The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-03-24

Texarkana, Ark, March ga race
war Is On in Little River county and
during the last forty-eight hours an in
definite number Of negr oes have met their
death ct tho hands of the white popula-
tion. Seven are known to have been
lynched and the work is not done yet. :
Thc bodies of the victims of the mob 8
vengeance are hanging to the limbs Of
trees in various parts of the county.
The country is in state Of most in
tense excitement. White men are collect
ing in mobs, heavily armed and deter
mined; negroes are fleeing for their lives.
The exact number of negroes who have
been summarily dealt with may never be
known. Seven bodies have been found
and other victims are Icing hunted and
will meet similar fate when run to
earth. The known dead to date are.
General" Duckett, Edwin Goodwin,
Adam King, Joe Jones, Ben Jones, Moses
Jones and an unknown man.
Joe King and John johnson were also
taken In hand by mobs and VIII ipped
They were afterwards turned loose and
have disappeared. Little River county is
In the extreme southwest corner OF the
state, being bordered on the west by the
Indian Territory and on the south by
Texas. The negro population Is large and
has for 10 g time proved very trouble
some. Frequent murders have occurred
and thefts and fights have become COM
previously been severely dealth with
when the people found it n. oessary to
taks the law into their own hands, but il
was not until Iuesd y that rhe trouble
assumed a serious aspect. 1t then de-
veloped that carefully laid plans had been
made by number of negroes to precipi-
tate race war and that msny white men
had been marked for victims. 1t IL
learned that twenty-three negroes were
implicated in this plot and the whit are
now bent on melting out summary
punishment to the entire coterie of con
spirators Seven have been killed and the
work of wiLpin: out the entire list con-
tinues without relaxation. All impli-
ca ed in the plot are known and parties
of whits men, varying in number from
twenty-five TO fifty are securing tht
country for them, wherever ole is founc
he is quickly strung up and his body per
forated with bullets. The work OF de
spatchi the first two or three was an
easy matter But the news soon spread
among the negroes. who stead OF
making tho resi- tsnce and Offering the
ba tie they had threa ened, became panic
strick .n and began getting out Of Jnt
community as quietly as possible Two
whose names we're on the list OF conspira
tors got IL good start and succeeded in
! reaching the Texas state line before be-
ing oyertaken. They were strung III
without cere nony. The trouble arc e over
the killing of james Stockt by Duck.
ett. just prior to the lynching Duck
EFT, tho negroes had planned the inauCu
ration of q race war. Duckett was the
leader and at his death the negroes lei
the matter out. The citizens became
greatly enrsgsd. Joe King md John
johnson were taken to the woods apd
whipped. Other negroes made theil
threats, but nothing occurred until yes
terday when the wholesale lynching be-
gan. In the gang that was plotting for t
race war were twenty three negroes. md
1t is proba BILE that the entire number have
been killed. 1t is known to certainty
that the seven ringleaders are dead. The
negr ss are fleeing from the district
Three wagons filled with negr es arrived
at Iexarkana, today having crossed Red
River at Index la midnight