Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-16

unknown persons, though it was proved |
before the jury, and not denied, that |
Caughman, Marks, Taylor, Seay, Kuyzer
and Oglesby were active in the party that |
fred into the cell, and themselves DIS
charged firearms at the lad. The men thus
Unidentified only laughed when brought
before the jury, and de6ed any one to con-
vict them.
The Governor of the State said he had
respited the boy because of evidence in his
possession that the lad was innocent, and
that he had been, possibly, the victim of a
conspiracy. 1t appears that the girl, after
the trial, stated that the negro boy did not
assault her; that he only asked for bread
er money, and that when she refused it he
threatened to choke her, or did choke her,
saying he was hungry. The girl also
wrote to her mother that she could not
identify Leaphart as the negro boy who
asked for bread. She wrote to her mother
in addition that she was not assaulted, and
her little brolher, who was with her, also
says that there was no assault committed
upon his sister, nor could he or she iden-
tify the negro who asked for bread. The
girl added in her letter that the man Cor
ley told her it was Leaphart who had
choked her, but she insisted that she could
not identify him as the negro who had de-
manded food and money. The mother of
the girl came after the occurrence to take
her home, but Corley protested against it.
and said the girl must not leave as it
would prevent carrying out the punish
ment that was to be administered to Leap
hart, as it would occasion ''talk" to have
the girl leave the vicinity. He wrote
letter also in which he protested against
removing the girl.
1t turns out now that the jailer was no.
titled when the Jail was to be stormed, and
that he was conveniently present to sur
render the keys, whereas had he remained
away or have locked himself inside, the
mob could not have penetrated to the cell.
1t develops also that Charley Cannon, an
elder brother to Rosa, has filed an affidavit
with the Governor in which he recitas
that his sister had told him secretly that it
was untrue that Leaphart had assaulted
her; that indeed she had not been as
saulted at all. The rumor also prevails in
the vicinity of the late tragedy that the
whole scheme of charging and killing the
negro boy was gotten up to cover the crime
of another person.
All of which is recited to illustrate the
ways of mobs. and to show how dangerous
is the appeal to violence. It is now
believed in South Carolina that the boy
Leaphart, so ruthlessly assassinated by the
furious mob of two weeks ago, was inno-
cent, and that he became the victim of
the lies of the girl and possibly of the
cunning and deviltry of the man Corley.
Leaphart was one of the despised race of
color, and representative of class that it
is small crime in some parts of the South
W hiilj II why a luClC SudltOW Vi an eX-
cuse is trumped up; while to keep "that
kind" from the ballot-box is rather es-
teemed a virtue in not a few sections. To
make one of them scape-goat for the
crime of another is not, therefore, out of
keeping with the local atmosphere In that
part of the Union. But the story of the
negro boy serves to emphasize how dam
gerous is the mob spirit; how unthinking
such lawlessness as made Lexington the
scene of so bloody drama. 1t is agreed |
in that section that should all the perpe-
traitors of the outrage avow themselves, |
there could not be drawn jury to con-
vict them in the county of the crime. |
The spirit that actuated the mob inspires |
the people TO courage that is defiant of |
the law in shielding criminals despite the |
heinous character of their offense