he coolly told their messenger, who was a prominent man in the State, and
a personal friend of his, “that if they came, no matter who they were,
they would be shot down like dogs.” This remark was repeated to the party
who proposed the lynching, by Mayor Nutting, and people began to think it
was best to abandon the project of anticipating the law, while the Younger
boys remained in such hands. However, there is no doubt but that a summary
disposal of these bloody cut-throats would have been widely endorsed by
the best men of the State, as the feeling existed that no villians ever
merited death more than they, while under the law of Minnesota, they could
escape with a life sentence, with the possibilities of escape or pardon.