Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-11-21
FLEMING AND THE MOB.

As stated in the Gazette of yesterday
one of the mob that attempted to
lynch Magistrate Oscar I. Fleming, Of
Princess Anne county, yesterday morn
ing, was killed by him. Three other
would-be lynchers are said to have
been wounded. Fleming has not been
arrested, and is holding the fort, armed
with Winchester. He declares that
as long as be is under bail for the kill
ing of young Clarence Snyder, for
which the mob wish to lynch him, he
will never be taken alive by anyone
except an officer armed with proper
authority, and he has stationed hia
farm hands as outposts, to warn all
civilians that all persons forbidden en-
trance to his premises, are and that he
will shoot on sight any one attempting
to approach.
A coroner's jury was empanelled to
view the body OF the unknown victim
of Fleming's aim, an unknown man
about forty years OF age who had the
Fleming was put upon the stand, and
testified that about three o'clock that
morning he was awakened by the
sound Of voices about his house, and
taking up his gun, went cut OF his room
to see what the trouble was. He heard
man trying to get in door down
stairs. He then walked out on an up.
per porch in front of his house, and
seeing man below, fred. About this
time the house was fred upon from al
most every direction, and iJ seemed to
him that there was shower of bullete.
He ran back into the house and saw q
man in the hall down stairs, and be
fired at him several times, but the man
escaped. He said there must have
been forty men in the party, and that
after he had killed one of them, the
others ran of across q field back of the
house, to the woods.
The jury rendered a verdict as fol.
lows: 1.-The person, unknown, here ly-
ing dead came to his death by a gun.
shot wound by the hands of 0. I. Elem
ing. while invading the home of said 0
I. Fleming with mob, with intent to
do violence to said o. 1. Fleming"
Whence the mob came, or OF whom
it was composed, is not known. On
confirmed rumors are to the effect that
some twenty men had sworn to kill
Fleming on sight. The scenes attend
ing the assault on the magistrates
house were narrowing in the extreme.
The mob fred volley into the house,
some OF the bullets barely missing Mrs.
Fleming and her children. One of the
daughters of the mob's intended victim
was thrown into commissions by fright.
A report from Princess Anne county is
10 the effect that shots fired through
the windows after nightfall killed two
of Jennings children.
at midnight it was reported that
Deputy Sheriff Powell, of Princess
Anne, had been killed. Whether his
reported death was the result OF an at
tempt to arrest Fleming or an effort to
protect him from would.be lynchers
who were lowering around the place is
not known.
Norfolk, Nov. 21.-The excitement
over the killing of r. B. Gilmore by
Justice Oscar Fleming, in Princess
Anne county, yesterday, has considera-
oily quieted down after the coroner's
verdict last night jusLifying Fleming in
killing the mob's leader. Mobs which
had been assembling in different parts
of the county disbsnded and no attempt
of violence was made upon Fleming
last night. The feeling is running
high, however, over the death of young
Snyder, and mob violence may yet re-
sult.