Indianola in 1903

The following story comes together with excerpts from both the McCook Tribune and the McCook Republican.

It was Saturday night, May 30, 1903. Lee Jones, the son of a Bartley merchant, and a friend named Barton, headed to Indianola for an evening at Haley's saloon. Lee, 28 years old, was described as a moderate drinker who sometimes played cards for money. On this evening though, Lee was only out for a cold beer and some social time.

The young men met a new acquaintance at Haley's, Charlie McMillen, who worked for Andy Lord in his harness shop. Unknown to Jones, McMillen had been stirring for trouble all day, but his sights were set on Bill Plourd and he had told the town marshal he would "not disturb anyone but Bill" (McCook Tribune, 06/05/1903), a statement that would soon be untrue.

When Haley told the three men that it was 10 o'clock and time to close the saloon, they and Ed Price who had also been in the bar, went out and "stood in front of the building on the sidewalk near the pump. The billiard hall just north of the building was still open and persons standing near heard the men talking." (McCook Republican 06/05/1903)

McMillen, not wanting the evening to end or perhaps hoping to win some money in a friendly card game was pressing Jones and Barton to come up to his room in the Ough Hotel which they repeatedly refused. Barton, offering to give McMillen fistic satisfaction, began removing his coat when McMillen, seemingly friendly, "threw his arm around Jones' neck and said, 'I will show you fellows a game you have never played before.' And suiting the action to the words drew a revolver of 32-calibur from his right hip pocket. He pressed the weapon to Jones' chest and sent a ball through his heart. Jones walked a few steps and fell dead before the neighboring billiard hall." (McCook Tribune)

McMillen then left the scene and entering a stranger's room at the hotel, calmly cleaned his weapon and proclaimed that he had just killed a man. Sheriff Crabtree found him later in his own room at the Ough, and placed him in jail.

At the preliminary hearing, Charles's brother came from Red Cloud with attorney R.T. Potter who joined W. R. Starr at the defense table. Squire Phillips sat as judge, as County Coroner, Joseph Spotts, testified to the fact that Lee Jones "came to his death on the 30th day of May, 1903, by a pistol shot fired by Charles McMillen." (McCook Republican)

Much to G. W. Jones distress, McMillen was confined awaiting trial to the Red Willow County jail in Indianola which G. W., father of murdered man, felt was not a secure enough place to hold the man who had killed his son.

On Sept. 1, 1903, four masked men almost proved his theory to be correct when they broke into the county jail and attempted to blow the locks off the steel cage where Charles and a man named Simpson were being held. Successfully shooting off two of the locks, their efforts were thwarted by the Reverend T. Owens who upon hearing the noise of the shots, and gave the jailer notice. When he arrived at the jail, the four men took off in their buggy, leaving no clue as to who they were or why they were trying to free McMillen.

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