Jim Kershner’s This day in history » On the Web: spokesman.com/topics/local-history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The state of Idaho offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the masked mob that broke into a Grangeville jail on Sept. 1, 1911, and pumped 11 bullets into an alleged wife-beater.

The governor, in announcing the reward, said it was the first time in 12 years that “Idaho has been disgraced by lynching a suspected criminal.” He said such mob action cannot be “excused or condoned.”

Meanwhile, the sheriff of Idaho County said he had “absolutely no clues” in the case, because the mob took so much care to conceal themselves.

From the money beat: Spokane police checked the pockets of a larceny suspect and found eight counterfeit quarters. That led them to an alarming discovery: a counterfeit den in Peaceful Valley.

Police searched through the ashes of an old stove and discovered the molds – or dies – for coins ranging from nickels to quarters. Police said they appeared to be of expert manufacture.

Three men were arrested, including a “French cook” who was living in the house.

Also on this date

From the Associated Press

1976: America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet’s surface.