The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-29
NEGROES.
Eight are Taken From Jail and
Riddled with Bullets.
ESTABLISHING A NEW TOWNSHIP,
and Flames Tell of its LocatiOn-A
Terrible Accident

CHARLESTON, S. c., Dec. ga mob of
several hundred men reached the jail at
Barnwell courthouse at o'clock this
morning, overpowered the jailer and took
out eight negroes charged with murder.
These were Ripley Johnson and Mitchell
Adams. charged with numbering a man
named Hefferman and six others charged
with the murder of young Martin. The
prisoners were taken out of town and shot
to death. The jailer was tied and forced
to accompany the lynchers The whole
thing was conducted in very skilfull
manner, the citizens of the town not know
| ing anything about it. A great many
negroes are collected at tie scene of the
lynching and more trouble is anticipated.
The governor has been appealed to for
troops to preserve the peace.
The following statement, signed by
Robert Aldrich, Mike Brown, George H.
Sales, William McNabe and James A.
jenkins. some of the most prominent and
influential citizens of Barnwell has been
sent to the NelCS and Courier in explanation
of the horrible butchery of defenseless
negroes at that place last night. "On the
Both of October last John H. Hefferman, a
prominent young merchant and public
spirited citizen, was shot down and killed
in Barnwell by negroes. Public indigna-
L
were freely made but Diverted by cooler
counsel. At the last term of court the grand
jury found true bills against the murderers
and accessories. The trial was continued.
while the people were disappointed and the
negroes, it is thought, were emboldened by
this disposition of matteas. On the 10Th
of December James Brown, prominent
leader and leading citizen of Fish Pont
township was shot to death on his own
hu without eli nh
justification or excuse. The murderer has
not been arrested. On the 18th of Decem-
Der while going from his store at Martins
station to his house mile away, Robert
Martin, a young man of high standing,
was followed by negro and shot in the
hearing of negroes whose houses were all
around the spot where he was shot and
who admitted that they heard the shot and
cries and none of whom went to his relief,
and none of them went to his body, al
though 1t lay in the road all day and
n several hours after daylight.
and in plain view of them all. 1t was sat
isfactorily established that his murder was
the result of a conspiracy to remove him,
in order that their license upon the planta-
ton of his father might be greater His
murderer, that is, the negro who fired the
shot, and his accessories, nine in number
after being clearly identified by the coro-
ner's jury, We're arrested and lodgedin jail
These several brutal uuruers of promin-
ent white men by negroes caused a state
of indignation and resentment among the
people that can be better imagined than de-
scribed, but cannot be Imagined by any one
not present in our midst. Last
night large body Of armed men in dis
guise at about am. "a led at the jail, over
powered the jailer. took out the six muir
derers of Martin and the two of Heffer-
man, took them to the limits of the corpor-
alton and shot them to death"
This explanation Of the causes which led
to the lynching does hot, in the opinion of
law abiding citizens, in any way justify the
atrociOus murder of eight defenseless
human beings. The greatest Indignation is
expressed at the brutality. AL was quiet
at Barnwell last evening. although trouble
had been anticipated and may yet come.