Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-09-27
| YNCHERS HAVE THEIR WAY
Terrible Slaughter Before a Mob Succeeds
in Hanging a Black Fi0nd.


the mayor for the purpose of protecting
q negro who had robbed and beaten a
woman, and who was about to be
lynched by amob. The mob had refused
to disperse at the order of the mayor and
had begun to batter n the doors of the
jail when the order to fire was given
The soldiers emptied their guns at the
crowd and when the smoke cleared
away many people were lying on the
ground, some dead, others dying, and
many SO badly injured that they could
not rise. Following are the dead and
injured as far as known at present:
S. A. WICK, proprietor of St. James
Hotel
WILLIAM SHEETS, q fireman of the Nor
folk Il Western Railway.
CHARLES W. WHIrMEYER, conductor on
the Norfolk d Western.
J. b. TYLER, of Blue Ridge, section boss
on the Norfolk q Western
GEORGE WHITE, shot through the leg and
blcd TO death.
w. E. HALL, Norfolk e. Western fireman.
W. JONES, engineer on the Norfolk &
Western.
JOHN Mills, Of Black Creek, farmer and
diStiller.
GEORGE SETTLES, of Vintage, shot in the
head
The wounded are:
O. G. FULLs, member Of Friendship Fire
Company; MORALLY wounded.
WILL EDDY, shot through the groin.
GEORGE O. MONROE, shot in the head.
FRANK WILLS. shot in the arm.
THOMAS NELSON, leg shot off.
LEROY WHITE, shot III the back.
J. b. MCGRBE, shot in the leg, flesh
wound.
- SHIPPARD shot in the leg.
E. J. SMALL, shot in the stomach.
J. f. POWELL, shot through body.
j. b. WAYLAND, clerk police court, slight
ly injured.
GEORGE LEEDS clerk at Hotel Ponce de
Leon flesh wound.
About 10 O'Clock yesterday morning,
Mrs. Henry S. Bishop, aged about 81
years, from ClOverdale, eight miles
from this city, was enticed by negro
named Thomas Smith FROM the market
where she bad come to sell produce,
into an empty saloon basement, beaten
into lnsensibilitv and robbed of her
pocket-book, containing less than 81.
The negro was captured and lodged in
jail.
A crowd gathered around the Jail and
Kept increasing as night approached.
Al ) o'clock the Roanoke Light In
tantry marched to the jail by orders of
Mayor Trout. Guards were posted, and
the streets in the immediate vicinity
cleared. About dark the crowd was in
creased by 500 men from the vicinity Of
the Woman'S home, headed by Mrs.
Bishops son. q fireman on the Norfolk
q Western Railroad. At s O'clock por-
tons Of the mob battered at side door
of the jail where the militia and Mayor
Trout had retired.
The shooting was begun by the mob
and the mayor was SnOt III the foot.
The militia were then ordered to return
the fire and q VOIley from about twenty
five rifles were poured into the mob,
eleven were killed outright and many
fatally or seriously wounded. During
the excitement caused by the volley,
the negro was taken from the Jail by an
officer and secreted. The dead and
wounded we're removed to a drug store
and the Offices of nearby physicians.
The militia then dispersed and left the
scene as quietly as possible.
A squad of twenty men took the negro
Smith from three policemen just before
5 o'clock this morning and hanged him
to hickory limb on Ninth Avenue s.
w. in the residence section of the city.
They riddled the body with bullets and
left a placard on it saying: ''This is
Mayor Trout's friend" A coroner's
jury of business men was summoned
and viewed the body of the ne
-
death at the hands Of unknown men.
Thousands of peoplv visited the scene
of the lynching between daylight and
$50 O'Clock, when the body was cut
down. After the jury completed its
work the body was placed in the hands
of the officers who were unable to
keep back the mob. Three hundred
men tried to drag the body
through the streets of the town,
but Rev. DIR. Campbell, of the First
Presbyterian Church, with pleas and by
force of strength, prevented them.
Capt. Norman hired wagon and the
body was put in it. 1t was then con-
veyed to the bank of the Roanoke,
lynching. Here the body was drawn
from the wagon by ropes ond burned.
Piles of dry brushwood were brought
and the body wrs placed upon it
and more brushwood on the body,
leaving only the head bare. The whole
pile was saturated with coal oil and
match applied. The body was con-
sumed within an hour. The cremation
was witnessed by several thousand peo-
pie. At one time the crowd threat
ened to burn the negro in the mayors
yard.
The indignation against Mayor Trout
and the militia is great and many
threats of vengeance have openly been
made. Capt. Bird the commander of
the militia has left town. Mayor
Trout has also disappeared and Presi-
dent Buckner, of the City Council, is
acting mayor Excitement is running
high now. The citizens are now
talking of holding all indignation meet
ing and it is rum 5red on the streets that
threats are being made to burn the
town unless satisfaction Of some sort is
rendered Crowds throng the streets
and all the public places.