The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-10-17
SOUL sICKENING.
HOW A TENNESSEE MOB ToRTUR.
ED A RAPIsT.
One of the Most Horrible of All the
Horrible Lynchings That Have
Ever Occurred in the South.
MEMPHIS. Tenn. Oct. 16.-Jefferson

MEMPHIS, Tenn, Oct. 16-Jefferson
Ellis, the La Fayette county rapist was
strung to a telegraph pole at lao this
morning by $50 men within two hun
dred yards of the scene of his crime.
Before hanging the negro, the mob cut
off both his ears and all of his fingers
and mutilated him in a horrible and
unmerciful manner The mob. with
their prisoner, reached the home of his
victim. Miss Prater. soon after mid
night. The young lady identified him
as her aSsailant. AS soon as this was
done an armed squad of men took Ellis
from Constable Farrow and started for
the pike where the public road crosses
the Louisville e Nashville railroad.
Here there is also a telegraph pole. 4
big fire had been built at the place and
around it the mob gathered in a. circle.
The handcuffed negro was on his knees
before the fire The leaders of the
mob told Ellis to pray but he only
looked ct them in a stupid manner.
Being told that he was about to die he
raised his voice in q negro hymn. and
by the time he had finished tha mob
was looking ugly The ffercer slan-1t
were in complete control. Cries Of
"burn him. were heard on all sides.
This fearful fate would probably have
been fortunate for the negro as sub
sequent events proved.
Amid the shouts of the mob a man
Jumped to the negroes side with a
drawn knife in his hands.
Cut off his ears" they cried.
"Ctive me a finger" shouted one
man
Il want a thumb" cried another.
The better element in tho crowd drew
eff at this time and said they were not
in favor of doing anything but hanging
tho negro. The protests were not
noticed Being urged on bv the tiercest
in the crowd. the man with the knife
cut off the negroes right ear and held
M tho bleeding trophy in full view Of
the crowd.
The negro screamed from his torture.
but his other ear was cut off a fnv
moments later. The mob became rad
der at the sight of this work and those
who were mutilating the negro found
ample encourag cement. They next cut
off all his finrers and. tearing away
part of his clothing. they mutilated
him in a horrible manner.
1t was fully 30 minutes after the tor
ture began when the rope was nut
around the negrO's neck. The tele-
graph pole was 70 feet away. The free
PnQ OIL C0P rope was LdkGI Nv d man
who climbed the telegraph pole and
threw it over the cross-arm. The
crowd jerked the negro to within foot
of the pole. and while the mob shouted
the bleeding and mutilated form was
swung to the cross-arm. The negro
was lowered to the ground later and
his head cut from his body with pocket
knives The moose was then put over
the feet and the headless body again
swung up 1t is intended to send the
head to the family of the little girl the
negro ATTEMPTED to assault. on Satur-
day. in Mississippi. A placard was put
on the Negroes body bearing the words:
"Death to any man who cuts him
down before $50 this evening" Pas
sengers on the Louisville & Nashville
trains today may see the horrible
sight.
The point where the lynching oc-
Cured is a cross-road called Clifton
Summit. Jeff Ellis, en- the afternoon
Of Oct. g. criminally assaulted Miss
Kettle Prater in the presence of the
latter's two little sisters. He was pur-
sued until captured on Monday near
Mount Pleasant. Miss He confessed
to the assault upon Miss Prater. the
outrage and murder of Mrs Wilcox. Of
the. same neighborhood, two years ago,
and the attempted assault upon a lit
tie girl in Mississippi, while trying to
escape from the mob