The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-08-11
A GRUfS0ME SIGHT
TREES LADEN WITH CORPSES OF
WOMEN AND MEN
All the Parties Hanged Were Negroes
Some Of Them Prominent in
Church. Work

were lynched at Clarendon at an early hour
this morning.
Such was the startling news reaching
Little Rock shortly after 1 o'clock. Every
effort to confirm the news was made by
| the Gazette. but Geographic communities
ton was suspended for the night and 1t wa $
impossible to reach a correspondent All
doubt about the truth of the report was
cleared away when at 3 O'Clock this morn
ing the telegraph operator in the Cotton
Belt Railroad office at Clarendon was
| reached.
us 1t a fact that a lynching has occurred
| there?' he was asked.
mot just one, but flve." he clicked back.
II saw the bodies myself -Four of them
| are hanging 10 the limb of tree not far
away and few yards further the body OF
| the fifth Is dangling from a galtows Of the
| same kind"
According to this source of informant ton
all Of the victims of the mob were negroes
They were the parties accused of the
murder Of John r. Orr, tho wealthy young
| merchant who was assassinated q fcW
nights ago. Their names are:
WILL. SANDERS,
DENNIS RICHARD,
MANSE CASTLE,
RILI.A WEAVER,
SUSIE JACOBS.
While the five bodies swung in the early
| morning breeze the body of the widow c.
the murdered man lay rigid in death in he,
cell In the county Jail, with the soft, swee,
voice of her three-year- child to breal,
the midnight silence Of the gloomy jail, as
tot
ma"
somewhere young woman once prom
| inent in Clarendon society, Is q fugitive
from justice, hunted by the officers of tho
law, charged with murder. Her name is
| Miss Rachael Morris. and she is the only
survivor Of the coterie of murderers named
IN the coroner's verdict as responsible for
the tragic death Of John T. Orr.
Mrs. Orr died by her own hand. Ate,
completely breaking down and making q
| partial confession she obtained in some
| manner quantity of poison and took the
dose about o'clock yesterday afternoon
She never regalned consciousness.
The details of the fearful work of the mob
are unobtainable at this hour About II
O. CLOCK last night the last dispatch was re.
ceived direct from a Gazette correspondent
1t was stated in the dispatch that every
thing was quiet. the prisoners in charge CT
a deputy sheriff and that there was nc
| prospect of lynching before morning !,
| is evident from this that the lynching oc-
| CURED at very late hour and the moi
planned Its work so well that their appea r.
ance was in the nature of surprise.
From the last dispatch 1t was seen tina,
| Sheriff jackson Wac NIT In
the lynching occurred, as 1t is stated thai
he was taken seriously i'll and went HON,
for medical treatment, leaving the prison.
ers In charge of Deputy Milwee.
Clarendon has been the scene NJ orea,
excitement since the assassination of Orr
MI. orr was prominent young hard
ware dealer OF that city. Last Friday night
while making lemonade in his home. an
assassin crept up to his window and fired
shot into his body, from the effect of
which he died the following day. There
was apparently no clew to the assassin.
Mr.. Orr had just returned from choir
practice at church of whose choir he was
| q member while his wife was the organist.
Bloodhounds were put on the trail but
| they were unable to run down the assas-
sins.
After an inquest extending over two DAYS.
verdict was returned charging Mrs. Orr.
the murdered mans wife, with being the
instigator of the crime. Miss Rachael Nor
ris, prominent young Jewess Manse
Castle. Will Sander, Dennis Richard, Rilla
Weaver and Susie Jacobs, the latter five
negroes. were charged with completely In
the crime. Castle was arrested Sunday
and barely escaped lynching. The mob had
already gathered to swing him up and
would undoubtedly have carried out their
plan but for the earnest appeal In behalf
Of law and order made by Judge Thomas.
who appeared on the scene just In time to
prevent the lynching. He addressed the
crowd, beseeching them to let the law
take its course and promised that the ac-
cused should have speedy trial.
Castle was accused of firing the shot
that killed Orr, but he denied hts guilt
According 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 ter
| weakened and turned the job over to Rick
ard. Richard likewise denied his guilt and
accused Castle. The negro women In the
case had been employed as cook and serv-
ant in the Orr household, and 1t was shown
at the inquest that they had simply acted
as agents of Mrs. Orr in securing a man to
do the murder. What connection Miss
Morris had with the case Is not clear with
the information at hand. After the ar
rest Of Mrs. Orr and the five negroes, Mrs
Orr made a confession. She admitted 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 that this was uttered while in
OF any criminal Intention.
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 manager, and In 1890 was manager
of a theater in a small Wisconsin town.
There he met and married his wife. The
marriage was clandestine and the brides
parents were opposed to It, They lived
happily but a short time. Both were hot
tempered and quarreled frequently. few
years ago, the Orrs settled in Clarendon
where the husband engaged In business
He prospered and was considered wealthy
at the time of his death. A three-year-old
daughter the only Issue Of the unhappy
marriage, is left an orphan.
COULD NOT STOP THEM
MI MI l. Ual~ IN D,A- Av>k