The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-08-22
NEGRO HUNT
IN NEW YORK.
Mob of White Toughs As.
sault Negroes Outrageously

New York. Aug l5.-A mob of
several hundred persons formed at IL
O'Clock tonight in front of the home
Of Policemen Robert j Thorpe.
Thirty seventh street and Ninth ave.
nue. to wreak vengeance upon the
negroes Of that eighborhood because
one of their race had caused the
policeman's death Thorpe was
stabbed and bruised last Sunday
night by several negroes when be
was attempting to arrest a colored
woman The man who inflicted most
of the injury is said to be Arthur
Harris, negro who came here
several weeks ago from Washington
In few moments the mob tonight
swelled to 800 people or more. and
as they became violent the negroes
fled in terror into any binding place
they could find
The police reserves from four sta.
tions, numbering 400 in all, were
called out.
The mob of white men, which
grew with great rapldity, ragged
through the district and negroes, re.
gard'ess of age or sex, were indis.
criminately attacked. Scores were
injured 1t took the combined
efforts Of the reserves with az maoy
more policemen on regular patrol
duty in the four precincts to restore
order. Clubs were used until the
policemen were almost exhausted
Revolvers were emC:ied into the air
and in one or two instances fred at
the upper stories of the negro teue
ments from which the negroes defen
sively fired bricks. paving stones and
other missiles.
The policeman's body was brought
to his home tonight in Ninth avenue
between Thirty sixth and Thirty-sev.
enth streets AT once the house
became sort of shrine, and from all
over the vicinity men and women
called to pay their respects Many
carried handsome floral offerings.
As the night grew on the feeling
against the negroes seemed to grow
The fact that many saloons round.
about were crowded doubtless had
its influence on the rising tide of
anger
A few minutes before II o'clock u
Irish woman under the influence of
drink came out of the place. She
sot up howl and began to recite the
virtues of the dead policeman She
said the negroes ought to be killed
just then young negro walked by
The white men made rush for him
and he was quickly surrounded He
was beaten and kicked and was res
cued With great difficulty If there
had been carefully arranged plot
and this had been the agreed signal
the outbreak could not have been
more spontaneous Men and women
poured by the hundreds from the
neighboriDg tenements Negroes
were set upon wherever they could
be found and brutally beaten The
blacks at fret offered resistance, but
they were SO soon outnumbered that
they fled without delay
For the next hour the streets were
filled with a rioting, surging mob
1t was a scene on very much the same
order as that which was witnessed
few days ego in New Orleans New
York has seldom had its equal The
shouting of men. the shrieking Of the
women, the lamentations of the chill.
dren. the shooting of revolvers, the
the crashing of wiDdows-ali made
perfect pandemonium
Chief Devery was at his home right
in the heart of the battle ground, but
did not take charge of the place at
once. He finally took personal com
mand
The police said the negroes were
rapidly arming with the revolvers
and knives They cay that nearly all
the prisoners had weapons of some
SORT The ponce did great deal OF
tho negroes. some of whom
were roughly handled Many
negroes were hauled into the
west Thirty seventh streets sta.
tlon for protection. None had
escaped without some kind of
injury. aud some of them were bleed
ing from half dozen cuts
The crowd that surged into Broad
way seemed ug!ier than that farther
west There were at one time more
than 5000 persons in Broadway up
and down, into and out Of the
hotels and saloons, through Herald
squaSc and side tracks the mob
surged and hushed. looking for
negroes Any unfortunate black was