Evening star., 1898-08-10
Assassination of John T. Orr Avenged
by Mob.
bis GUILTY WIDOW TOOK POISON
Law Not Allowed to Take Its
Course at Clarendon, Ark.
J ALL ER GAVE UP KE Y s

This is the tragic denouement Of the assaS-
sination of John T. Orr, wealthy mer-
chant of Clarendon, a few nights ago. The
wife died from a dose of poison seif-admin-
istered, while the negroes, her associates
in crime, were strung up by a mob of ci.i-
zers.
The lynched area
Manse Castle,
Dennis Ricords
Rilla Weaver,
Susie Jacobs,
Will Saunders.
While the five bodies swung in the early
morning breeze the body of the widow of
the murdered man lay dead in her cell in
the county jail with only the soft, sweet
voice of her three-year-old child Neva to
break the midnight silence Of the gloomy
jail as the little one vainly cried for her
mamma.
Somewhere a young woman, once prom
inent in Clarendon society," is a fugitive
from justice, hunted by the officers of the
law, char ged with murder. Her name is
Miss Rachael Morris, and she is the only
survivor of the coterie of seven named IN
the cororer's verdict as being responsible
fo- the tragic death of John T. Orr.
Mrs. Orr died by her own hand. After
completely breaking down and making
partial confession, in some way she oD-
tained a quantity of poison and took the
=
She never regained consciousness.
The Lynching.
ST. LOUIS, Mo, August 10.-At midnight
a mob composed of 300 citizens visited the
Monroe county Jail at Clarendon Ark, took
therefrom the colored prisoners charged
with the murder of John T. Orr and lynch
ed them The mob was most orderly one.
not word being unnecessarily spoken and
a hpinlr They
the Jail and demanded the keys of Deputy
Sheriff Frank Wilwee, who was in charge.
He at first refused their demands, but see
ing their earnestness turned over to them
the keys. committee of the mob went
inside the Jail and brought out the prison
ers. They were taken to the old mill near
the river, a few hundred yards from the
Jail, strung up and this placard attached
to their dead bodies:
This is the penalty for murder and
rape"
Mrs. Orr, seeing that she would meet
death at the hands of the law, preferred
another route, and consequently took poi
son. She died late yesterday afternoon in
the jail. Just before she lapsed into un-
consciousness she wiiled all of her prop
erty to her little daughter Neva, and
placed it in trust with the Clarendon
Lodge, knights of Pythias, of which her
dead husband was a prominent member.
The AssassinatiOn.
Last trlCay night while making a glass
of lemonade in his own home, an assassin
crept up to his window and fired shot into
Orr's body. from the effect of which he
died the following day.
Mr. Orr had just returned from choir
practice at church of whose choir he was
member, while his wife was the organist
Bloodhounds were put on the trail but
they were unable to run down the assas-
SIN.
After an inquest extending over two days
a verdict was returned charging Mrs. Orr,
the murdered mans wife, with being the
lnStlgator of the crime. Miss Rachael Nor
ris, Manse Castle, Will Saunders Dennis
Rlcord, Rilla Weaver and Susie Jacobs.
Ine . Hve IaSt named negroes, were charged
with completely in the crime
Castle was arrested Sunday and barely
escaped lynching Sunday night The mob
mad already gathered to swing him IN
anu would undoubtedly have carried out
ther pian but for the earnest appeal in
behalf of law and order made by Judee
ihomas who appeared on the scene lust In
time to prevent the lynching He address
so eu the crowd besought the mob to let the
Ia" take lis course and promising them
that the accused should have sneedv
trial. PN'
Accused the Wife,
castle was accused of firing the shot that
killed Orr, but he denied his g1,ilt 40
corning to his story, one of the negro
women involved in the case had told him
that Mrs. Orr wanted her husband killed
and would pay $500 to have the deed done
castle agreed to the proposition. but later
weakened and turned the job over to Ri
cord Ricord likewise denied his guilt and
accused Castle
Ihe negro women in the case had been
ehiployed as cook and servant in the Orr
hcuseho!d, and 1t was shown at the in
quest that they had simply acted as agents
Vi -hrs- OTr In securing q man to do the
Hurder w nat connection Miss Morris had
with the case is not clear from the tnfor-
nation at hard
After the arrest of Mrs Orr and the
hve negroes, Mrs. Orr made a confession
ohe adnntted that she had said to her
COOK that she wished her husband dead
and that she would be willing to give 5000
TO anybody to kill him. But she said this
was uttered while in fit of anger and
tEat she was innocent of any criminal in
tention- Her husband abused her, she said.
and once struck her, and she being of
high temper herself, sometimes said things
in anger that she did not mean.
John Orr was several years ago a the
atrical man, and in 1890 was manager of a.
theater in a small Wisconsin town There
he met and married his wife The mar
riage was clandestine, and the brides par
ents were bitterly opposed to it. The Orrs
lived happily but a short time. Both were
no: tempered and quarrels were frequent
where the husband engaged in business
He prospered and was considered wealthy
at the time of his death.
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