The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-07-02
TERRIBLE RETRIBUTION.
Five Negroes, One of Them a
Woman, Hanged by a
Texas Mob.

Randolph HAZEL, living on the outskirts
of ElkhaIt, Texas, attended a village dance,
saws dispatch from that place His wife.
only twenty-three wears old, had intended
ACCOMPANYING HIM, but ut the last moment
changed her mind and retired with her two
children, telling her husband TO 60 to the
dance and have good time. When Hazell
returned about midnight he entered his
wife's chamber, intending to wake her and
gossip about the dance. He found the two
little children sleeping. but the mother was
gone. Striking light. the hub md soon
discovered that his wife.s clothing was
ali there, and, finding the front door
unlocked, he at once surmlsed
the truth He ran to town. gathered half
dozen of his friends, and began a search.
Near the doorway of his resi- thence, in the
soft mud. were visible the tracks of two
men with large, broad feet. Between these
tracks was the delicate imprint OF
womans foot When the poor husband
saw this he fell on his knees and asked
God to kill him. He knew what the tracks
meant. Dogs were quickly given the scent,
and at 2 o'clock in the morning, through
the aid Of the animals, the body OF Mrs.
HAZEL was found about mile from the
house, and only. twenty-five yards from
the main road. She was nude and lying
upon her face. The jugular vein had been
severed with a common knife. Along
her cheeks were visible great gashes made
with dull knife, and around her neck was
dark, black circle, as though she had been
hanged Near the body was found pair
Of mems drawers, and 800 yards away waE
found mans undershirt. As soon as tho
Sheriff arrived from Palestine, some twelve
miles distant o rigid examination was COM
menced. Over twenty negroes were i'm
mediately arrested and examined. The body
OF the dead woman revealed the fact
that she had been repeatedly out
ragged The theory of the officers
was that after ourraging the woman the
fends fearing they had been recog-
MED. determined 10 kill her. After MUIR
dering her they attached rope around her
neck and dragged the corpse about one
eighth of a mile. All this took place with
In a few yards of public road about IL
o'clock at night. Over hundred persons
travelled the road that same night. In the
house of Andy jackson, a negro near by,
was found a rope clotted with blood and
hair, and also white sheet with q woman'9
footprint upon it. Andy jackson, Frank
Hayes, Sam Collins, George Henry, Will
lam Rogers, and many other negroes were
arrested
The following day the Coroner began an
investigation. which was in progress until
midnight. The prisoners Were in large
vacant store-room. which was heavily
guarded by tweaty Deputy Sheriffs. Dur
ing the progress Of the inquest Mt one
place in the village another examination.
looking to Identification of the guilty
parties, was going ON before Justice Pdrke.
In the Coroners court twelve suspected
negroes were examined separately. In
vestigaton developed the fact that the
negro Andy jackson. near whose house thu
nude body of Mrs. HAZEL was found, had
been refused water out Of the HAZEL well.
II seems that Andy Jackson's wife had
been in the habit of going to the we'll
early drawing water. Fearing prolonged
drought recently Mrs. HAZEL objected
to Jackson's using SO much water. This
cost the poor woman her life. In her
examination before Justice Parke, Mrs.
jackson partially admitted that she had
threatened to kill Mrs. Hazell but stub
bornly refused to divulge al she knew. Her
young daughter, Lizzie jackson. was finally
sworn and after a little coaxIngand threatens
ing she confessed what she knew about the
crime. 1t was almost midnight when she
tod the awful story. She said her mother,
whose name was also Lizzie, and her father,
Andy Jackson, Matched the plot to murder
Mrs. Hazel. Leaning that HAZEL would
attend dance, her father went out, and re-
turned with three colored men, named
Frank Hayes. Joe Norman, and William
Rogers. These men and her father, Lizzie
said, committed the crime.
At this point Lizzie's mother was brought
in and confronted with her daughters con-
fession. The mother broke down and
supplemented the confession with sicken-
ing details. She said she accompanied the
men to Mrs. Hazell's house, and showed
them where her bed stood. After they had
carried their victim some distance from the
house they threw her on the ground. and
while Andy Jackson held pistol at her
head each OF the other three brutes out
ragged the poor victim. Mrs. Jackson con-
fessed that she stood by and saw the out
RACES perpetrated. after this said the
black woman, we killed her and dragged
her body to the place where it was found"
AS soon as the Coroners jury learned of
the confessions they Immediately returned
verdict in accordance with the same. At
] o'clock next morning the verdict was gen.
orally known on the streets, and squads of
waiting white men began 10 form into COM
panies. All day and night teams from the
country had been arriving. bringing men
with long guns. At 2 o'clock fully SOC
were in line. Not single negro was TO he
seen anywhere. The mob marched to tho
storeroom where the prisoners were con-
fined At first the Deputy Sheriffs were
inclined TO show fight. when the leader
notified them that il was useless. I'VE
will kill every one of YOU, IL it is necessary.
in order to hang those brutes." said the
leader. That settled it. The mob came in
and picked out the negroes above named.
including Andy Jackson and his wife Liz
zie. With their FIVE victims the mob
marched about n mile, until near the very
spot where the murder and Outrage were
committed. There, near negro church.
on the limbs of big tree the five brutes
were strung up. They were asked no ques-
tons, and given no time TO pray. 1t seemed
as though the mob could not get them
hanged quick enough.