The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-12
LEWIS HANGED BY LYNCHERS.
HUSBAND AND FATHER PLEADED
WITH THE Mob TO WAIT.

Based His Appeal on the Ground
That His Surviving Daughter is so
Young That She Might BE Mistaken
in Her Identification of the Hur-
derer-MOb Finally Loses Control
of Itself and Hangs the Prisoner.
Suspicion Aroused That Smith Hir-
ed the Negro to DO the Killing.
Brcokhaven Miss. Dec. u.-Additonal
details of the murder of Mrs. Brown
Smith and her four children in Lawrence
county, about twenty-four miles east of
here on last Wednesday, and the subse-
quent lynching of the supposed murderer
were received to-day.
After capturing Charlie Lewis, the al
legged murderer. the mob placed him along
side of several other negroes and asked the
little girl, who was not killed by the muir
derer, to pick out the one who killed her
mother. She at once pointed 10 Charles
Lewis. This strong evidence 10 the mob
made it difficult for Sheriff Gasset of Mon
ticello to induce the people to turn the ne
gro over to him for safe keeping He as
sured them he would have the negro at
Bankston Ferry yesterday morning at 10
O'Clock for trial. AS promised. he arrived
on time with Lewis, and another mob of
200, armed with shotguns and Winchest-
ers, met him on the opposite bank of the
river. Speeches were made by the cool
headed men, among them being Hon. a.
+. Weathersby, senator from Lawrence
county, and Rev. Drummonds a Metho-
bn nix o1a f-,,-
the negro's life.
Mr.. Smith, the man whose family was
murdered, and who should, of course, have
felt the most aggrieved, jumped up on the
water shelf of the little store gallery, and
pleaded with the crowd to be patient and
not to rush hastily into a thing they might
regret. He said that while he did not
doubt his chi.d's word, yet she was SO
young that there was possibility that she
might have been mistaken. He said there
was something in there pointing 10 his
left breasO which did not exactly satisfy
him about the matter.
The words of Smith did more to quiet
the mob than anything, but about that
time rain commenced to pour down in tor
rents and those who could, together with
tiiS RiA9SAANAt GCA5Ab SuGllGE lISlle the
store.
As soon as the rain stopped an attempt
was made to hold court, but this was soon
found to be impossible.
After parleying for some time the mob,
under the leadership of a few determined
men, made a rush for the negro and sue
ceeded in getting him from the deputies af-
ter hard struggle They then put a plow
line around the negros neck and ran up
the street with him. He was put on a big
black horse and driven under a tree After
the rope was made fast to a limb, the
horse was driven from under him. His feet
touched the ground, but he was strangling
and Mr. Arlington, one of the lawyers and
another man, cut him down. He could not
speak.
The crowd allowed him to be revived and
then hung him in earnest His body was
left hanging by the roadside. Lewis denied
his guilt to the last.
A report that the negro committed the
murder at the instigation of Smith, which
has gained currency, is discredted by his
neighbors, but the facts and circumstances
connected with the affair will all be sifted
to the bottom.