St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-29
AWFUL RETRIBUTION.
Eight Negro Murderers Liter
ally Shot to Pieces by a
Mob.
A Tragedy Without Parallel
in the History Of the
South.
South Carolinians Avenge the
Assassination Of Brown
and Hefferman.
Lame Excuses Offered by a
Committee Of Safety for
the Lynching.

lines lldS IHO IOllOWlDS dccOunG ITOul
Columbia, S. c., of the lynching of
eight negroes at Barnwell this morning:
Three hundred men, with faces masked,
surrounded the jail just at the darkest
hour before the dawn, while the in
mates are sleeping heavily. They move
with caution and as an unorganiZed
body. The jailor is quietly seized and
quickly overpowered. his keys taken
from him. the heavy doors unlocked,
and, before the eight negroes within are
awakened from their sleep, their cells are
filed with strange figures. They are
seized and carried out into the night.
Their cries for mercy. prayers and
curses are alike unheeded by their silent
executioners. The body of men is put
in motion and proceeds quarter of
mile and haltS in the outskirts of the
town. The eight unfortunate wretches
are secured, several hundred shots are
fired, and eight bodies lie On the earth
with blood running from a hundred
wounds
LITERALLY SHOT TO PIECES.
Such was the scene of the terrible
tragedy enacted in the town Of Barn.
well this morning. The most terrible
retribution for a not extraordinary Of
fenSe as the criminal records will prove.
Four years ago five men were lynched
in YOrkville for the brutal murder of
little boy. who caught them stealing.
But they belonged to an organized gang
whose members were sworn to kill
whoever caught them stealing,
and they were believed to have
committed several murders previously.
Their conviction was uncertain, and the
people took the law in their own hands.
But the wholesale lynching of this
morning is without parallel in the rec
Ords of crimes in this state, and there
was less ground for the act than prob
ably any lynching before. 1t is doubt
tul if the country can show a like rec
ord. These eight negroes were
charged with committing and being ac-
ceSSory to the crimes described below.
On the afternoon of Oct. ~ John e.
Hetferman was shot and instantly killed
in restaurant in the town of Barn
well by Ripley Johnston. Hefferman
was one of the principal merchants OF
the town and Johnston was colOred
man employed at that time i'll running
a gin. There had been some trouble
between the white man and the negro
the day before, and although there were
conflicting accounts as to the difficulty,
it is probable that Hefferman
THREATENED THE NEGRO,
for he had been summoned to appear
before the town council the morning
following, and had been put under bond.
The killing took place in restaurant,
where Hefferman had followed John
ston. Five negroes. charged with being
accessories to the crime, and who were
in the restaurant at the time, fed to the
swamp, but were shortly afterwards
captured ami jailed. A large reward
was offered for Ripley Johnston, and
he was captured two weeks later.
OF the two murders for which the men
were lynched this morning, the worst
was committed on last Saturday night,
when Robert Martin, a young man of
great promise, and the only child of two
Old parents. was ambuShed and shot to
death while riding to his fathers house.
1t was about o'clock in the evening.
The young man was within seyenty-t1ve
yards of several negro houses
on the side of the road when
he was fired upon from behind.
The occupants of the houses heard the
gun. and heard the exclamation, "Oh,
my! oh, my! you have killed mel" but
they did not go to the help of the
wounded man. Young Martin was not
missed that night by his parents, as he
was in the habit when reaching home
late to go to his own ROOMS, which were
separated from the rest OF the house.
In the merning a servant noticed the
riderless horse at the gate, rnd find
ing blood on the saddle, gave the
larm and a search was Immediately
begun. The body of the young man
was found on the side OF the
public road within hundred yards of
the houses above mentioned. He had
evidently
LIVED BUT A FEW MINUTES.
Five bullets had entered his back on
either side of the spinal column. Three
had passed through the body, and any
of them would have been a mortal
wound. The young man had not
enemy in the country that
any of his friends knew of,
and the whole community was greatly
excited over his horrible murder. 1t
was subsequently discovered that Mar
tin was shot by party of negroes who
worked on his fathers plantation. and
who the young man kept pretty close to
their work and allowed little license.
1t was also believed that the people
in the house where the murder was
committed knew all about it,
and that was the reason they
would not go to the assistance of
in the town of Barnwell last night that
violence was contemplated. Had there
been whisper of it, the Jail would have
been guarded by troops. As it was, the
town together with the doomed prison.
ers and the jailer, were sleeping. At
this morning the jailer was called by
some men on the outside of the Jail en-
| closure. tie was Informed that a con-
stable had arrested the murderer of
! James z. Brown, a prominent citizen
murdered last week by negroes, and
| that he
WISHED TO LOCK I'M UP.
Suspect ing nothing the jailOr came
down and opened the heavy gate. He
was Immediately seized by dozen men
and OverpOwered, disarmed. and told to
| keep quiet or he would suffer for any
| alarm made. The KEYS were taken
from him. and fifty men entered the
| Jail and took out the following prison
ers: Ripley Johnston and Michael
Adams.t the principal and chief accessory
in the murder Of j. j. Heferman,
| in October last, and Peter
| Bell. Rafe Morrell, Hugh Furse,
| Hudson Johnson, Robert Phoenix and
| Judge Jones, the six negroes charged
| with the assassination of Robert Martin
on Saturday night. They were marched
| to the outskirts of the town, and in q
| few minutes the men were bound TO the
body of eight trees. The masked men
| then formed line short distance from
them and poured volley after vOlley
| into the bodies. Of the negroes.
| Thav vUara shot IN Dinaac The