The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-06-30
JoHN BowEN cApruREp.
A Long and Tiresome Chase-An Interview
With Him-what He Says of the At


With Him-What He Says Of the At
tempted Lynching.
The Westminster correspondent of the
| Baltimore Sun, under date of June "a, says :
Deputy sheriff Tyler arrived on the > p. M
train yesterday, having in custody John
Bowen, colored, who escaped from lynch
ing party at Union Bridge, Carroll county, on
June 10. He was met in Union Bridge by
Israel Zeiber, former deputy sheriff, Of this
| place, who returned with them to Westmin-
ster. The news of Bowen's capture spread
rapidly, and quite crowd gathered at the
depot here. There was no excitement and no
demonstration Of any kind. Bowen was
taken to the Jail in closed carriage and
placed in charge of the sheriff. Deputy Tyler
has been in search of him since Thursday, and
followed him from Emmitsburg to Green
castle, Pa, and captured him yesterday
morning sitting on fence near that place.
Bowen offered no resistance, but asked pro-
lection. While passing through Union Bridge
very few persons knew of the arrest, and
there were not many at the depot. Every
| thing is quiet and no excitement whatever.
Bowen is charged with brutally assaulting a
colored woman and blind colored man.
He is about FIVE feet eight inches in height,
medium dark, with high receding forehead,
prominent lower jaw and thick lips, and
wears a constant smile on his countenance.
| He is said to be man of considerable cour-
age, but had some dread of passing through
Union Bridge, where he thought crowd
might attack him while he was handcuffed
and defenseless. He appears to be greatly
relieved now that he is in the custody of the
sheriff and has the thick walls of the Jail
around him. His counsel, Mr.. |. E. Pear
son, found it hard to convince him that there
was danger to him in his giving bail and going
at large. why" said he, they cannot
hang me after give bail, can they? There
is no law for that" ''Yes," replied his
counsel, ''they might hang you without any
law ''Oh, no. said Bowen, "they can't
hang me without law" He evidently thought
that the hanging at Union Bridge was by
authority of the law.
In an interview held with Bowen to-day he
made the following statement: Il was in
Westminster on Thursday, the 18th, TO con-
suit Mr.. /. Z. Pearson who, advised me to go
back to Union Bridge and give bail. Ididso,
and went back on the $40 p. M, train and
went direct to Mr.. Calvin VENTS saloon to
get him to go my bail. While there Constable
Repp with crowd came down and with
drawn pistols arrested me. ] never resisted
an officer, and would never do SO. | was al
ways anxious to give myself up if would be
protected, but after my first arrest the officers
took so little pains to save me from the mob
that considered my life would be eudanger
ed if l surrendered to the officers. Constable
Repp put me in the lookup. About one
O'Clock that night | heard the mob at the
door, and was terribly frightened. Old man
Mibury, father of the girl, had rope.
There were two or three 'coons' and large
crowd of whites. | recognized all, and can
give their names. They said they were going
TO hang me. l said: Men, this is cowardly
give me chance; | am an innocent man.
but they would not listen. They put a rope
around my neck and choked me so | could
hardly breathe Milbury called out to the
crowd, Are you all ready out there? and
voice | recognized replied, Yes, bring him
out None of the crowd at first wore masks,
but afterwards some Of them put handker-
chiefs over their faces, so the people OF the
town could not recognize them. | resisted
all | could, but they had the rope around my
neck and were too many for me. They put
me in a wagon and took me out to the tree.
l struggled and begged all the time, but to
no avail. All the way | could hear the men
swearing at me and urging those in charge of
me to hurry up. When they reached the
tree, which stands in a field belonging to Mr..
Granville Haines, near the town, most of the
crowd drew back few steps and stood on
one side. Two or three others threw the
rope over limb. While they were getting
ready they forgot in their hurry to tie my
hands, and as they prepared to draw me up
| slipped my thumbs under the moose, and
quick as u flash darted away from them, tax
ing the crowd entirely by surprise. They
never had me off my feet at all, and the story
that asked time to pray was not true.
could tell from the manner and conversation
of the men that they were in dead earnest,
and would not give me time for anything,
and would never have let me down after once
drawing me up. They were all greatly excl
ted. There is a great feeling of spite against
me in Union Bridge by some people, and
they urged the men who had me in charge to
hurry up the job. They made mistake in
not tying my hands, but | suppose they were
so much excited they forgot to do it. 1t is
all lie about my talking to people and max
ing threats of burning the town and killing
people, am not revengeful, and don't want
! to be reveuged; only if / am to be punished
for breaking the law, the Union Bridge peo-
pie ought to be treated the same way. They
tried to kill me, and did not hurt any of
them, and they are guiltier than | would be
even if | had done what they accuse me Of
DOING
Bowen gave his counsel the names of the
people who, he says, tried to lynch him, bat
refuses to make them public and says he does
not want them punished. He says they were
excited and he does not believe they would
harm him after their anger cools off little.
He persistently denies having assaulted Ida
Milbury and her blind companion, Jones,
both of whom have recovered.