The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-04-19
TELEGRAPH1C.
STORY OF A CRIME
And the Terrible Fate of the Guilty
Person.
4 Texas Woman Murdered for D.
Meal and Her Murderer
Roasted AIiVe---Particu-
lars of the Crimes.

AUSTIN, Tex, April 80 About twenty
miles from this city, in the village of Lyons,
Mrs. Rebecca Moors, widow with three
children, was brutally murdered Saturday
night and i'll the dawn of Sunday morning an
unknown negro who committed the crime
was burned to a stake by 200 masked men.
The Moors residence lies in the heart of the
village, about twenty yards from the meeting
house. 1t is a small white cottage, with two
wood sheds adjoining At few minutes be
fore midnight Saturday Mrs. Moors was
aroused from sleep by a pounding on the
door Shei asked who was outside, and the
answer came when a heavy form pushed
against the door, which gave way, and a vii
lanous-featured negro was seen.
Mrs Moors screamed, but the intruder
caught her by the wrist and bade her prepare
him a meal Mrs. Moors's two little chill
drcn now came with frightened faces into
the room and stood by their mothers side.
Mrs. Moore said she could not provide the
meal, as she had neither food nor fire.
The negro said nothing, but going to the
woodshed returned with a blunted AK i'll his
hand. The distance was so short between
the buildings tha Mrs. Moors had no time to
flee When the negro returned he found the
door locked and barricaded, but again forced
it open and demanded his meal Mrs. MoorS
begged for her life, saying she had nothing.
The negro looked at the empty cupboard and
with a furious oath declared that the widow
was lying, and while she prayed to him for
her life he smashed in her head with the AK
She fell upon the floor and he hammered her
brains out before the eyes of the Mortified
children.
The screams of Mrs. Moors and the oaths
of the man had aroused the neighbors, and
the minute he had murdered the woman he
ran out of the house, vaulted a back fence,
and disappeared. Within an hour the news
of the crime had spread through the village.
and Il score of armed men started out on the
murderer's trail. Fresh bodies of men joined
the searching parties, and when the negro
was sighted in a clearing at the outskirts
of Fayette county there were 200 men be-
hind him Most OF the men carried
lanterns aud clubs There were six
full-blooded hounds i'll leash with the party,
but they were not loosened, as the vii
layers had d eteTluined to catch the murderer
alive. The negro was captured alive about
twelve miles from Mrs. Moor'S house. The
unanimous verdict was to hang him in the
woods, though some had argued that he be
given to the bioodhounds One man finally
asked that he be brought back to the scene
of the murder. At AS o'clock the negro
was placed before Mrs Moors1 two children.
| The little ones stood on one side of theiI
mothers body, and the negro on the other.
Both children ran away from the negro after
a minutes inspection, crying "He killed
mamma, he killed mamma"
| Let us roast him now, just where he got
| the ak, one man and then another cried, and
the man was pulled and dragged to the wood
| shed He fell upon his knees and cried for
mercy, but his captors paid no more atten.
! ton to him than he had to his victim. Two
| baskets of chips were heaped up at the base
| of a clothes pole in the yard, and the negro
was tied to it. His eyes were white, and his
! screams were heard in every village house
hold Dry pine knots were placed upon the
chip pile, and while the bells i'll the
n neighboring village churches wert
ringing the faggots were lighted The
cries of the burning man were horrible, anC
he asked for two minutes to pray, but the
| mob laughed at him and told him to pray il
| he'll. Many of the colored and white women
Of the village tried to break through the ring
of men around the pole, where flames wert
leaping up, but their husbands drove then
back In an hour there was nothing left Of
the murderer but the vague outline of ;
| human form around the post. The children
will be taken care Of by residents No one
has spoken of an arrest, and the general i'm
preston is that the murderer only received
! his dine