The argument resulted in a struggle and Frog bested Harg, but then all three men retrieved their rifles and in the shooting Harg was killed. The Indians did not recognize self-defense as justification so Frog and Wolf were arrested and charged with his murder. The law required that Harg’s death be avenged so that the families would not feud, which could result in the deaths of tribal members for generations to come. The trial of Frog and Wolf commenced within days and “it was marked with great deliberations and it was Wednesday before it closed.

All the testimony relative to the killing was taken and then came those interested who had a right to influence the council. First came relatives of the dead man who told how the widow and children were without support; how Harg had been a good man to them and how the tribe had lost a valuable member. Then came the friends of the accused who argued that no good would come from taking two men from the tribe. They, too, had wives and children who would suffer and the tribe would have to care for them.

The hearing adjourned after the council announced that their decision would be pronounced on July 22, and the prisoners were remanded to the custody of the Light Horse Brigade. On the day that the decision was to be rendered the council gathered in the stockade surrounding the courthouse and met behind closed doors. They began to discuss the matter and, though they resolved all issues in minutes, they remained sequestered so that the decision would not seem hasty. In seven hours the council emerged and the old chief announced, “Let all be silent that they may hear the decree of the council. Blood has flowed from the body of Harg. The widow and children cry for food and there is none to give them. Death came through John Frog and Jackson Wolf, and it is our thought there was no cause for the shedding of blood. Now this is our decree: When the sun shall kiss the death rock on the sixth morning, then shall John Frog and Jackson Wolf pay the debt by giving their lives into the family of Harg, that they may wipe out the stain, for our fathers have said it, that blood must be wiped out by blood. And to the widow and children of the murdered man shall be given the substance of John Frog and Jackson Wolf sufficient to keep them from want for one year. It is so decreed.” The two condemned man were kept under a heavy guard by the Light Horse Brigade and the captain was held responsible for delivering them to the place of their death on July 28, 1891.

 On the final morning the two prisoners were aroused at daybreak as drums began to beat in the village, and they were brought their last meal. After breakfast they were escorted into the stockade, a fifteen foot high enclosure built of heavy logs. A dozen feet from the eastern side was a large rock semi-circular in shape, known as the “death rock” because all executions since 1866 had taken place there. The huge rock, which had been buried deep except for two feet above ground, was so situated within the enclosure that the sun would not strike it until 11:00 a.m. Already gathered in the enclosure were the families of the murdered man and the families of John Frog and Jackson Wolf, as well as the entire company of fifty men consisting of the council, a few invited guests, and the Light Horse Brigade.

The prisoners’ bonds were removed and they were allowed to mingle among those in the enclosure, and they moved about chatting in what seemed more a holiday atmosphere than their last moments before death. The rock was avoided by everyone until the hour neared and the two men began to wend their way among the people, saying their final farewells, and drawing ever nearer the rock. The family of Harg then withdrew from the rest of the witnesses and cast lots among themselves as to who would avenge the death of Harg. Once this was decided the two condemned men walked to the rock singing their death songs, first in a low tone but increasingly louder until those outside could hear them and know the hour was near.

The two condemned men walked side-by-side and then sat upon the rock nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. They folded their arms and, without the slightest sign of fear, looked toward the family of Harg. Six men, armed with rifles, stepped out and took their places ten yards in front of Frog and Wolf. The Captain of the Light Horse Brigade then stepped forward and blindfolded the two condemned men, stepped away, and ordered “Fire!” All six rifles reported and the two condemned men lurched forward and lay on the ground, perfectly still. On examination it was determined that the condemned men had died instantly. The bodies were collected and “the decree of the council had wiped out all blood feud between the families, and the whole tribe united in the ceremonies attendant upon the burial, as if they had died in battle.”

 Fort Wayne Gazette [IN]: August 6, 1891. The Arizona Republican [Phoenix]: August 8, 1891. The Indiana Progress [PA]: August 12, 1891. Weekly Wisconsin [Milwaukee]: December 13, 1891.