The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-01
six of the Victims swung from "A Sim
gle Tree and the other Prob
ably snOt to Death.
HLL CHARGED WITH MURDER
ALLEGED TO HAVE KILLED AN AGED
NEGRO AND TWO GIRLS,
After Having CriminaIly Assaulted
the Latter, and to Have Tried to
Hide the Crime by Incendiarism.

HOUSTON, Tex. April 90,-For the muir
der of an old man in his cottage. child
in its homage and girl in the first flush
of young womanhood, the ravishment of
the two girls, the burning of the home of
their victims, two of the bodies being con-
were last night sent to their doom by the
hands of an infuriated mob largely COM
posed of negroes, the victims also being
negroes. at Sunnyside, Walter county.
The dead murderers are:
FAYETTE RHONE, twenty-one years
old.
Will. GATES, thirty-hve years old
LOUIS THOMAS, twenty years old.
AARON THOMAS, thirteen years old.
JIM THOMAS. fourteen years old.
BENNY THOMAS, fifteen years old.
WILLIAM WILLIAMS.
Last fall a man from Brenham was rob-
bed of $50. Suspicion pointed to the four
Thomas boys and they confessed to having
committed the theft, saying they had given
$50 of the money to Henry Daniels. Daniels
spent the money and on Sunday evening
last the four Thomas boys. all brothers, ac-
cording to their confession, decided to
either collect their $50 or kill Daniels. They
carried out the latter part of the pro-
gramme. Henry Daniels, an old negro,
lived in a. little hut with his stepdaughter
Marie and a seven-year-old child. Wednes-
day night the house was broken open,
Marie Daniels and the seven-year-old child
were ravished and the old man clubbed to
death trying to protect those in his charge.
Daniels and his stepdaughter were thrown
into the house and the child was thrown
into the well. The house was set on fire
and the murderers left, thinking that they
had covered their inhuman deed from the
sight of the world.
The fire had not attracted much attention
but when Daniels and the girls did not APP
pear the charred location of the house was
searched and the terrible truth was SOON.
only too plain. The burned remnants OF
human bodies left no doubt in one direction,
while the blood stains about the premises
indicated the commission of murder. The
local officers went to work with a will and
were ably assisted by the best citizens OF
SteePs plantation We're secured and they
were net 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. Later on
VIII Williams was captured. When taken
they were smeared with blood and a bloody
shirt was found hidden in Richmonds $
house. The bloodhounds worked we'll, and
after the boys were confronted with the
evidence they owned to committing the
crime and laid the killing on Louis, the old
est. All seven of the prisoners were under
guard last night about IL o'clock when the
guards were overpowered by strong body
of men and the prisoners taken towards
the Brazos bottom north Of here. A little
later forty or fifty shots were fired and all
was quiet.
This morning, dangling from the limbs of
a large oak tree, were found the bodies OF
six negroes limp and lifeless. Hundreds OF
people from all over the county are surg
ing back and forth, with one tree as the
center of attraction. All of the bodies are
there except Williams, and he is not to be
found, but the shots probably explain his
absence.
At late hour this evening the bodies are
still hanging from the tree As far as can
be learned the mob was composed of white
and black men, with the colored element
largely predomnating Tonight there is d
calm after the storm, and public opinion
is almost universal that if the right parties
were apprehended no harm has been done.