Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-09-01
SIX NEGROES SHOT.
Some Fifty Unknown Parties Take
Justice in Their Own Hands.

Memphis, Tenn, Sept. 1.-News comes
this morning of lynching of six negroes
two miles west of Wellington, village on
the Chesapeake g. Ohio railroad. For a
year or more people have been kept In a
continued state of excitement in that part
of the country by acts Of incendiarism'
Barns and dwellings we're burned and re-
Gently buildings-on the fair grounds were
destroyed. Suspicion pointed to Dan
Hawkins, Robert Haines, Warner Will
Jams, Ed Hall, John Hayes and Graham
White. Yesterday they were arrested near
Kerrville, in the western part of the
county, by Deputy Sheriff Richardson.
Later in the day the deputy started with
the prisoners in a wagon for Wellington,
where they we're to have preliminary
examination. The six negroes were
chained together. About midnight, when
the party was nearing town, the wagon
was stopped by u fifty men, armed
with shotguns, who killed all the prison
ers, then rode away in the dark.
The lynchers were net masked, but the
officer, being new in the section, recog-
nized none of them. An inquest was held
Immediately, the jury including two
negroes. The jury found that the pris-
oners died at the hands of unknown per-
sons.
HISTORY OF THEIR CRIME.
Dan Hawkins was arrested year ago
with several others charged with burning
barns and residences in the Kerrville
neighborhood. They were brought to
trial and two were sentenced to the peni-
tentiary. They made full confession
and implicated Hawkins as the leader Of
the
BAND OF FIRE BUGS.
Hawkins got new trial and after
spending some months in Jail was re-
leased few months ago. Since then the
burnings were resumed and the Yelling
ton people as we'll as those of Kerrville
suffered.
Deputy Sheriff Richardson was en-
ployed to ferret out the incendiaries and
with the help of negro "spotter" he, at
length, got evidence. that resulted in the
arrest of Hawkins and the other negroes
lynched. About nightfall yesterday the
officer secured two-horse wagon and a
Wulto uldu uhIuou L OH hLCulbOu W uTlV0
it. He loaded his prisoners into the
wagon,
HANDoUFFED AND CHAINED TOGETHER,
and started for Wellington. As they
reached the big creek two miles west of
town. somebody in the woods by tho
roadside called out: "Don't try to cross
there; the bridge is down. Come this
way" Richardson got down and taking
the horl IS by the head he led them into a
path that opened into the direction the
warning came from. 1t was dark in. the
woods, bnt suddenly Richardson saw two
guns pointed at him and stern voice
said:
"THRow UP YOUR HANDS,"
"What does this mean?" demanded the
officer. "None of your damned business.
Throw them ur," was the reply. The
officer obeyed. Then Atchison was or
dered to get down and was placed under
! guard. The negro prisoners attempted
to leap from the wagon when volley
rang out from forty to fifty guns and they
fell wounded and dying. dozen of the
mob leaped into the wagon and threw
them out. volley after volley was poured
into the struggling mass and in few
minutes all was still. Hawkins head was
,, almost shot from his shoulders and the
Others we're terribly mangled. The mob
after making sure all six we're dead re-
mounted and rode away,