The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-06-06


John Knott, an industrious laborer, with
his wife and little thirteen months-old child,
lives in small two-story frame house on the
land of Mai James II. Steele, between Mt.
Airy and Watersville, about two miles from
the former place, in the lower part of Carroll.
Mr.. Knott works for his father, mile or so
away. and was engaged there on Saturday
last. About four O. clock in the afternoon
Townsend Cook, colored man, with club,
surprised Mrs. Knott by pushing the back
door open and walking in. He asked Mrs.
Knott for something to eat, and she gave
him two rolls. He next asked for drink,
and he was given tin cup and told he could
90 to the spring. In an instant the bread and
cup were thrown down on the floor, and Cook
had dealt Mrs. Knott a terrible blow on the
head with the club. She was knocked sense
less to the floor. When she recovered she real
lied that she had been outraged by the brute.
When he got up to go he said: Must |
kill your She said, For the Lord S sake don't
kill mel He said he would kill her if she told
on him, and after asking her how to go to the
railroad he left, going out the way he came.
she at once went to the house of Mr.. Pinkney
Davis and told him what had been done.
Acting upon the description given by Mrs.
Knott, Mr.. Davis and Constable Philip Del
trick found Cook at the home Of his mother,
on the farm of Justice George A. Davis. He
stoutly denied having been at Mrs. Knott's.
He was taken to her house by Justice Davis
and the constable, where Mrs. Knott identi-
fed him by a small protuberance or wart on
the lid of the right eye. Cook told a story of
his whereabouts during the afternoon, but
upon investigation it was found to be almost
wholly untrue Justice Davis heard the evil
dence in the case in the house of Mrs. Knott
in the presence of herself and husband, the
prisoner and number of residents of the
neighborhood. Several demanded that Cook
should be lynched on the spot, but this was
not done, and the justice was permitted to
commit him for the action of the Carroll
county authorities. Constable Deitrck, Pink
ney Davis, Thomas Hatfield and Emanuel
Crawford took Cook in charge, and he was
kept all night at Mr.. Davis's house, a few
hundred yards from the home of the Knots.
About daylight Sunday Cook was removed to
Constable Deitrick's house, near Mt. Airy,
where he was given breakfast, and then trans
ferred to the Jail here, arriving about 10
o'clock.
Had the officers started to bring their pris-
oner here Saturday night, Cook would have
never seen the inside of the Jail. A party ofde-
termined men waited on the Westminster
road for him from clock until o'clock
Sunday morning, in a drenching rain. and
only dispersed when daylight appeared.
They intended to lynch Cook without much
ceremony.
DIR. B. H. Todd attended Mrs Knott. He
said she had received very severe blow on
the left side of the head, causing confusion,
and sufficient to stun her for awhile. He
found the muscles of the neck severely strained
from choking, and the neck discolored by the
mans fingers There were also other evil
dences of the man having accomplished his
purpose.
When the negro was brought here on Sun
day morning last, rumors of lynching were
current. but as nothing of the kind was at
tempted at Mount Airey, no importance was
attached to this talk. Again, Monday after
noon, reports of an intended attack on the
Jail were circulated, but still no credence was
given to them. The citizens were abed at the
usual hour except Bailif Zeiber, Constable
Macintosh and a few others. Sheriff
Shower remained up until midnight, when he
too retired. About half past twelve clock,
some fifty horseman entered the city by LIB
erty street from the direction of Mount Airy.
They proceeded to Main street, thence to
/ Centre, where a portion of them turned down
to the jail, while others went on to the prison
by way of Court street. All hands waited IN
| front of the Jail and at once threw out guards
to prevent any interference on the part of the
authorities. Sheriff Shower was apprised of
their approach by a messenger before they
reached the jail and sent for Attorney General
Roberts, who lives close by. Mr.. Roberts
hurried out, but had not gone far before he
was ordered to halt. He attempted to keep
on. when four men advanced towards him and
presented four cooked pistols at his head,
the muzzle ofone almost pressing against his
neck. 1493t4at
'Are you friend or foe" inquired one of
! them.
'sYou know me, gentlemen, he replied,
~ am Mr. Roberts, the Attorney General of
MARYLAND, and it is of no use to point your
pistols at me-.
Mr. Roberts demonstrated against the pro-
ceedings, but the iynchers had captured their
4 man and carried him off. After a short de-
lay they permitted him to pass on, and
he went to the Jail, where he found five men
OBTAINING Sheriff Shower until the captors
| could make good their escape.
''Gentlemen, exclaimed Mr.. Roberts, for
| Gods sake don't do this. The prisoner is in
| Jail and | will see that he is tried, and if
guilty punished Trust it to me, and do not
do any violence. have just been to Annap-
/ oils in the Cooper case, and will see justice
| done In all such cases"
'tYes,'' said the men, "and you found
| counsel there defending Cooper. We have
got our man and we are going to hang him
/ ourselves. We must make an example OF him
/ to protect our wives, sisters and daughters
| from such brutes."
/ Mr.. Roberts saw that the men were deter
mined from the GOODNESS with which they
were conducting their proceedings and re-
tired from the scene. Before he went, how
ever, the lynchers referred to another case IN
which rape was attempted at Poplar Springs
! in Howard county, and again said that Cook
must be made an example OF.
Before Attorney General Roberts arrived
at the Jail, three men rode up and dismOunted.
| They raped at the door and Sheriff Shower
raised the window and asked who they were
and what they wanted.
1--WE want to get in, was the reply.
4 81 cannot allow you to enter the Jail, said
/ the sheriff in decided tones.
/ They then said that they would not harm
him fthe sheriff. nor disturb his family, but
that they intended to take Cook.
| The sheriff still refusing, one of the three
men drew whistle from his pocket and blew
a shril blast, and the lynchers advanced to
the Jail.
''He won't let us in, boys exclaimed the
man who had given the signal.
''We must get in ourselves then, replied
4 several of the party.
Three heavy rails were then procured from
a neighboring fence, and with these the doors
were soon battered down. The men made 6
rush for the opening and five men soon had
the sheriff in their grasp,
He struggled manfqlly with his captors, and
in his struggle tore off the mask of one of the
lynchers. He was warned that repetition
of this would not beisafe for him.
The other lynchers in the meantime hunt
ed about until they found the keys. They
unlocked the door of the prison portion of the
building. A pistol ball was fired into Cooks
cell, but it did not hit him. The firing was
probably only intended to intimidate the pris
/ oner. The cell was quickly opened and Cool
was dragged out on the porch where a ropt
was placed about his neck. Then he was pu
in wagon and driven rapidly off
The lynchers quietly left town and proceeded
to the limestone quarFies of fhos. Stevenson
about two miles off.
On reaching thee they lynehed Cook, sus-
pending him from a limb of a large white
oak tree. As to the particulars at the lynch
ing no one knows single incident, excep
those engaged, and of course they have no
divulged any. The daily papers of Balti
more, except the Neics, doctored and added
to the reports of the local correspondents
and inserted matters gathered by special re
porters at other points, until they were un
reliable to some extent and sensational to 8
great degree. The reflection on the sheriff
and authorities in the american report, 70
lack of preparation to guard the prisoner, wa