A Lynching in Asotin

Nine-year-old Clifford Aplington became "man-of-the-house", along with his brother William, who was two years older, when their father died in a Colorado silver-mining accident in 1897. Mining was dangerous, and their father had made it clear to the boys that they would be in charge of the family's safety if anything happened to him. Mother had no desire to stay in Colorado after father died. She enlisted the assistance of her late husband's brother, Nathan Aplington, who had homesteaded near Joseph Creek in northeastern Oregon. He helped her find some land and the family set about farming in the rugged countryside. Though Uncle Nate was now nearby, the boys were determined to do whatever was necessary to shield their mother and older sisters from harm.

Some of the Aplington family in Oregon, 1906. Cliff is on the far left.

Cliff loved being outdoors and was often found riding his horse across the hills near their farm. Whenever possible, he volunteered to run errands for his mother to Anatone, the nearest town of decent size. It was a journey of several miles into Washington state and, his favorite part, it required crossing the Grande Ronde river by ferry. Steep, rocky hillsides with few trees for shade or wind-break made the trip an arduous one in any season.  Seated proudly on his horse, always on the lookout for danger, Cliff became a common sight along the road to town and back. By 1900, his sisters Claire and Rena, along with their husbands, had homes near Anatone. This provided the rough and ready trail-rider yet another excuse to head north. One Sunday, in the summer of 1903, as he had countless times in the past, Cliff, now 14, was on the road to Anatone.  He was the last witness to see young Mabel Richards alive.

On the road to Anatone. The photo was taken in 2002. 

"She was walking along the road and I was going at a good fast gallop and she got out of the way to let me pass," he began. "I next saw her today," he paused, remembering the horrible sight of the dead girl. Cliff was being questioned by the Asotin County Coroner after the discovery of Mabel's body. He swallowed and went on, "quite a piece from where I saw her yesterday, and her body was lying along the same road, a short distance in the woods."

The Spokane Press ( Spokane, Washington) - Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1903, Pg. 4. Clipped from Newspapers.com.

Mabel, the daughter of Sheriff R. H. Richards, was heading to Sunday School in Anatone when the attack occurred. A local man named Hamilton admitted to the coroner that he had met Mabel on the road. "I jumped down off my horse and hugged and kissed her," he said. He refused to give further details. He was taken to Asotin and placed in the County Jail. News of the brutal murder spread quickly. In an interview with the Lewiston Tribune from the jail cell, the man told a reporter the details of his crime. News of his confession brought people from nearby communities into the streets of Asotin and a crowd grew to more than six hundred people. The girl's lifeless body and the club used to kill her were witnessed by the throng and mob fever steadily increased. There was soon talk of a lynching.

This was not the first brutal attack of a young girl in the area. In 1896, a 17-year-old girl was robbed and violated just outside of Asotin. Her statement to the local authorities led to the arrest of a half-breed Nez Perce man. After she positively identified her assailant, thirty men forcefully took the keys from the jailer, removed the man from his cell, and, after returning the keys to the jailer, hung him in the yard outside of the jail. Now, seven years later, the local vigilantes were preparing a noose for a murderer.

On the night of August 5, 1903, a large crowd gathered in Anatone. In the middle of the night, more than one hundred men donned masks and rode their horses down the hill to Asotin. They overpowered the jail guards and dragged the attacker out of his cell and down the street. After confessing his crime to the crowd, Mr. Hamilton was hung until he was dead. The men were all masked, so it's not known if young Clifford or any of his family members participated. The coroner's inquest concluded that the man was killed by "persons unknown".

The road from Anatone to Asotin.

The view of Asotin coming in from Anatone.

The population of Anatone was roughly 300 people at the turn of the century, and the precinct covered a wide area of land. It is very possible that an Aplington relative was a part of the lynch mob that dark August night. Because of Clifford's testimony, it's certain that he was in the Asotin crowd that gathered after the girl's death with other family members who would have accompanied him. This atrocity happened to a child in their community and the outrage was palpable. Though the murderer would have faced punishment by law, to these men, it was much too personal. Like young Clifford, they felt responsible for the safety of their families and, therefore, justified in their actions.

Cliff Aplington, near Asotin, WA about 1920.

After serving his country in the first World War, Cliff married and started a family of his own. He and his wife had four daughters. He remained fiercely protective of them until his death in 1965.

All photos courtesy of my cousin Rene Rodgers.