The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-23
FROM CHURCH TO BE SHOT.
4 NEGRO MURDERER LFNoHED AND
THE CONGREGATION HELPED.

Andrew Green, while Drunk. Kills Two Per-
sons-He FIees TO . Church. IL Tracked By
Dogs. and Then ls Tied to y Tree and shot
rho woman He Meant TO Mil Unhsrt.
TENNILLE, Ca, Aug. 22.-Lovett. near this
town, was, this afternoon, the scene OF a double
murder and lynching, the first that has ever &C.
Cured in this county. As q result, Tennille Is In
a state Of intense excitement tonight. and the
friends OF tho negro who was lynched are band.
ing togr.SNr, and 30 fierce is their attitude
toward { 10 perpetrators OF the lynching that q
connictly is hourly feared.
Andrew Green, a bad character. and his wife
had been on very bad terms for the last few
weeks, and only the vigilance Of their neigh
bors has prevented a clash hitherto.
This afternoon Green attended church. warn
ing his wife that IL she attempted to leave the
house. trouble Of q serious nature would result.
She believed that he was jesting, and as soon az
he had disappeared she slipped away to Lovett,
a short distance from Garbett's Mills, where she
and her husband lived.
He returned from service two hours later and
discovered her absence. He Immediately drank
q large quantity of whiskey and. arming him.
self, mounted q swift horse and started in pur.
suit OF his wife.
He overlook her at Lovett Station sitting on q
pile OF ~crosstios conversing with two other
negroes. without a moments warning he
opened fire with a revolver, but his aim was
bad on account OF his intoxicated condition
and. instead OF hitting his wife. his
bullets struck the woman at her side. wounding
her fatally. Surprising that he had killed his
wife Green again mounted his horse and mado
O desperate break for the forest.
At the railroad track near the station he was
stopped by MIR. George Heath. one of tho most
prominent and wealthy citizens in tho county,
who attempted to arrest him.
A desperate encounter ensued, and the negro
finally killed his would-be captor. Green then
assaulted and badly wounded another in.
offensive negro who had witnessed the
murder and made his escape to Gar
belts Mills. where he has been employed
in the hope that the other employees OF the
mill would rally to his assistance. Finding the
mill deserted and none OF his friends near. he
coolly entered a small church in the neighbor-
hood and, In a maudlin manner, began to take
part In tho ~services-
BY this time the whites OF the county had
become thoroughly aroused and seventy.fve
or eighty Of the foremost citizens placed
dogs on the trail OF the negro and
followed on horseback. He WAS traced
to the church, and the friends of Heath entered
the building and dragged him. half dead from
fright, into the woods surrounding the building.
The congregation on hearing the tale Joined
the lynchers and with difficulty could DO kept
from tearing Green limb from limb.
He was tied to a large oak tree and the crowd
of negroes and whites retired to a distance OF
200 feet and began a fusilade with rifles, no
volvers. and stones. The body OF the unfor
tunate negro was mashed and beaten literally tc
Q pulp.
A solemn warning to other offenders was ther
rudely written on o plank and nailed above the
negro's head. after which the mob rapidly van
fshed from view.
The negroes at Tennille did not take the same
view OF the matter as did those at the church
and It is requiring the utmost efforts Of coo
heads to prevent a collision.
The two negroes shot by Green are not ex
pected to live through the night. Thousands
are journeying from Tennille and the surround
ing country to the scene OF the l~ynching to view
|, the result Of the mob's handiwork. and tn
woods arc lit up In all directions by torches il
the hands Of the visitors.
At an early hour this morning matters ha'
quieted down and a clash between the white
and blacks seems to have been averted.