The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1896-12-25
A Negro Lynched.

raplSt, Stone, was taken from Ine jail
here and lynched by large mob at an
early hour yesterday morning.
Memphis, Tenn, Dec. pa special
from Maytield, KY, says: Sheriff Cook
and W. A. Usher arrived in this city
yesterday morning on the cannon ball,
having in charge jim Stone, the rapist.
who has been in Louisville for the past
two weeks. Stones trial was set for
Tuesday, Dec. %, in the circuit court.
H. j. Norman and Gus Thomas had
been appointed to defend the negro by
the court, and were in close consulta-
ton with him nearly the entire day.
Stone was charged with criminally
assaulting Mrs J. NJ. R. Greene at her
residence in this city on the night Of
Nov. "a, and was arrested by Sheriff
Cook the day after the crime was COM
mitted. Stone denied his guilt, but the
evidence was overwhelmingly against
him. His preliminary hearing was set
for the 9th, and the prisoner taken to
the county Jail for safe keeping. On
the afternoon of the 25th the officers
visited the Jail to prevail upon Stone
to waive examination. He was bound
over to await the action of the grand
jury without trial. An order was re-
ceived from Judge Moss to take the
prisoner to Paducah for safe keeping,
and Sheriff Cook, with a number Of
deputies, started for the depot with the
prisoner to take the local freight for
that place. When the train arrived the
officers placed the prisoner in the ca
boose, and few minutes later a. mob
Of about 100 determined men surround
ed the car and demanded the negro.
The sheriff refused to give up the
negro, and the mob was preparing to
overturn the car, when Mr. Greene,
husband of the victim, appeared at the
side door of the car and addressed the
crowd to let the prisoner depart in
peace. His request was granted.
That evening over a hundred we'll
armed men went to Paducah for the
purpose of lynching Stone, but the Nc
Cracker county officials had been noti-
fled of their intention, and upon arriv-
ing at the Paducah Jail the negro could
not be found, and the crowd returned
to Mayfield in the morning. Two days
later Stone was transferred to Louis
vile, it not being deemed safe t. keep
him longer in Paducah. Sheriff Cook
left for Louisville Saturday morning,
and in a few hours his departure was
known all over Graves county. When
he arrived with the. prisoner yesterday
morning several unknown men were at
the depot and followed the officer to
the county Jail, and during the entire
day the Jail was closely watched to see
that the prisoner was not moved away.
Last night at 1890 o'clock a mob of
about 500 masked men assembled
few hundred yards from the court
house and marched to the county Jail,
and after breaking the doors of the
prison, entered and secured the negro
who had committed the horrible deed,
He was carried to the court yard and
swung up to a limb at 2 o'clock, and
several OF the mob fired shots through
his body.
A part of the mob that hanged Jim
Stone yesterday morning went on the
rampage again last night. One hun
dred shots were fired into the resi-
dence of Tom Chambers, colored, and
the house was afterwards set on fire
and destroyed three other buildings,
There is much bitter feeling, the ne
groes having made threats to ayenge
the lynching of Stone anil the killing
OF Henry Finney. A number of ne
groes have been warned to leave the
town and trouble is expected.