The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-21

Amite City, La, Jan. 20.-Three negro
murderers, John Johnson, Arch Joiner
and Gus Williams, were taken from
Jail and lynched by a mob in this place
about 8 o'clock this morning. Johnson
and Joiner, according to the confess
sion of the former, were guilty of the
murder of five members of the Cotton
family some time ago. Williams was
awaiting trial for numbering his wife.
Early in the night, when it became
known that John Johnson and Arch
Joiner, charged with the Cotton family
murders would be lynched. small groups
of strangers from every section of this
and adjoining parishes began TO arrive
and hold low conversations on the
street corners. The night was a most
miserable one, raining and gloomy.
o About o'clock, there were. perhaps,
$50 people on the streets, when sud
denly some $50 men on horses galloped
up to the Jail, and having found the
deputy who had charge, forced him TO
open the Jail door and also the steel
cages, and they took from the ca ges the
three colored men. The mob made no
hostile demOnstra lions. After procur-
ing their men. they held q short con-
sultation and decided TO hang Gus Will
liamS to an oak tree near a negro
church on the outer edge of the town.
rope was quickly adjusted over a
large limb and one end put around
William,f neck. williams was made
to get on horse and the horse struck
with whip, jumping from under Will
liamS. His neck was broken and his
body was jerked down. Williams dis
posed Of the crowd started on the
To,
where the murders were committed.
The distance travelled was Il miles
through q heavy rain. There We're
nearly 200 in the crowd during the
march. Arch Joiner prayed q great
deal, but Johnson was quiet and sullen.
After few hours. the Cotton residence
was reached and all dismounted.
Joiner made a break for liberty, but
was captured before he had gone very
far.
Joiner and Johnson began cursing
each other and asked permission from
the crowd to settle the matter in prize
ring style, which was granted. The
fight lasted about five minutes. John
son, although the smaller man, had
considerabl the best of the fight when
they were separated. They were then
taken into the Cotton house separately
and efforts made to get a full confess
sion from them. John Johnson stuck
to his former statements that Arch
Joiner was the man who committed the
deeds. Joiner stOutly maintained mis-
innocence for a while but finally con-
fessed that he killed Mrs. John Cotton,
Miss Agness Miller and Miss Lizzie
Miller. A discussion then arose as TO
the best way to dispose of the two
self-confessed murderers. Some were
in favor of burning them, and fires were
made for that purpose, but better judg-
ment prevailed and it was finally de-
cided to hang them, which was done
and their bodies riddled with bullets.
1t was Arch Joiner's earnest request
that he be shot to death, and this was
finally determined upon as the mode of
death which was to be meted out to
Johnson. but at the last moment after
the fire had been started, it was urged
that both be hung as Gus Williams had
been. and they were taken a quarter of
a mile from the Cotton residence and
executed. They both implicated two
other negroes. All is quiet now.