"These are the only two instances I saw, but I heard of many that were
seen by others. The soldiers do all they can, and while the unspeakable
crime of robbing the dead is undoubtedly being practiced, it would be
many times as prevalent were it not for the constant vigilance on all
sides, as well as the summary justice."
Another observer tells of an instance of this summary justice that came
under his eyes:
"At the corner of Market and Third Streets on Wednesday I saw a man
attempting to cut the fingers from the hand of a dead woman in order
to secure the rings which adorned the stiffened fingers. Three soldiers
witnessed the deed at the same time and ordered the man to throw up his
hands. Instead of obeying the command he drew a revolver from his pocket
and began to fire at his pursuer without warning. The three soldiers,
reinforced by half a dozen uniformed patrolmen, raised their rifles to
their shoulders and fired. With the first shots the man fell, and when
the soldiers went to the body to dump it into an alley nine bullets were
found to have entered it."
The warning this severity gave was accentuated in one instance in a most
effective manner. On a pile of bricks, stones and rubbish was thrown the
body of a man shot through the heart, and on his chest was pinned this
placard:
"Take warning!"
Those of the ghouls who saw this were likely to desist from their
detestable work, unless they valued spoils more than life.
Willis Ames, a Salt Lake City man, tells of the kind of justice done to
thieves, as it came under his observation:
"I saw man after man shot down by the troops.
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