The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-12-01
Seized by an Angry Mob and
Hurried Away to his Death.
From the = Paul Pioneer Press.

The Jail a. Dur4ai-s common two
story frame house. with iron grating,
a. the windows and wooIe ones inside
a t.uisy. insecure sJructure-sCands on
4 ilttie EN- neuCe about a block and :
ia [ from tnc Cou-t House, and the
AFTER IS surrounded 81 a .ar.e yard. In
which are several snall trees and one
large one With 2 projecting I.mb feach-
Ing to the MALLS Of the building. When
reached the yard. Quad a nunosl
Of people therein. AL talking about
f Maxwell ana al waiting patiently.
I though It Was far FROM warm and there
was seycl.iinches at snow OF tho ground
fl q sight Of the prisoner wheu he
snoaid pe brolsht out for -. pr.lim.-
say 4car.n- Mos. CT tsoIo gathered
there seemed Ike tones ur !Uub.r-
mes fIos4 o.f % ,9Sn. 4G! tn.r- Is /.
iair sDriukling al women anl chIidreh.
As the minutes passed, the crowd
augmented. and wien > o'clock came
the court room up .talrS-a mall apart
mcnt ut best-was crowded 10 .udocA-
tor. rs Maxwell-cool and collected
- he was yesterday when be landed
from = sAlii IL The midst Of q crowd on
the river bank, and not showing the
f~aiutest trace of nervousnes.-wa, led
through tse aisle between Deputies
Knight and Coleman, the crowd surged
and pushed to get a better sight Of him
aud threats grew from mutterings TO
mcnaces; but he fiuched 10 a whit,
and stood before Justices DWyer ami
Huntington as uncouccrnedly as II he
lad been on the bench and they N the
dock. His eyes roamed a over
the crowd and ! saw his lips move into
s half sneeTing smile.
TO the formal question he pleaded
not guilty, and then told Of the killing
Of the Coleman boys. This was seliv
cred IN a conversational tone, As if it
were j recital Of the most ordinary al
venture; and | could see, as The story
Progressed, that the spectators ~erc
cd.ing nearer and nearer 10 hin. He
has scarcely inished-indeed..l am IN
Ciincd to think ne was about to con
tlnus the story vixen, with i growl
Ike wild beasts, IA dozen men sprang
Gu him. Women shriekcd as the meles
crew greater, and it was impossible to
tell, for a moment, just what was being
dom. The officers made resistance,
but not Il very Determined one and in
less than a minute the prisoner was
dragged through the yelling crowd to
ne door. \ rope had made its appear
ance US If by magic, and when he reach
81 the outer door the moose was round
is neck. caa.h; one glimpse Of his
face is he was going down the stairs.
1t was pale rs marble. but his ewes
IT. .la-aI ,lAFIa ~., a,l 80 iNnI- H.
tokcned the ~autagonizing wish If !
bad but my Winchester and Il second 5
freedom" But arms and freedom
O~mnipotcnce alone could nave given
him then. The crowd, the initiative
naviLg been taken. was wild with pas
sion. Hang him" Choke him"
we're heard on all sides. and if pity was
felt by a single creature, ii was not eX-
pressed.
1t takes minutes to writes this-it
took seconds only to reach a tree. The
end OF the rope was ever the projecting
bou.n n an instant. and Il ShuideriAg
sob went up from the onleokers as the
body of the desperate was jerked into
air, a score Of willing hands tugging at
the other enI of the rope. There were
a lew SpdSLIIO'tlC 1IubSHlS VI n llohCt
hands. the feetwers drawn up once oil
twice, and then the head fell over with
that sickening droop familiar to all who
have witnessed such a death, and al
ways over. The end oil rope was made
fast, the crowd dispersed in the W
some ~ailence that fell after the deed wa
done, and the body, so full af muscula
energy a moment before, swung Il
and fro in the cold wind.
The body was cut down after hang.
ing abou. half an hour, and an inques
was held with the following verdict
/, Game to bis death from falling from
the Court House steps and breakin,
his neck" The body was taken il
charge by the town authorities AM
given a decent burial. -Icic5rdm.
Shame shame, on the towards