Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-20
HOW THEY DIED.
THE STORY OF THE LYNCHlNG
AT PINE BLUFF.
Vengeance Upon the Murderers.
The Story of An Eye Witness.


Bluff, Ark, yesterday, and being ques-
toned about the lynching of the two ne
groes who assassinated his brother, James
7. McAdams of that city, on Tuesday
night, February 9, said:
SWELL there is very little TO tell further
than has already been published in The
GAZETTE and other papers. The negroes,
John Kelley and Gilbert Banks, were
hanged to telephone pole in front of the
courthouse in the presence of no less than
5000 Infatuated citizens-white and black,
male and female. They were perforated
with the contents of many guns, there
being no less than 1000 displayed. but of
course many shot wild, and the Won
der is that some innocent party was not
shot. do not believe there was ever an
instance where the people were so thor
oughly unit as in this affair. 1t was the
one desire of everybody to see the assassins'
of my brother swung up and to participate
in the swinging, or 10 get the first shot at
the scoundrels, and you may know how
well the job was executed when 1 tell you
that in the person of John Kelly, the first
hanged. there were forty-seven bullet
holes, and IN Banks there were thirty-two
No sooner did their bodies appear above
the heads of the people than a fusi-
lade Off ushots rang out, and this
was kept up until every cartridge
was blank. This was the case in both
instances, L0OT6 DellS dDOub thirty minutes
lapse between the two jobs, Kelley being
executed first This was caused from the
fact the jail had to be broken into in order
to get the negro Banks out, as the taller
failed to show up at roll-call, and the keys
were not to be had. a number of deputies
were there-but only as interested specta-
tors. After the side of the brick structure
had been knocked in by a telephone pole in
the hands of as many determined men as
could get under it the cell door was attacked
with iron bars, and at this point deputy
stepped up and handed over the key, saying
it was useless to longer hold out and fearing
others might be liberated. Banks was soon
ierked to the entrance made by the men, and
here, and at my request, a halt was made in
order to allow the negro to make state
ment. as Kelley, Just when the rope
squeezed his neck, said we done it, four of
u.s. Banks, however, denied everything,
but in the five minutes talk cOntradicted
himself no less than half dozen times, and
the crowd, becoming impatient, yelled to
the 'front.' and he was hurried away
''Kelly, no doubt would have given the
whole thing away had he been lowered after
the start was made, but the people were too
eager for revenge to allow it, and he was
dead before his feet had cleared the heads
of the crowd, as was also the case with
Banks.
But still the fury of the crowd was not
satisfied, and they threatened to make fur
Their encroachmeuts on the prerogatives of
the courts. Tom Bell, a white man and an
all-aroundi crook and suspect, was in jail
There were threats made of lynching him
also, when Mai. G. G. Newman, editor of
the Pine Bluff Evening Commercial, ad-
dressed the crowd and counselled reason.
Gen. White, mayor of the city, also ad-
dressed the multitude OF avengers, and
urged them to do no further violence. he
stated that what had been done would be
Endorsed by the community, but further vi
olence would only bring them into disre-
pute. He therefore urged them to return
to their homes and their wives.
1.-THE crowd, after three hearty s-ells and
general Misunderstanding, dispersed, and by u
o'clock the city had resumed its usual Sc
renity, and was as peaceful and tranquil as
if nothing extraordinary had occurred. 4
'The assassins were not cut down until
o'clock Monday morning, when they were
taken to Cooks undertaking Establishment,
embalmed, and the announcement made by
the undertaken that he desired every inhab-
liant of Pine Bluff to view them, that his
place would be kept open day and night for
this purpose, and constant sire am of peo-
pie flowed in and out, and when left Pine
Bluff Thursday morning they were yet I'M
buried.
There were no masks, and the avengers
did their work in the full glare of an arc
light, besides, the moon never shone
brighter.
Hundreds of colored people also looked
upon the scene, and Endorsed the work 60
ing on. Hundreds Of good and law-aoiding
citizens also looked upon the scene and in
dorsed 1t. There was no doubt about the
negroes guilt and the protection OF society
and life in the community demanded that
severe and speedy punishment should be
visited upon the brutal aSSaSsinS.
when the negro Kelley was arrested at
Rison, twenty-three miles from Pine Bluff,
on Sunday afternoon, five days after the
crime was committed, he had in his
possession my brothers gold watch and his
pistol, also 50 in silver These were turned
over to my brothers widow the day / left
THE following extract from the Globe
Democrat report is not true: 'MeAdams
left a widow and three children, one of
whom died to-day. The widow gave pre-
mature birth to a child, produced by the
terrible shock. and she has been so pros
trated ever since that doubts OF her re-
covery are entertained
aged ten and three. The eldest
son, who has for two weeks
been quite low, is fast recovering, and my
sister-iu-law is getting along as nicely as
could be expected though she was pTos1I
trated, Of course, by the severe shock.
The verdict of the coroner's jury was
that the negroes came to death at the
hands of unknown parties
spine Bluff is city Of over 1000 inhab-
italts, and IS lively and fun of business.
The citizens, the whites and the larger
number of the negroes. are law-aoidipS apa
progressive. but inasmGch as the negroes
are in the majority, many tSagh characters
dwell within her corporate limits, and as
result there IS much deviltry to record, bit
never has such cold blooded murder oc-