The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-02
Half Dozen Colored Men, Accused of
Incendiarism, Who Were Chained To-
gether in Wagon, Shot to Death.
TWO DETECTIVES "HELD UP"
And the Contents of Fifty Guns
Emptied Into the Prisoners.
Usual Verdict of "At the Hands of I'm.
known Persons Returned-MOre Am.
munitiOn for Ida j. Wells.


MEMPHIS, Tenn. Sept 1.-Six negroes,
alleged members OF an organized gang of
ineendiaries, were lynched by mob, near
Milington, Tenn, a small town on the
Chesapeake Ohio & Southwestern railroad,
thirty miles north of Memphis, last night.
The names Of the dead are:
DANIEL HAWKINS
GRAHAM WHITE.
EDWARD HALL.
JOHN HAYES.
ROBERT HAYNES.
WILLIAM WARNER.
The prisoners were in charge Of detec-
tives w. s. Richardson and A. T. Atkin-
son. who had arrested them a few hours
before on a charge of arson The negroes
were all handcuffed and shackled and
were on their way to the county jail at
Memphis I'm a wagon. When the officers
reached dense swamp. a few miles from
Millington, they were surrounded by a
mob of fifty men. armed with Winchester
rifles and shotguns and commanded to halt
Hold up your handsr" exclaimed the
leader.
The detectives hesitated What does
this mean?' one of them asked.
"Never you mind. It means business.
Shove up your hands"
By this time the detectives were over
powered by the mop. When the crowd sur
rounded the officers the negroes seemed to
know instinctively what was to be done
They were sitting on boxes that had been
thrown about on the floor of the wagon.
One sat on the seat beside the driver, At
kinson. One negro in the body of the wag-
on rose to his feet and threw up his shack
led hands. That motion was his last, for
shower of bullets were poured into his
body. He fell over and out of the wagon
into the road dead. The negro sitting be-
side the driver threw his arms about At
kinson with a gesture and exclamation of
supplication. The muzzle of al shotgun was
showed agains his stomach and the charge
was sent through his body. Detective At
knson was grasped by several Of the mob,
| hustled UP to the side of Richardson and
| there held until the murderous work was
over.
| Volley after volley was poured into the
| bodies of the shackled and manacled ne
| groes in the wagon until all of them were
| dead. Then the mob took the bodies out of
| the wagon, threw them on the road and
continued to fire volley after volley into
| them. Richardson and Atkinson say there
| were fifty people in the mob; that some of
them wore no disguise, while others had
their heads incased in dark cloth, but that
| 1t was so dark it was impossible to recog-
nize any of the individuals, even had the
officers been well acquainted with the peo-
/ pie in that part of the country.
| Having concluded it's work, the leader of
the mob shouted, forward, boys" Guns
were shouldered and the members Of the
mob walked back into the woods that lined
the road and disappeared.
The lynched negroes were all accused of
arson, and all are said to have belonged to
| an organized band of barn burners that had
In five years destroyed thirty-two barns, as
many residences and other property Of
| great value in the vicinity of Kerrville,
Lucy, Mllington and Bottoms College
| Tenn.
On Thursday JEFF Laxton, a merchant al
Kerrville, came to Memphis went before
Justice w. II. Hughey and swore out war
rants against eight negroes who live in and
near Kerrville, charging them with hav-
ing set fire to the buildings at Kerrvlle
fair grounds, which were destroyed by fire
three months ago. These warrants were
placed in the hands of detective Richard
son, who had had much experience in con-
nection with the barn burners. He boarded
the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern train
and reached Kerrville at o'clock yester-
day morning. Warner Williams, who
worked ON the railroad, was arrested as
he stepped off a handcar at the depot. 9th
ers were found working in the fields and
some were found at their homes. Garius
Bland and VIII Moorng members of the
gang for whom warrants were served
heard Of the arrival of the officers in time
a;-b@
tention of the officers to take the prisoners
to Millington and bring them to Memphis
on the train at o'clock last night, but they
had not made all the arrests up to that
time and had TO wait over. There is no jail
in the village, and the prisoners as fast
as captured, were manacled and placed
under guard to await the time Of leaving
1t was nearly 10 o'clock at night when
the last arrest was made. 1t was impossi-
BILE to remain over night at Millington, as
there was no safe guardhouse, and it was
decided to make the trip by road. 8. D.
Tucker, merchant there, provided a
wagon. mule and horse were hitched
to it and the start was made. They had
not proceeded far, however, before they
were overpowered by the mob. After the
bloody work was over the detective sum.
moned the coroner and an inquest was
held, which resulted in the usual verdict
THAT the deceased came to their death al
the hands of unknown parties"
Detective Richardson arrived in Memphis
this morning and reported the lynching tc
Sheriff McLendon and Criminal Court Judge
l.. p. Cooper. Judge Cooper at once sem
for the grand jury and instructed that body
to investigate the affair and return indict
ments against the members of the mob
Later in the day Judge Cooper issued bench
warrants for dktectives Richardson ans
Atkinson, charging them with completely
in the lynching, and they were sent to jai
and denied to bill. Warrants were ais.
issued for the arrest of forty farmers VIII,
are supposed to have been members of tn
mob The sheriff, with a large force O
deputies. left this afternoon to make n
|