Abilene weekly reflector., 1899-03-30
A SAVAGE RACE WAR
Seven Negroes Strung Up by Infuri-
ated Whites in Arkansas.
OTHER BLACKS TO MEET A like FATE
Murder> and Thefts BY the Coiorsd Pops.
lation In Little River County, Art.
Work Up the Whites-A Lynch.
Ing bee In Mississippi

1eXarkana, ARK, March "a. "A rae
war is on in Little River county ant
during the past 4S hours an inde6nit,
number Of negroes have met thei
death at the hands Of an infuriatet
white population. Seven are know
to have been lynched, shot to death o.
slain in some manner and the work il
not yet done. The bodies Of the vic
Tins of the mob's vengeance are hang
ing to the limbs of trees in variou.
parts OF the county, strung up where
ever overtaken. while thu OF another
who was shot to dei th while trying tt
escape was thrown INTO a creek and
left there. The ,olntry is in state
OF most intense xaltement.
White men are collecting in mobs,
heavily armed and determined; ne
groes are heeir & for their lives and the
community is in an uproar. The ex.
act number Of negroes who have been
summarily dealt with or those who
may yet fall into the hands of the mob
before order is restored may never be
known. Seven bodies have been found
and other victims are being hunted
and will meet a similar fate when run
to earth.
Little River county is in the extreme
southwest corner of the state, bordered
on the west by the Indian territory
and on the south by Texas. The me-
gro population is large and has for a
long time proved very troublesome to
the whites. Frequent murders have
occurred and thefts and fights have
become common affairs. One or two
negroes have previously been severely
dealt with when the people found it
necessary to take the law into their
own hands, but it was not until Tues.
day that the trouble took on very
serious aspect ltthen developed that
carefully.laid plans had been made by
number of negroes to precipitate
race war and that many white men
had been marked for victims. It is
learned that 90 negroes were impli.
Gated in this plot. and the whites are
now bent on dealing out summary
punishment to the entire coterie Of
conspirators. Seven have been killed
and the work Of wiping out the entire
list continues without relaxation of
determination.
The trouble arose over the killing Of
James Stockton by Duckett. Just
prior to the lynching of Duckett the
negroes had planned the inauguration
of race war; Duckett was the leader,
and at his death the negroes let the
matter out and the citizens became
greatly enraged. Another negro,
named Joe King, remarked that Stock.
ton should have been murdered sooner.
He was taken to the woods and
whipped, as was also John Johnson
Other negroes made threats, but moth
ing occurred until Wednesday, when
the dead body OF Goodwin was found
hanging to tree just across Red river
from the Stockton farm in Bowie
county, Tex
Advces from New Boston, Tex, last |
night are to the effect that across the
river several negroes have been
lynched. Yesterday morning Ben.
jamin Jones was found dead on Hurri-
cane bend, and from New Boston it is |
learned that Joe King and Moses
Jones were found hanging to trees
vt Horseshoe curve yesterday. Another
Jones is missing. In the gang that
was plotting for race war were %
negroes, and it is likely that the entire
number have been strung up in the
thickets The negroes are fleeing
from the district.
A LYNCHING BEE IN MISSISSIPPI
Jackson, Miss. March 24.-Three ne.
yroes were taken from an officer of
he law and lynched by an armed mob
lear Silver City, in Yazoo county
After being shot to death the bodies
If the victims were weighted with
bundles Of cotton bale ties and thrown
nto the Yazoo river The negroes
we're Minor Wilson, c. c. Reed and
Willis Boyd. They were the ringlead-
RS of the negroes in race encounter
IN the Midnight plantation early last
week.
Declines to Accent Freedom.
Indianapolis, Ind, March 23. Mrs.
augusta Schmidt, who is serving a
en-years sentence in the Indiana
voman's prison, has been paroled by
iov. Mount and declines to accept her