The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-10-22

4 lowed the men to make any stateIeb'
they wished ard for prayer. Miller
made confession Of their purpose 70
create disturbance before coming here,
and of having SHOT Bowling. Scott had
little to say The ropes were then
drawn, and as tIle bodies rose fully a
hundred shots were fred, their bodies
being riddled.
The crowd then returned to town with
Morton. who was released on account OF
his youthfulness, and upon the state
mept made by Miller that he (Mortonl
had been forced to come with them
against his will But they were not yet
satisfied. cart was secured, and Bob
Burton, who lay in another cell with
broken leg. was thrown into it and taken
| to the tree where the others hung. he
| confessed to having shot Wilkinson
After time for prayer lie was drawn up
| beside the other two, likewise receiving
a number of bullets us he went up The
! crowd then quietly dispersed and at
eleven O'Clock everything was Us quiet
as on any other Saturday night. thus
the week closed on the most narrowing
tragedy which has ever taken place
within the annals of our community.
Sunday morning was bright, clear and
pleasant, and early in the morning a
stream of footmen began to visit the
dreadful spectacle produced the night
before. This stream was kept mp until
9:45 O'Clock, when the bodies were cut
down. dumped into the cart which had
been left the night before, and brought
back to the undertaker's. A coroners
Jury viewed the bodies before they were
taken down, and brought i'll a verdict
that they came to their deaths at the
hands of unknown parties.
The following is the verdict
Virginia, Allegheny county. to wit
An inquisition taken at Slaughter
House Hollow in TIE county of Allies
ghany and State of Virginia, on the
18th dav of October. 1891, at 9:15 A. M.,
before w o. Thomson, justice OF the
peace for the county aforesaid, IN the
State OF Virginia. to view the dead bod>
les of three negroes, G. w. Miller, John
Scott and Robert Burton, the jurors be-
ing sworn to inquire and decide when,
how, and by what means the SAID =. W.
Miller, John Scott and Robert Burton
came to their death, upon oath, do say
We, the undersigned. do testify that the
said C. w. Miller, John Scott and Rob
ert Burton came to their deaths by be-
ing hung with Il rope from a limb OF a
tree. some time between the hours OF 10
P. NJ and 9 A. NJ of the night of De
tober II, 1891 by parties unknown to the
jury.
.'(Signed) j. &. Jopling. z. r. Trib
bett, J. W Goodwin. R. II.
Davis. J. e. Thomas, Chas.
HYDE, c.. T. Lewis, attend
ing physician; w. O. Thorn
ason, Justice of the peace
and acting coroner"
The friends of Miller and Scott asked
for their bodies, and they were sent to
their homes Sunday night. Bob Bur
tons body was buried on Monday by the
authorities of the town
Sunday afternoon was exceptionally
quiet With the darkness, however,
came the fear that negroes of the sur
rounding mines would seek to avenge
the lynching of the night previous. Wild
rumors of the suspicious movements of
the negroes flashed through the town
with surprising rapidity, the rumors be-
ing converted into cold facts more rapid
ly still. Excitement ran high. Services
at the Methodist Church had to be sus-
pended. Everybody went in search of
arms At nine O'Clock every gun and
pistol had been taken from the hard
ware stores. A meeting was held and
means of defense were discussed and
adopted. Picket squads were placed on
the outskirts of town at every point Of
ingress. Patrols were placed on every
street. Fresh rumors intensified the eX-
element. The Mayor was prevailed
upon to wire Governor Mckinney for
the Monticello Guards at Charlottesville,
to come to our rescue. The following is
a copy of the telegram sent by Mayor
Bowles:
Yesterday evening party of negroes
came to Clifton Forge, and being very
riotous. the authorities attempted their
arrest and were resisted. The officers
called upon some of the citizens to assist
in making the arrest. One Of our men
was killed and another wounded by the
negroes. Later four of the rioters were
arrested and locked up. During the
night three of them were taken out by d
mob and hanged. The negroes are CON
gregating at different points, and we fear
trouble at any moment. Please order
the Monticello Guards here at once, and
act quickly, or it may be too late"
The Governor wired Mayor Bowles to
call on the nearest military organization
and a message was sent by him to the
Monticello Guards, who were instructed
by the Governor to obey orders from the
Mayor of Clifton Forge
Had the black flag of war been
hoisted upon the parapets of the
town no greater measures of repulse
could have been adopted. Mean
while the colored people here had been
frightened to their homes and not one
could be seen. No doubt but that the
negroes of Low Moor and elsewhere had
as little idea of attacking the town as
they had of marching upon Richmond.
Guards were kept up all night, and at
half past nine O'Clock the next morning
detachment of twenty-five of the Mon
ticello Guards arrived here. The ap-
pearance Of troops in our quiet town,
with no sign of disturbance, caused the
manhood of the town to feel Inundated
and to realize into what a ridculously
absurd position sensational rumors and
excitement had placed US before the j
public. Preparation for emergencies
was well enough; to cross streams before
we know there is a stream, is absurd
NOTES.
Charles Miller, the leader of the negroes
was a well known desperate character in
this community, and the possession Of
this bad name was a factor in the des-
perate punishment which was melted
out to them.
Another factor which helped to aug
ment the desire for swift vengeance was
the fact that all of the negroes were nom
residents, and had no friends here.
The boy Morton, who was released on
account OF his youth, is said to have
I,l~ locC