Idaho territory. From Idaho, he fled to the
Wyoming Territory, where he organized a gang of cattle rustlers and horse thieves. The Musgrove
gang was ultimately credited with stealing horses and cattle from Texas to
Kansas, and may have killed at least a dozen men in the process. The photo above is a period image of men identified as cattle thieves, considered by citizens at the time no less a crime than murder.
In 1868, L.H. Musgrove and his gang was operating primarily in southern
Wyoming and northern Colorado. Five years earlier, Musgrove had been arrested
and charged with murder at Fort Halleck (now located in Wyoming). Taken to
Denver for trial, he was released on a technicality. Unfortunately, he did not
change his ways and instead began preying on government wagons and outposts
along the Overland Trail. The success of the Musgrove gang in stealing horses
and cattle called for action by the authorities, and the man selected for the job
was Dave Cook.
David J. Cook (right) was born in Indiana but, like Musgrove, moved west looking
for gold in 1859. In 1861, he enlisted in the 1st Colorado Cavalry and spent
much of the war hunting 'Confederate spies.' In 1866, Cook became the city
marshal in Denver, and later founded the "Rocky Mountain Detective
Association," which brought him cases throughout the west. In 1867, he
began tracking down the members of the Musgrove Gang. In 1868, Abner Loomis (left), a
prominent citizen, local political figure and president of the Poudre Valley
Bank in Fort Collins, arranged to meet with Musgrove. For whatever reason, the
outlaw considered Loomis a friend. It was a setup, however. While visiting with
Loomis, Musgrove was seized by Cook and arrested. Taken to Denver in handcuffs,
Musgrove was thrown into the Larimer Street prison. One of the reasons Musgrove
was taken to Denver was to lure other members of his gang to Denver, and it
worked. A man named Ed Franklin, one of his most infamous lieutenants, was gunned down by
Cook in a Denver hotel.
In prison, Musgrove bragged that he would escape, no doubt convinced
that his gang would soon be able to free him. His bravado outraged the citizens of
Denver, though, and on November 23, 1868, a vigilante group composed of fifty
of Denver's citizens, some of them prominent men, removed Musgrove from prison
with the intent to hang him. Taken to the Larimer street bridge across Cherry
Creek (the photo to the right shows the bridge site during a flood in 1864), Musgrove was placed on a wagon under the bridge footing with a noose around his neck. Never
once begging for mercy, he asked that he be allowed to write to his brother and his wife.
Handed a pencil, the mostly illiterate Musgrove scribbled two notes. To his brother back in Como, Mississippi, he
wrote:
Denver November 23rd, 1868
My Dear Brother
I am to be hung to-day on false charges by a mob my children is in Napa
Valley Cal - will you go and get them & care of them for me godd Knows that
I am innocent pray for me but I was here when the mob took me. Brother good by
for Ever take care of my pore little children I remain your unfortunate Brother
good by
L.H. Musgrove
To his wife, he wrote a similar message, saying "Before this reaches
you I will bee no more." Soon after writing the notes, Musgrove was allowed
to finish his cigarette, which he "did in the most nonchalant
manner." Then, as the wagon was moved from underneath him, Musgrove's time was up. He died instantly with a
broken neck. *
One of the people present to observe Musgrove's final moments was
Alexander Proctor. A Canadian by birth, Proctor was an budding young artist (he
was only eight years old at the time) and sketched what he saw that day. As he
grew older, Proctor focused his attention on wildlife and natural scenes of the Western frontier. An avid hunter, he made detailed records of all sorts of
animals he encountered in the Rocky Mountains. With his knowledge and artistic
abilities, Proctor went on to become a prominent sculptor, especially of animals. Studying in New York and Paris,
Proctor worked with other well-known artists like Augustus Saint Gaudens to
create numerous monuments and statues. Among Proctor's many works are equestrian
statues of William T. Sherman in New York and General John Logan in Chicago's Grant Park
(for these, he sculpted only the horses). Seen here is his “Bucking Bronco” statue in Denver,
along with his painted self-portrait. Alexander Phimister Proctor lived a long and
colorful life. In 1947, he shot a bear during a hunting expedition to Alaska,
seventy years after shooting his first bear. He died in Palo Alto,
California, in 1950, just days shy of his ninetieth birthday.
As with many tales from the old West, the characters in this little drama seem bigger than
life. Yet, there is much I do not yet know about L.H. Musgrove. I hope to discover, for
example, who his parents were, the identity of his wife and brother, and a
photograph of him, if one exists. And, of course, I’d also like to know if there is a
family connection to Ronnie Musgrove, who was elected Governor of Mississippi in 2000. Governor Musgrove is also a native of Panola County.
* Some of the details of the hanging comes from an 1882 memoir written by Dave Cook.
Titled Hands Up! or Twenty Years of Detective Work in the Mountains and on the
Plains, the book highlights Cook's exploits as a lawman. The illustration of the hanging is from the book.
Photo and image sources:
Cattle rustlers: http://www.pubsignshop.com/proclaimed-cattle-rustlers-1887.html
Loomis: http://www.memoriallibrary.com/CO/1898DenverPB/pages/pbrd0329.htm
Cook: http://books.google.com/books
Cherry Creek: http://buckfifty.org/category/photography
Hanging: http://books.google.com/books
Proctor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Phimister_Proctor
http://www.my-west.com/painting-and-sculpture
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