Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-10-21

Inc croWu OIL derkies steadily increased
IN numbers, aud they became more and more
tumultuous. Sheriff sapp saw that trouble
was brewing, and that his own life was In
imminent peril, for the negroes were already
beginning to make threats and talk of re-
venge, saying that they had four men to
one white man, and II they didn't take the
advantage OF it they ought to have their
ID throats cut.
Mr.. Sapp therefore went out of town and
remained away for several hours, for they
were threatening to kill him, and doubtless
would have done so had be not left when he
did. The crowd grew larger and larger;
the negroes became more. and more bolster
Gus; the spark soon kindled into a fame
that threstened every minute to burst forth
like a fiery demon. The dead body of Jake
Terrapin was removed to the platform in
front of Sheriff Sapp's sore, on County
Road street, where q riotous mob rapidly
gathered around it. The fury increased.
There were loud cries for revenge because a
colored man had been killed. A mob
caught Hsrrell, the Deputy Marshal,
near the post office, cut him severely with
their knives, and would certainly have
butchered him had not Mr.. James Q. Har-
ward, worthy young white man OF Cech-
ran, who happened to be in Eastman that
day, passed by just at that untimely mo-
ment. BY some means or other the atten-
ton OF the mob was directed to him, and
they were made to believe that he was the
Marshal, and that they had the wrong man,
as it seems that It was the Marshal and his
deputy they wanted to kill. They imme-
diatelY let Harrell 90 and went like
so many bloodthirsty madmen after
Mr.. Harvard, chasing him several hun
dred yards with knives, clubs, brickbats,
hatchets, pistols, etc, yelling aud shooting
and swearing vengeance every step of the
way. Weary and breathless Mr.. Harvard
AZ length reached the residence of Mr.. w.
w. Harrel, on Fifth avenue, and rushing
into the yard he ran under the house, feeling
that he had found there citadel of safety
| for be could not believe the brutes in
human form would violate the sanctity of
the private home of a citizen who not only
had absolutely nothing to do with the kill
| ing of their fellow creature, but at that time
did not even know anything about the cir.
cumstanees Of the killing.
But here language is inadequate to pic
| ture what occurred. The scene fairly
beggars description. An infuriated mob
OF two or three hundred colored people
surrounded the premises. Flendish yells,
| terrible oaths, and, as witnesses afterwards
swore, 1t seemed as though the discharge of
thousand pistols filed the afr. Sticks and
| palings torn from the fence were waved in
the air, brickbats were hurled into the hall
| way; the blades of knives and raZors glisten-
| and under the house; the gate and fence
were pulled down. The mob demanded en-
| trance into the house, but Mr.. Harrell and
| his grandson, w. B. Daniel, stood at the
| gate and told them they had no right to en-
ter his premises, and they must not do so.
Then they threatened Mr.. HarrelI and Mr..
| Daniel, and swore they would 90 in: that
the Marshal was in there and they intended
to have him out or burn the house.
| The cursing grew louder and was accom- J.
panied by deafening shouts of "Burn the
housel We will have him! Kill himp'
| After awhile several white men came up and
| did all in their power to quiet the disturb
ance and pscifY the mob by reasoning with
| them and assuring them of assistance in an
pretending the guilty party, If a crime had
| been committed; and when they seemed
| ABOUT to succeed in restoring quiet and
| order, negro wench by the name of Ella
| Moore, the veriest devil in the crowd, would
again arouse the passions of the mob and
incite-" them on In their murder
GUS enterprise by her wild gestures
| my SISTERS child Kill him! Kill himn
Then another awful shout like the war
whOoP of the wild savage of the forest
would rend the air: "D- him. .We'll have
him! BE killed one of our color! XIII
him! XII any white mani Burn the house
Bdrn the ID town."
Illus Ii COubluu6u LOT Inc space OF nall
| an hour or more. Nothing like 1t was ever
| seen in Eastman nor elsewhere In all this
section. The few white gentlemen present
urged the negroes to get an officer and have
the man they were after arrested and
brought to justice in the courts. They
would not listen TO this advice, but cursed
the courts and swore that there was no
Georgia, and they would make
a Law for themselves. Blood was what they
wsnted-the blood of any white man-and
blood they would have and did have, and
| innocent blood at that, for Mr.. Harvard had
no more 10 do with the killing of Jake Ter
rapin than If he had been thousand miles
away, and had never heard that there was
such parsonage in existence. But finally,
when Mr.. Harrell had said and done all he
could. and still saw that the negroes were
determined to go in or else kill him aud
burn his house, he told them II .heY would
select from their number five good, sober
men, these five might 90 In and search
the house, but he did not want the wheie
crowd to go in and tear up his house,
and run over his wife and daughter. AT
first they refused to accept this proposition,
because they pretended to believe there was
somebody hid in there to shoot them. They
agreed at length, however, to the PROPOSE
ton, but here a new difficulty arose. They
could not centre upon what five should be
selected. Squads of five here and there
throughout the crowd were presented as
the ones selected. They claimed at last to
have consolidated upon FIVE, but when these
reached the door they turned around, ut
tered an oath, and called to the others:
"Come on, boysip In much less time than
It takes to write It, the halls and rooms were
ileds Sith mad cannibals in quest OF help
less young man 10 quench their insatiate
thirst for human blood. They commanded
Mra 70 A.
ing that their victim was In those "little
rooms.n She could not produce the keys
and open the doors quick enough, aud some
OF the mob were on the eve of breaking
them open with an axe, when some one 10
the hall cried, "Here's the ID rascal ~
for Mr.. Harvard had gone under the house
and entered from the rear. The entire mob
made precipitate rush for the spot from
whence the cry came, and, seizlng Mr.. Har-
ward, they dragged him into the room Of
Mr.. Harrell's daughter, Mrs. Daniel, to mur-
der him. The poor fellow fell upon his
knees, pleading his innocence and begging
them for Gods sake to spare his life. Jor-
dan Smith, colored man, recognized
and caught Mr.. Harvard in his
to harm him, saying, "He is an. innocent
man; / have known him all his life, and
almost raised the boy" But these earnest
entreattes were needed not, and Jordan was
even accused of taking sides with the
whites, and his fellows threatened to kill
him, too, II he dared to interfere They
snatched the poor unfortunate and innocent
victim from the arms of his would-be pre-
server. dragged him to the hall door, and
one OF the crowd-which one no witness has
ever been able to identify-plsced a pistol
to his cheek and fred the fatal shot Then
he was dragged on just outside the gate,
where the brutal butchery was completed by
beating him over the head with sticks
aud cudgels. The wretch, Ella Moore.
came up, and with blood curdling osths
rolling from her tongue, displayed her
venom by brandishing a razor over the
bleeding form which, in few moments
more, was mangled corpse. All, It was a
most horrible affair, unsurpassed in its
atrocity. It is due to the colored people,
however, to say that there were some pres
ent who endeavored to prevent the riot
The chief fnstigstors, and those whose
hands were dyed the deepest in their foul
murder, were negroes imported from Vir-
ginia and the Oarolinas. Our resident
colored citizens had little or nothing to do
with the deplorable outrage.
When the crowd dispersed the news began
to spread like wild fire over the town and
surrounding country, and the people com.
menced organizing themselves for the pur-
pose of arresting all who could be identified
as having participated In the awful murder
of an unoffending visitor to our town. The
citizens Of Hswkinsville, Cochran, McRae
and other places, as soon as they received
the sad news, volunteered to assist In the
work Of bringing the guilty parties to JUS
tice. In week or two more than twenty
were arrested and lodged In jail, with q
strong guard around it to insure their safe