A Cruel Murder and Vigilante Retribution
Tom Kerr had long carried the dark reputation of a desperate man across western territories. Having fled Montana to evade vigilante justice, he later killed a man in San Luis Obispo, California, while working for Henry Francis. Altogether he had killed at least six men.
As soon as Kerr was let up he reached for his six-shooter. He told Hartnett "You will never have another row" and then shot him, bringing Hartnett down to one knee. While Hartnett was down on one knee Kerr shot him 3 more times and then hit him 7 times over the head with his revolver. Hartnett never spoke after the first shot and quickly died.
The Miners' Court
The Sycamore Tree
Miners from across Pioneer camp assembled an impromptu twelve-man jury to try the killer without delay. Witnesses were summoned and testimony was heard by the vigilante jury. After a short deliberation the jury returned a verdict of guilty.
At one o'clock on the morning of December 26, Kerr was escorted to Nicholson's bar and allowed his last drink of whiskey. The grim procession then marched through the night to a sycamore tree near the blacksmith shop. Just before Tom Kerr was hung he told the vigilantes that "they were acting as men should do who wished to preserve the peace of the community." Before they put the noose around his neck Kerr asked the men of the camp to send a letter to his mother. Then he asked that he not die with his boots on and had them removed. Reports say that just before he died he joked about it being Christmas and said "Here comes Tom Kerr's Christmas gift to the devil".
Late on Christmas evening, an altercation arose between Kerr and William Hartnett in a saloon at the mining town of Pioneer over the ownership of a horse. The two men scuffled in the saloon. Eventually Kerr cried out that he had had enough. Hartnett let Kerr get up.
