Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-06-20


morning. The court room was packed
almost to suffoostion with dense crowd
OF blacks and whites, in which the former
predominated. The mass Of people even
crowded the entrsnce to the court room
where they could neither see nor hear,
and small groups Of people who could
not gain admittance stood on the side.
walk in front Of the city hall and eagerly
discussed the scraps of information which
they had picked up here and there.
Within the railing in the room with the
jury sat u. o. Yandegrift, Esq, who
represented number Of the prisoners.
Assistant Attorney general Davis, Willard
Hall Porter, Coroner Gamble, Deputy
Coroner Barnhill, William H. Lee,
Chief Of Police SwiRgett and others were
also present. The testimony of the wit
nesses Is too bulky aud often too in.
significant to give in detail and most Of
1t was corroborative, but connected
narrative of the affair as gathered from
the testimony shows this story:
The Harmony Fife and Drum Corps,
hAiling from over Eleventh street bridge,
had been engaged by Joseph Morris to
advertise on Thursday night picnic
which was to take place at Excelsior
Park on the following day. The fife and
drum corps, numbering Is men, an I'M.
lucky number, marched from over Elev-
enth street bridge to Excelsior Park,
where Charles Lamborn received the
transparency containing an announce
meut of the picnic, which he carried at
the head Of the procession. The drum
corps started in town and just before
they reached Fourth and Jackson streets
Grant Bantum, who acts as sort Of man.
ager for the corps, says that he told
LRmborn not to 20 down in that direc-
ton a. they had been stoned twice on
previous occasions, but that he withdrew
his protest when Lamborn assured him
that he was we'll acquainted In that
neigbborhood and they would not be
mulested.
Some Of the drum corps say that sew
eral stones were thrown at them Us they
passed down jackson ct Fourth street.
The corps continued down to Front street
and coming in two blocks, turned uP Mon
roe street on the west side of tie street.
They we're followed by motley crowd.
consisting mostly Of negro men and
women, some of whom had come from
over Eleventh street bridge. Just below
Third street they struck up tune, but
stopped short just after they passed
Third street, causing some comment
about the shortness of the tune. The
merry. go-'round, where the big crowd Of
whites was congregated, occupied the
vacant lot at the southwest corner OF
Fourth and Monroe streets.
1t is diffioult to tell who first started
the trouble. The fife aud drum corps
evidently came up that street and past
the crowd deliberately and intentionally
while it is equally apparent that as soon
as they came within reach the crowd OF
whites at Fourth and Monroe streets was
determined to annoy them as several dis
interested spectators who were at dis
lance moved toward the scene because
"thore was going to be some fun" as they
termed It. Two Of these men, Peter j.
Kelley of No. 3l4 Monroe street, and
Lewis Houett Of No. col Jefferson street,
crossed from Quigley's morocco factory
at the southeast corner, where they had
bean sitting to the opposite side Of the
street. As the drum corps approached
Fourth street they were still in order but
come of the negroes were staggering and
acting insolently which seemed to rile
some of the whites.
Che 2sgFe, supposed % be-. Serial
fli in tls5lng an elderly lame uel
uHa moved hs6k 70 the curb to ailo
the procession to pass, swung out his
arm and knocked the white mans hat
into the street. This nettled both Kelley
and Houett, who say that the negro was
swsggering along In the most offensive
manner, and they Of once spotted him"
Immediately afterward, inst as the corps
had about reached Fourth street, the
whites either threw some stones or pre-
pared to throw them. The negroes soy
that 1t fairly trained" stones for short
time. The most reliable witnesses who
were disinterested spectators, oil say that
they saw the white boys stoOp to pick up
stones and some OF them testified that
stones were thrown which is probable
although some of the witnesses who saw
the whole occurrence saw no stones
thrown. At any rate, the corps had
almost crossed Fourth street when one Of
two negroes in the rear Of the procession,
one Of whom is supposed TO have been
Hewell Hall, turned and fred two shots
into the crowd CT whites In the street,
This was the signal for general stam-
pede. The blacks were confused mass
for moment, and then they ran In every
direction, the most of them going mp
Monroe street. Kelley and Houett both
say that the negro who knocked the
mans hat on WAS the same man who fred
the shots. Officer Meredith, who was at
the merry go-round at the time, saw the
shots, and says that the man who fred
ran into PeregoY's saloon for moment.
Peregoy, in his testimony, said that
Sewell Hall rushed excitedly into his sa-
loon and asked for the loan OF pistol,
which failing to secure, he went out again.
Officer Meredith when he saw the negro
go into the saloon started across the
street in pursuit and In going along he
a3certained that the boy LAWYER, who had
been hit by one of the shots, was being
cared for. Just as he approached the
other side the negro emerged from the
saloon again and started to run up
Monroe street. Cfllcor Meredith was de-
tanned in pushing through the big crowd
for moment, bat gave pursuit. He fol-
lowed Hall through Carpenter street TO
Adams, then to Fifth, and out Fifth to
jackson. On jackson street several doors
above Fifth the fugitive ran into the vesti-
bule of Isaac Pyle's residence, where the
officer caught him. 1t WAS Sewell Hall.
In the meantime the most Of the
negroes had run up Monroe street, with
the whites in hot pursuit. At Sixth
street man caught one of the little
piokaninuies, who blew fife in the corps.
Five or six Of the drum corps were boys
ranging from l2 to 16, or lS years OF age,
and 1t was one OF these the white man
had caught. A crowd began to gather at
once, and urged the man TO hold him
J until q policeman arrived. George Nay.
lor of No. 214 Monroe street, Walter e.
Wright, the dead lad, Thomas Msloney,
the injured one, and John j. Ryan OF No.
TOT West Third street, all young boys OF
is or thereabouts, were among the crowd
which had followed to Sixth and Monroe