The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-01
SHOT ONE AND HANGED SIX.
TEXAS NEGROES LYNCH SEVEN OF
THEIR OWN RACE.

The Seven Committed Three Murders,
Ravished Two Negro Girls and
Tried to Hide Their Crime by
burning the Home of Their Vic
Tins The Latter n Father and
His Two Daughters The Father
Had the Proceeds of IA Robbery
Which Had Been Committed by
the Negroes Lynched.
Houston, Tex. April SO.-For the murder
of an old man, a child and a woman, the
ravishment of the two girls, the burning
of the home of their Victims two of the
bodies being consumed in the flames, six
young negroes were last night sent to
their doom by the hands of an infuriated
mob of negroes, the victims also being ne
groes, at Sunnyside, Walter county.
Last fall, German from Brenham, was
robbed of $65 Suspicion pointed to the
four Thomas boys, and they confessed to
having committed the theft, saying that
they had given $50 of the money to Henry
Daniels. Daniels spent the money, and
on Sunday evening last, the four Thomas
boys, according to their confession, decid-
ed to either collect their $50 or kill Dan
iels. They carried out the latter part of the
programme Henry Daniels, an old negro,
lived there in little hut with his step
daughter, Marie, and a seven-year-old
child.
Wednesday night the house was broken
open, Marie Daniels and the child were
ravished, and old man Daniels dubbed to
death while trying to protect those in his
charge. Then old man Daniels and his
step-daughter were thrown into the
house and the child cast into the we'll.
The house was set on fire and the negroes
left, thinking that they had covered their
inhuman deed from the sight of the world.
The fire had not attracted much atten-
ton, but when Daniels and his people did
not show up, the charred location of the
house was searched and the terrible truth
was soon plain.
The local officers went to work with
will and were ably assisted by the best
citizens of the neighborhood. The blood
hounds from Steele's plantation were Sc
cured, and they were not long in finding
the right track. Before night they went
straight into the place where the Thomas
boys resided and one by one, they were
secured. Fayette Rhone, 81 years old;
VIII Gates, 50 years old; Louis Thomas,
20 years old; Aaron Thomas, 13 years old;
Jim Thomas. IA years old, and Benny
Thomas, Is years old, were placed under
arrest. The last four are brothers.
Later on William Williams was cap
tured. When taken they were smeared
with blood, and bloody shirts were found
hidden in Richmonds house. The blood
hounds worked splendidly, and after the
boys were confronted with the evidence,
they admitted committing the crime, and
laid the killing to Louis, the Oldest. All
seven of the prisoners were under guard
last night about p o'clock, when the
guards were overpowered by a strong
body of men and the prisoners taken to-
wards the Brazos bottom, north of here.
A little later forty or fifty shots were
fired and then all was quiet. This morn
ing, dangling from the limbs of a large
tree, were found the bodies of six negroes,
limp and nfeless. Hundreds of people
from all over the country are surging
back and forth, with the tree as the cen
ter of attraction.
Ali of them are still there, except Will
Jams, and he is not to be found, but the
shots probably explain his absence. AS
far as can be learned, the mob was com
posed Of white and black men, with the
colored element largely predominating.
Public opinion is almost universal, that
If the right parties were apprehended 40
harm has been done.
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