The San Francisco call., 1896-12-19
Bloodthirsty Men Enter a
Jail and Kill Three
Prisoners.
Arch Proctor and His Father
Hanged to a Tree Just
Outside of Town.
Bill Proctor Defies the Lynchers to
Take Him Alive and Is Shot
Down in His Cell.

RUSSELLVILLE, KY, Dec. 1S. "A
bloodthirstv armed mob of men from Lo-
gan County, half of whom came from
Adairvllle, reached this town after mid
night this morning and killed three
prisoners who were in Jail waiting for trial
on charges of murder and conspiracy.
Arch Proctor, who murdere Aaron and
doc" Grafton at Adairville, October 4,
was taken from the Jail with his father,
| "Dink" Proctor" charged with conspiracy
| in the Grafton case, and both men were
hanged to the same tree just outside of the
| town.
"Bilp' Proctor, a half brother of "Dink,"
and classed as being real desperate, who
| had terrified the Adairville district for a
| number of years, was riddled with bullets
| in his cell, defying the mob to take him
out alive and cursing them with his last
| breath.
The man-hunters were pitiless and were
well organized. They refused 10 allow
Arch Proctor to see his mother. who was
sleeping in a neighboriug hotel, before
being deprived of life. The iailer pleaded
with the mob not to lynch the men and
then made a special plea for "Dink"
Proctor, who had always been a quiet
citizen, the Grafton murders being the
first trouble he had been mixed up in.
But the only answer of the leaders was,
dead men tell no tales"
The Adairville mob came into town
about 100 strong and attacked the jail at
1:30 o'clock. The door of the main en-
trance soon gave way before the onslaught
of sledgehammers. The keeper of the
jail was forced, on the peril of his life
being taken also, to deliver the key of the
Proctor cells to the mob's leaders. The
victims had been apprIsed of the coming
of the lynchers and their intentions, none
of the three being in bed at the time their
! cell doors were opened. They faced an
excited, cursing mass of armed men.
| Bill Proctor, who was a powerful man,
showed his desperate character when
brought to bay. He swore no one should
take him from his cell alive, and no one
cared to engage him in test of physical
strength to get him out alive. One of the
mob gave the signal for the murderer to
he killed where he stood by shooting him.
A charge of buckshot entered the desper-
| ado's tody the next second and he fell.
As be lav on the floor writhing in pain,
volley of bullets was fired at him. When
he was apparently dead, a man entered
the cell and placing a pistol barrel at
Proctor's head, pulled the trigger to make
| sure that the most feared and murderous
man of Logan County was dead.
Then the mob turned toward the cells of
"Dink" Proctor and his son Arch. They
were taken from their cells without resist
ance, the jailer's pleas were unheeded, and
| the hands OF the victims bound. By this
time there were fully 200 men in the mob,
and no attempt was made to in nterfere with
their lynch-law plans The prisoners were
| taken to three-limbed cedar tree on the
| Nashville road. The empty limb was in
tended for Bill Proctor, and on the other
l two limbs were strung father and son,
| without giving either any time fox
| speeches, confessions or prayers.
| Mrs. Proctor, the wife and mother, who
| had come to attend the examining trial
to-day, was sleeping in hotel unconscious
of the tragedy which was being enacted
close at hand, and by order of the leaders
the procession to the improvised gallows
was not allowed to stop at the hotel to
grant the last pitiful plea of Arch to see
and say good-by to his mother.
The bodies, swinging side by side, were
cut down this morning, and big crowds
same to the Jail to see the three bodies
laid out there for the Coroner's inquest.
The mob on its way to Adairvllle cut all
the telegraph wires leading from that
place in order to prevent notice of their
coming being given.
The law abiding citizens of AdairvilIe
congratulated each other that "Bill' and
his nephew had been put away, but the
people of the county generally say that
"Dink" was not deserving Of death. The
brothers were acquitted of the charge of
killing Aaron Grafton, and Arch was held
for trial in $1,000 bonds. The trial of all
three was set for to-day in the other muir
der case. "Bill' killed several men and has
been on trial four times for his life.
Death of a French LitterateUr.