The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-19
SAVED FROM LYNCHING.
AlGCk Roberts Brought From SCTeVen
County to Savannah.

Sheriff Brooker Took the Step to Save
the Prisoner From Being Strung Up.
Roberts Crime An Assault Upon 13.
Year-old Annie williams of Screven
County-Identifsd by His Intended
Victim and Her Brother-He Con-
fesses His Crime.
Aleck Roberts, colored, was brought 20
Savannah last night by Sheriff BROKER
of Screven county, and lodged in jail for
safekeeping.
Roberts case adds another TO the long
list of dastardly crimes for assault
upon women. His crime a, brief story
of which was given in the MORNING News
yesterday, consists OF an assault
upon the the 13-year-old daughter
of a respectable white farmer of
Screven county. He would have been
lynched last night, and his body would
doubtless be swinging in mid-air now,
riddled with bullets, had not Sheriff
BROKER considered it his duty to remove
him from the neigh borhood of the crime.
Roberts is about % years old, of dull and
british intellect. He acknowledges his
crime, and discussed its details with his
captors without any seeming appreciation
of its enormity.
ASSAULTED ON HER WAY FROM CHURCH.
The crime was committed near Baston's
church, about twelve miles north of Syl-
vania A protracted meeting has been in
progress at the church. On Monday,
shortly after noon, Annie Williams, the
13-year-old daughter of Thomas Williams,
started on her way home from the church
m Nj nj eaH AZ bafs little hrOf ho
aged TO- Mr.. Williams lives about two
miles from the church. The children had
gone about mile from the church when
they met Roberts. 1t seems that the
meeting was accidental and that Roberts
crime was not premeditated. Imme-
diately upon meeting the children Rob
ertS seized hold of the girl and threw her
down in the road. The girl is said to be
small for her age, but she struggled with
all her might
The screams of the girl and her little
brother unnerved the brute, so he says,
and this is all that prevented him from
accomplishing his purpose. The boy ran
down the road for some distance and met
a negro man on horseback, whom he told
that negro was trying to murder his
sister. The man galloped to the spot.
When Roberts saw him coming he fled
down the road for several hundred yards
and then took to the woods.
RUN DOWN IN A SWAMI.
The alarm was Immediately given, and
a small posse of white men started in pur-
suit Of Roberts. They kept up the pur-
suit until / O'Clock in the morning, when
Roberts was found in a swamp by
Simeon Skinner, who effected his arrest.
He was taken to the home of the girls
father and kept until morning, when he
was identified by the girl and her brother
Roberts then confessed his crime. It
would have been naturally expected that
he would have been lynched on the spot,
but his captOrs pursued a
milder course. He was taken to the
county Jail at Sylvania the next day,
where he remained Tuesday night
when the crime became known through
| out the county, and Sheriff BROKER was
pretty well satisfied that a lynching had
been planned for last night. The jail at
| Sylvania is old and insecure and a new
one is now being built to replace it. The
sheriff knew that with the condition of
| the old jail he would have little chance
of keeping his prisoner from the mob, and
so prudently brought him to Savannah
Roberts will probably remain in the Jail
here until November, when the regular
term of the superior court of Screven
county convenes.
HIS FIRST SERIOUS oFFENsE.
Roberts was born and reared in the
neighborhood of hisscrime, and this is
said to be his first serious offense against
the law. He was employed upon the
place Of MIR. David Forehand In the
neighborhood. He had been on visit to
another plantation, and was on his re-
turn home when he met the girl and her
| brother. He had no idea of meeting
the girl, he claims, and the resolu-
tion to attack her was formed upon
| the spur of the moment. Roberts may
consider himself assured Of life term in
the penitentiary if no worse fate occurs
to him before that time. Heis the second
Screven county negro in the Savannah
! Jail, Henry Archer, one of the men ac-
cused of the murder of Mr.. John jackson
! of Oliver, being already confined here.