Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-02-23
sss7t-s slls.
At THE STAKE
Ed Coy Dearly Pays the Penalty
of His Fiendishness.
A Negro Rapist Burned by an In
furiated Arkansas Mob
At the lnStigation of the Woman
He Had Assaulted.

Applies the Match to C0al Oil Soaked
Clothing of the Black Brute in the
Presence of Thousands of Spectators
Who Were Almost Unanimously of the
Opinion That Hanging Was Too Good
for Him-Negr0es nsiderably Worked
Up Over the Affair.
TExARKANA, Ark, Feb. 93.--A human
being burned at the stake was the scene
witnessed just outside this city Satur-
day. Ed Coy, a colored man, was the
victim. He was burned to death in the
presence of thousands Of people.
Last Saturday Coy criminally assault
ed Mrs. Henry Jewell, the young wife
Of a respectable farmer, two miles south
of this town, since which time he has
succeeded in eluding the officers until
he was discovered at the home of Ed
Gaines, colored, four miles north of
here. He has mistress at the home of
Gaines, and it was she who "gave him
away" fear of the safety, perhaps, of
herself and family acting as the incen-
tive. The posse in search of Coy
suspected that he was being harbored
by Gaines, and two or three times this
week put rope around the latter's neck
to make him give information, and as
sured him that death wonld certainly
be his portion should he fail to notify
the posse upon the first appearance of
Coy,
Betrayed by His Mistress.
Saturday morning early the mistress
of Coy went to the house of a white
neighbor, A. B. Scott, living near by,
and told that Coy was at the house Of
Gaines. Scott at once sent a message
with the news post-haste to town, and
posse Immediately went out to arrest
the negro. Meantime, however, Coy
had left Gaines's house, but was appre-
hended and taken in charge by Mr..
Scott and two sons, who held him until
the arrival of the men from town. The
latter Immediately brought their pris-
oner in, and, placing him in a carriage,
conveyed h n to the Jewell farm, where
Mrs. Jewel positively identified him be-
yond all doubt as the man who assault
ed her.
The trembling wretch was then re-
turned to town, placed in a room with
number of guards, and a heavy guard
also placed outside the building, it being
resolved that he should not be disposed
of until the posse that was out should be
called in, in order that it might take
part i'll the proceedings.
Hanging Too Good.
l.
the leaders, after consultation, decided
to hang the negro to a telegraph pole on
Broad street, at the st.,,C line, the most
public place in the city. Coy was ac-
cordingly marched to this point, with
view to carrying out this progrom, but
when the crowd saw the rope, and di-
vined that hanging had been decided
upon, there were thunders of protests.
Away with that rope; hanging is
too good for him. Burn him! burn
him p
This was the shout that went up from
5000 throats. The leaders soon saw the
futility of opposing the mob, but begged
that the deed should take place out of
town, and to this the crowd agreed.
Half trotting and half running the
crowd rushed the doomed wretch along
south on College street until the Iron
Mountain railroad track had been
crossed. Here is a beautiful grass plot
of three or four acres, void of timber or
shrubbery, save one tree eighteen inches
in diameter and broken off at the top.
To thus tree Coy was hurried, and one
man who still favored hanging began
climbing the tree. In flash score of
NNinoboc4apa 1t,arn 1axra1aJ Of hin, on1
he was compelled to descend. The an
nouncement was then made that the
next man who should attempt to climb
the tree would be hanged upon it, and
that the negro was going to be burned,
and that was all there was to it.
Coy was strapped to the body Of the
tree with iron fastenings, and coal oil
was poured over his entire person in
liberal quantities. There was a moment
of silence, and then another shout went
up. 1t was:
+. LET Mrs. Jewell apply the match y
"Let Mrs. Jewell set him off ~
Mrs. Jewell Applies the Torch.
Walking slowly and very pale, but col
lected the woman emerged from the
crowd. Her appearance before them set
the crowd fairly wild, and such cheer
went up as almost shook the ground on
which they were standing. The crowd
fell back at her approach, making a
pathway for her. Leaning upon the
arm of male relative on either side, she
walked unhesltatingly forward to where
the negro stood pinioned, struck par
lor match with her own hand, and with
perfect deliberation fired the negro's
clothes in two places.
Wonderful Nerve.
In a second the poor wretch was one
mass of consuming flames, but even in
death his wonderful nerve, exhibited
aver since his arrest, never forsook him,
and while suffering tortures of fire, he
actually called to the men in the crowd,
and in clear voice requested of them:
"Moye back so that the women can see."
He referred to the negro women, large
number of whom witnessed the execu-
tion.
The negro made but little noise pend
ing his terrible fate, except to groan, and
died in about twenty minutes after the
torch was applied.
Guilty, But Denied 1t.
A few minutes before he was taken
out to meet his awful fate he was seen
by a reporter He did not seem at all
nervous, and protested his innocence,
saying at the same time he felt sure he
was about to he put to death. He re-
iteratcd his denials of guilt while strug-
Cling with the crowd on the street,
ana died with the lie ON his lips, as there
* not tba ehaI0ty of a dnu Dt as To his