The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-09-12
M0RGANTON MURDERERS
TAKEN FROM JAIL. by A MOB
OF MASKED MEN
And Hanged From "a Bridge With
in Sight of the TOwn-FrankIin
Stack and David Boone the VIC
tIIns-A Great Sensation.

tims-A Great Sensation.
The sun had scarcely risen above the
eastern hills of Morganton when passen-
ger train No. so over the Western North
Carolina road dashed into the station
yesterday morning. The mist and fog
was hanging heavily over the place and
Il larger number of people were astir than
is usually the case about the quiet little
town, forty miles to the eastward of us.
Something had happened, or was about
to happen, and passengers on the train
who occupied the regular coaches were
soon destined to behold a sight that
would cause the yer. blood to runcold in
their veins.
Only few minutes stop is made at
Morganton by trains, and passengers
destined for other stations seldom get
out there. The people they saw scattered
about in groups of three and halt
dozen, here and there. were engaged in
low and earnest conversation, and gen
eral air of solemn mystery seemed to ell
velop the entire surroundings. No ques-
tions were asked by the passengers nor
was there any information volunteered
by the villagers of the terrible punishment
that had been visited upon two desper-
ate criminals in the darkest hours of the
carly morning. A fearful, violent drama
mad been enacted at Morganton and
masked men, rcsolutc and determined,
had been the only spectators of the aw-
ful scenes.
AS the train pulled out the whistles
long and piercing blast reverbcrated |
among the distant hills with weird and |
peculiar intonation, and as the echoes
died away, the railroad bridge was
reached, and here it was, in the still
hours of dead and quiet night, Frank |
Stack and David Boone had fearfuIly ex-
plated the atroCious crimes which soon |
they would have had to answer for in |
open courts ofjustce and organized law
Judge Lynch and his jury had sat upon
their cases, and the verdict had been exc
cuted. A short trial and a short shrift !;
a moment for prayer, and drop into
eternity; Il few cOnvulsive jerks and |
tremors, and all was over.
Suspended from ropes attached to the
timbcrs of the bridge, the bodies OF the two
wrctChes who had rcddened deep their
hands with the blood oftheir fellow men,
were moving SLOWLY to and fro in the
gentle morning breeze. Their features
were terribly distorted, their tongues
the blood had left their lips
and in their eyes were forming little
lakes of red. Their hands and legs were
tightly bound, and the rope about their
necks seemed to have shared in the vio-
lenCe of those who tied its moose, for
deep were the cuts it had made in each OF
the murderers throats. They presented
Il horrible and sickening spectacle, and
no wonder was it that those aboard the
train who beheld the awful scene shud-
Ilered and turned pale at what they
saw.
An hour or two later the bodies were
tut down by order Of the coroner and re-
moved to the hotel piazza in Morganton
where an inquest was held. The verdict
was the same that one has long since be-
come accustomed to look for in conncc-
ton with similar cases to the above
came to their death at the hands of
parties to the jurors unknown" in effect,
somebody did it but we don't know
who, and we can't take the time or trou-
bic to find out"
The mob that lynched the two miscre-
ants numbered about one hundred and
fifty men, all heavily masked and dis
Iuised. The jail, which had previously
been strongly guarded, was broken into
the locks torn from the iron cage, and
Stack and Boone gagged and led out into
The jail yard. The iailcr, who was alone,
was also gagged and bound, and locked
in cell where he could not possibly give
he alarm After this had been accom-
plished the masked men and their victims
went to the railway bridge, where, after
fastening the ropes about their nccks.
Stack and Boone were given five minutes
zach to pray. The wrctches prayed
oudly and tervcntly, calling upon the
to receive their souls; that they
lied believing in Him and His forgive +
ness.
Times up" said the leader of the
Iynchcrs, as the five minutes elapsed,
and in another instant both MUIR
lerers were swinging between heaven
and earth. Their gyrations and con-
tortions were frightful, but did not last
longer than four minutes. Neither Stack
or Boone's neck was broken, both dying
from strangulation. After fully satisfy
ing themselves that both of their victims
were surely dead, the lynchers disbanded
leaving the bodies swinging from the
bridge where the passengers on the early
train saw them yesterday.
Stack and Boone were taken from the
Jail between two and three o'clock in the
The crimes for which the miserable
creatures met with such violent end
yesterday was murder in both cases. On
August 10, Robert Parker, student at
Rutherford college, was shot down in