Dan Arata

Dan Arata kept a saloon in Denver, Colorado, and was held in the Denver county jail in late July 1893. Newspaper accounts say a crowd of thousands, with estimates ranging from several thousand to fifteen thousand, gathered at the jail on the evening of July 26 and forced its way in. The papers differ on the jailer's response: some say Captain Crews refused to hand him over before the doors were broken, while others say the guards retreated and hid the keys. The mob took him from his cell, hanged him from a cottonwood tree near the jail and fired bullets into him, and one account says he asked those holding him to tell his mother not to cry.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of thousands broke into the Denver county jail on July 26, 1893, took Dan Arata from his cell and hanged him from a cottonwood tree, and several accounts say the jailer, Captain Crews, refused to hand him over before the mob forced entry; the Rawlins Republican says the mob took the keys from the jailers, and the Fremont Clipper says the guards retreated and let the crowd in.

Reported by: The Rawlins Republican (reporters); The Fremont Clipper (reporters); The Oskaloosa Herald, reprinting a Denver report (reporters); Los Angeles Herald editorial (reporters); State Herald editorial (reporters); telegram from Denver as printed in the newspaper (reporters).

Sources (18)

• Waterbury Evening Democrat, July 27, 1893, page 1 Waterbury Evening Democrat, July 27, 1893
• Gloucester County Democrat, July 27, 1893, page 2 Gloucester County Democrat, July 27, 1893
• The Jersey City News, July 27, 1893, page 4 The Jersey City News, July 27, 1893
• The State Herald, July 28, 1893, page 4 The State Herald, July 28, 1893
• The Herald, July 29, 1893, page 4 The Herald, July 29, 1893
• The Bessemer Indicator, July 29, 1893, page 2 The Bessemer Indicator, July 29, 1893
• The Indianapolis Journal, July 29, 1893, page 4 The Indianapolis Journal, July 29, 1893
• Passaic City Record, July 29, 1893, page 1 Passaic City Record, July 29, 1893
• The Mt. Sterling Advocate, August 1, 1893, page 4 The Mt. Sterling Advocate, August 1, 1893
• Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, August 2, 1893, page 1 Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, August 2, 1893
• The Free Press, August 3, 1893, page 2 The Free Press, August 3, 1893
• The Oskaloosa Herald, August 3, 1893, page 1 The Oskaloosa Herald, August 3, 1893
• The Rawlins Republican, August 3, 1893, page 6 The Rawlins Republican, August 3, 1893
• The Saratoga Sun, August 3, 1893, page 2 The Saratoga Sun, August 3, 1893
• Shenandoah Herald, August 4, 1893, page 1 Shenandoah Herald, August 4, 1893
• The Fremont Clipper, August 4, 1893, page 1 The Fremont Clipper, August 4, 1893
• The Citizen, August 5, 1893, page 3 The Citizen, August 5, 1893
• The Abbeville Press And Banner, August 9, 1893, page 6 The Abbeville Press And Banner, August 9, 1893