The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-25
HE DEFIED HUMANITYS LAW.
THE PEHPETR ATOR OF 4 CRIMINAL
OUTRAGE Is LYNCHED.

to a Tree to Answer For "a Foul
Crime-The Victim of the Outrage
Highly Respectable Lady of Tai
Iahassee-The JaiIOr Taken by
Surprise.
Tallahassee, F.a., Jan. PA heinous as
sault was perpetrated upon Miss Emma
Apthorpe, beautiful young lady living in
the northern suburbs of this city, about
O'Clock, Saturday night, the 18th inst, by
black brute known as Pierson Taylor.
Miss Apthorpe is the eldest daughter of
William Lee Apthorpe, deceased, the car
pet-bag ex-surveyor general in this state
He was also the secretary of the famous
returning board that gave the electoral
vote of Florida in 1876 to Hayes. When the
democrats were returned to power in Flor
ida the Apthorpes retired to a small farm
where the family stin live in the northern
suburbs of the city. OF late years the
family have been running dairy farm.
Miss Apthorpe is about % years of age
She has a grown brother and a younger
sister Two Apthorpe families are living
in the same vicinity. both being in the
dairy business and having a good city
trade. On the evening of the 10th, after
the city rounds had been made, Miss
| Emma took the delivery wagon, placed in
it the empty cans. and drove over to the
other Apthorpe place, a short distance,
| leaving the cans for the mornings milk
delivery. and was returning home in the
half way back home. at secluded spot,
|
ahead of her, which directly proved to be
the villainous, inhuman wretch, Pierson
| Taylor. When he met the frightened girl,
| who was entirely alone, he seized
| her horse and asked permission to
| ride. He was refused. He then seized
the woman by her dress, when a desper-
| ate struggle ensued. The brute tore near
| ly all the clothing from the girl and de-
| molished the entire side of the surrey I'm
| dragging her from the vehicle. He then
| took his victim to a place by the road
| side and was proceeding to accomplish his
| hellish design, when, attracted by the
| screams of the woman, Robert Ferrell, a
| respectable negro man, living near came
| to her rescue as fast as his feet could
| take him. Upon Ferrell's approach the
| villain, foiled in his atrocious assault de-
sisted and vanished into the darkness.
The young lady was placed in her bug
| gy and assisted home by Ferrell, where
she remained prostrated by a nervous at
tack for two days.
The matter was brought to the atten-
ton of the proper authorities early last
| Monday morning by Miss Apthorpe' $
brother. quiet search was Immediately
| instituted for the negro and he was
caught that evening. He was given a
| preliminary hearing by the Judge and
committed to Jail for trial. There We're
threats of lynching, but nothing was done
| and the sheriff had begun to think every.
thng was safe from trouble of that kind
At o'clock this morning a small mob
gathered in front of the jail, and on be-
| ing refused admittance, broke down the
doors, dragged the man out, hung him to
| a tree and filled his body with bullets
| before he had died from strangulation
The mob departed, leaving the body hang
ing.
A coroner's jury examined the body to-
| day, and returned a verdict of death from
hanging and shooting at the hands of un-
known parties.
Tallahassee, Jan. A-The following ad-
ditional facts in the lynching case may not
prove uninteresting:
There had been some talk of lynchng
Taylor among the negroes previously, as
he was a bad character and had made sew
eral attempts to outrage negro women and
girls and on the same day of his arrest
he had made an attempt on a white lady,
but she whipped up her horse and es-
capped.
Sheriff Pierce apprehended no trouble
from any of the citizens, but kept up a
vigilant watch. He spent Thursday
night at the jail and left there at IL o'clock
Saturday night.
AT preliminary hearing Thursday
Taylor was positively Identified by Miss
Apthorp, and the ferrell of his walking
cane was found in the buggy and II was
~. 81 "a. au4I
Between and O'Clock TINS
morning, about twelve armed men,
masked, visited the jail and called
on the negro cook for the
keys. He had only the keys to the outer
gate which he surrendered under cover OF
a revolver. He was made to direct the
crowd to Taylor's cell, and hold lamp
while they. with sledge hammers and a
cold chisel. broke four heavy Yale locks
to reach the prisoner.
TAYLOR was rushed into the jail yard, a
rope fixed about his neck and he was
hanged to a limb projecting over the fence
and two shots fired into his body There
was also one bruise on his head.
While this was going on the cook went
to the house of A. Hopkins, who had the
| iail keys, one block away. He put the
cook on horse and told him TO 90 for
Sheriff Pierce, half mile distant. The
sheriff came on the horse, and soon Depu-
ty Hopkins and Policeman Henry were
there, but no trace was discovered OF the
| lynchers.
A number of persons reside within a
hundred yards OF the jail, but the job was
30 quietly done that no one was disturDe1.
This Is the first occurrence of the kind In
this county and the act Is openly con-
demned by every good citizen.
This crime against the dignity of the
law Is all the more deplored, because less
than three weeks since Gov. Bloxham, in
his Inaugural address. denounced lynch.
ing in the strongest terms.
The community Is unusually quiet. Gov
Bloxham returned from Tampa on the
afternoon train. and the public may rest
assured that he Will have a thorough IN
vestigation of the affair
| -s~o~s---
TO INSPECT HARDOR WORK.