The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-03-01
The Work Of Lynchers Upon the Lives Of
Negroes.

buo WhViesdle iynchinB WHICH OccurIeu III
this quiet little town Friday night. The
crime for which these negroes were lynch
cd was the brutal murder of bachelor
farmer named Laprade, who lived alone on
his farm near Sadlersville, Robinson coun-
ty, about mile away from any neighbor,
He lived a sort of hermit life, eccentric,
opposed to the shedding of blood and keeps
no animals or fowls on his premises. His
neighbors inferred that he had money
The report was current that he and his
two brothers had fallen heirs to SO, 900
few days before the murder. A party of
nine negroes went to his house on the
night of September g. 1880. Going in
the rear of his dwelling, one of them
knocked at the door, and, initiating the
voice of Laprade's brother, asked admis-
sion. Laprade opened the door without
thought of harm.
The nine black flends rushed in upon
him, knocked him down and then demand
ed his money. He gave them IS, saying
that was all he had. This but enraged his
assailants. Throwing rope around his
neck they dragged him around his grounds
hanged him to the limb of tree repeated
ly until he was almost unconscious, singed
his body with torches and lacerated and
mutilated him with knives i'll the endeavor
to compel him to admit that he had con-
cealed money, but always with the same
result
Finally made desperate by their repeated
failures to extort from him the place Of
concealment of his supposed wealth, the
demons proceeded to still more inhuman
tortures. With the rope he was dragged
about the yard, and nameless outrages
were committed upon his person. Finally,
his legs were cut and hacked, and the ten
dons torn from their places from the knee
down. Then his skull was crushed with
an axe, after which the body was hid un-
der some bushes in neighboring thicket.
Two nights later two of them carried
the body to sink hole twenty feet deep,
where it was found two weeks afterward
through the agency of an alleged "fortune
teller" She told man named David
Allen how the crime was committed, and
that the body had been thrown into the
sink hole where it was found. This woman,
who was considered sort of witch in the
neighborhood, had evidently been told by
some of the negroes what they had done.
The discovery of the murder caused in
tense excitement throughout the adj AGENT
neighborhood, and threats of lynching
were freely made against the murderers so
soon as they should be apprehended. Sus-
picion fell upon Jim Higgins, and after be-
ng imprisoned some dayshe made confess
sion duplicating his associates, who were
arrested. Higgins, who was an old negro
was taken out and his feet burned until,
in his agony, he is said to have given the
details of the Laprade murder. The pris.
oners, including Higgins were brought to
the Nashville Jail. Higgins had one of
his feet amputated and subsequently died
in Jail,
Four nights after extorting the confess
sion from Higgins, namely-on the night
of September 1.-two of the murderers
Bell and Jameson were taken from the
Springfield Jail and lynched. On the same
night white man named Ramsey was
shot to death in his cell. He had been
confined for shooting Miss Holt, whom he
began to persecute on account of her en-
gagement with another person.
After this summary vengeance had been
wreaked upon these culprits things quieted
down somewhat, but there was an under
current of dark forbodings which betoken-
ed no good to the remaining pr isoners.
The work of lynching the colored MUIR
derers was resumed on Friday night. The
trial of the prisoners had been in progress
all day and in the evening it had reached a
termination in the charge of Judge Strake
to the jury. The five murderers, James
Elder, Loch Mallory, Lun Stell, Robert
Thweat and another man whose name has
not been ascertained were delivered to the
custody of the sheriff and that official pre-
pared to start to Jail with them. Bill Muir
ply and Anthony Duffy, who had testified
for the state, were set at liberty and it is
thought that their release led to the terri
bic tragedy. AS the sheriff departed with
his prisoners he was met at the door by an
infuriated mob who, presenting pistols at
his head, rushed upon him and took the
trembling prisoners from him. Attorney
General Bell tried to collect posse to re-
sist the mob, but failed and was compelled
to make his exit through a window.
The mob ordered all the lights out, fired
a reoular fusilade of shots To intimidate