Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-05
READY TO LYNCH HIM.
Prompt Arrival of the Police Saves a
Colored Man From
DECORATING A CITY LAMPPOST.
Fired Two Shots and Wounded One Of His
Many Pursuers.
RESCUED JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME

Lawrencevllle came very near enjoying
the sensation of q lynching yesterday.
About noon a crowd of young fellows en-
tered saloon In the neighborhood Of Thir-
ty-eighth street and Penn avenue. Standing
at the bar were two colored men.
The newcomers made several offensive
remarks to the colored men who stood
some distance away. Finally, the colored
men left the saloon and on their way out
they turned to the throng and said 1t was
rather strange that they could not enter o
saloon without being subjected to insults on
account of their color
No sooner had the door closed behind the
men than the crowd followed. Some dis
tance down the street the two colored
men were overtaken and qnarrel ensued
in which 1t was alleged that one Of the
colored men was knocked down. The
PROSTATE man quickly rose to his feet and
started on a run down Thirty-six.h street in
which he was joined by his companions
Fired Two Shots at His Pursuers.
The crowd followed. People on the
street, who saw the chase, thoaght the
colored men had committed some crime and
Joined In the pursuit. At Thirty-sixth and
Charlotte streets the colored men became
exhausted. They stopped and waited for
their pursuers. The latter came up in a
few moments and renewed the quarrel
Fearing for his safety, one of the fugitives
drew a revolver loaded with blank cartridges
and fred shot to scare the mob
This action seemed only to irritate the
crowd. Then the colored man who fred the
blank cartridge drew another revolver loaded
with bullets. Taking aim at the foremost
man he fired His aim was correct, the ball
striking Thomas O'Leary in the mouth and
passing out on the left side of his neck
within one-half inch of the jugular vein.
O'Leary staggered and fell. At the
same moment the man who had done the
shooting turned and started to run down
the street. He had hardly. gone block
when he was overtaken by Joseph Trunzer
who had witnessed the shooting, and held
until the rest of the crowd arrived The
mob by this time numbered some three or
four hundred men. Most Of them had only
seen the shooting, and thought that the
colored man had committed an unwarranted
outrage
Would He Lynchers Look for a Rope
Several of the more hot headed in the
crowd ran up and tried to take the offender
from the hands Of Trunzer, threatening dire
punishment for the ohense he had COM
mitted. There were cries of "get a rope"
'1ynch him" 'tkill him." and other such
wild EXPLANATIONS. Several departed in
search of q rope, and as the crowd pressed
closer to the victim he begged for mercy,
stating that what he had done was only in
About this time Constable
McWhorters came on the scene, and subse-
quently City Clerk Ed Martin arrived. The
oh IF nd
marched him to the patrol box at Thirty
seventh and Butler streets. Clerk Martin
ran on ahead and rang for the patrol wagon.
When it finally drove up the colored man,
more dead than alive from fright, was
placed in the vehicle.
just before the wagon drove away Squire
Kerr came up the street toward the patrol
box, having in charge the prisoners COM
panion, who was also sent to the Forty
third street police station. On their arrival
at the station house O'Leary's assistant gave
the name of Richard Hodson, aged 81 years
and residence Lafayette alley, near Forty
third street, while his companion gave the
name of Thomas Robinson, of No. 204
street. The latter was
locked up on the charge of interfering
Both will be given a hearing this morning.
O'Leary Taken to His Home.
In the meantime O'Leary, who is 10 years
old and lives in the rear of Peoria alley,
below Thirty-eighth street, was carried to
Dr. Jacoby's Office on Butler street. Here
his wounds were dressed, after which he
was removed to his home and subsequently
to his mothers house in Bloomfield hol-
low.
DR.. Jacoby said the mans wounds were
not necessarily fatal, and unlesss peritonitis
set in he would be all right in few days.
Officer Palmer. who travels the beat on
which the shooting occurred, said he just |
reached the scene Of trouble alter O'Leary
mad been shot ''There were 500 or 800 |
people gathered around Hodson," he con-
.inued, ''and if the wagon hadn't arrived |
ust when it did Hodson would have been |
strung up to the nearest lamppost. never |
Jaw such an excited mob. and can Just tell |
you that Hodson was frightened nearly |
white and he was glad when the patrol