The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-10-05
SHOT BY LYNCHERS.
Horrible Tragedy at An
napolis-- -AVenging q
Woman.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. Oct s, 1S98.-Wright
Smith, colored, who attempted an ASSAULT
on Mrs Morrison, the wife of Captain
James Morrison. of the Third district, res
siding near Jones station, was taken from
jail shortly after two o'clock this morn
ing and shot
The lynching party went to jail. pointed
guns al Night Watchman Duvali and took
the prisoner to Sanders lot. near the
city cemetery. and riddled the body with
bullets.
Smith begged for mercy and cried smur-
der as he was being removed from jail.
At two o'clock this morning the bell
rang at the front Jail door. This is the
night signal to bring in a prisoner.
Waterman Thomas ]. DuvaH went to
the door He took down the inside iron
bar. and as soon as he did the door was
burst open and a half dozen revolvers
We're pointed at his head. Besides them
were masked men, and to the rear OF
them more armed men, without a word
they forced the Waterman to the second
floor. and they demanded the keys to the
corridor and cells. He gave them up.
The door of the corridor swung open
and straight to the cell Of Smith went
the men.
The cell door was thrown wide open and
the prisoner ordered to come out. Neither
the assailants nor the doomed man had
word to say. BY this time the lynchers.
thirty in number, crowded the jan corri-
DORIS some in light white clothes and
masks, and some without masks. Watch
man DuvaH says he could not make out
any person individually, nor could be tell
whether they were young or middle-aged
men. The prisoner was compelled to go
before the men. He walked down the
stairs to the front door and out He
neither offered resistance nor uttered
word until he. reached the front steps on
Calvert street.
Then he gave cry of Murder No
time was lost, and he was showed on be-
fore the lynchers, now numbering be-
tween forty and fifty. He was taken to
the corner of Northwest street and Cali
vert. a distance of fifty yards. AS Smith
turned up Northwest street some one in
the crowd struck him with d cobble-
stone and he fell.
Then he cried murder again, and
when ten yards in advance of the crowd
the Iynchers began to fire on the ravish-
err He fed to the open lot on Northwest
street in the rear of Sanders row Of
buildings. The moon gave sufficient light
TO let the lynehers see what they were
doing. The reports of the revolvers
aroused the people in the vicinity and on
looking out their windows they saw and
heard the fusilade of fifty shots or more
and Smith fell dead on the grass. Then
the lynchers went off as quietly as they
came.
The lynchers were evidently from the
section of the assault They came in
buggies. which were tied up on College
Greek bridge at the northern boundary
of Annapolis. When they left their bug
gies they walked through the rear OF the
campus Of st. Johns College, and then
to the jail
The crime for which Smith was lynched
occurred on. the night of September 2,
while Captain Morrison was absent from
home The house was entered by a negro,
who broke into the room occupied BY
Mrs. Morrison and her sister and attempt
ed to assault them. Both women fought
desperately. and finally drove off their
assailant.
| Last Monday Smith. who had disap-
peared from the neighborhood. was ar
rested in Baltimore and taken to An
napolis. Mrs. Morrison unhesitatingly
identified him as her assailant. He
trembled violently but denied his guilt
There was much feeling against the pris-
oner from the time of his Identification.