Execution of Robert Schramle, The

DESCRIPTION: "Not a bark was heard, not a warning note, As we o'er to the calaboose hurried." The vigilantes break into the prison, take the prisoner, hang him, and "left him alone with the devil"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt-AmericanMurderBallads)
KEYWORDS: homicide prison execution
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Burt-AmericanMurderBallads, p. 169, (no title) (1 text)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia2, p. 592, "Lay of the Vigilantes" (1 text)
NOTES [62 words]: Burt-AmericanMurderBallads connects this with the execution in Colorado of Robert Schramle, accused of killing Henry Thiede on October 11, 1877, but there is no supporting evidence in the song that I can see. (To be fair, there is no counter-evidence, either.) If Burt-AmericanMurderBallads's connection is correct, the vigilante execution took place on December 9, 1877. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.7
File: Burt169

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