Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1901-01-19
BURNED At TILE STAKE.
RiStous- Mob Executed a Negro at
Leavenworth, Kan.
DIED PROTESTING HIS INNOCENCE

The Mob OF 5000 Who witnesses the
TerribleLynching Rushed Fer Rel
Tea when the FIanes Had Dome
Their Awful Work.
Leavenworth, Kan, Jan. 16.-E'red
Alexander, the negro who on Saturday
evening attempted to assault Miss Eva
Roth, by whom he was identified, and
who was supposed to have assaulted
and killed Pearl Forbes in this city In
November last, was taken from his cell
In the county Jail by a mob yesterday
and burned at the stake at the scene
OF his alleged crime, half a dozen
blocks from the center OF the city
Probably 5000 people witnessed the
| lynching.
The crowd first attempted to gain
admission to the Jail by peaceful
means, but Sheriff Everhardy sternly
refused to give up the negro. Then
the jail doors were forced. and the mob.
soon dragged out the wretch. He had
been struck over the head with ham
mer, but was conscious. Men fought
to get at him and struck savagely at
him, hitting only his captors, who
guarded him we'll
Outside the stockade the crowd
surged. Alexander and his eaptors
were surrounded by a solid wall of hui
man flesh, Across Third street and
up the hill into the court house yard
they dragged him. Then they stop
ped still.
Confess before we harm you" said
they.
81 am innocent. am dying for what
another man did. I see lots of my
friends here; they know l did not do
1t. If 1 had been guilty would have
said so at the penitentiary and would
have stayed there for life. The war
den told me so. The policeman told
me so. Would not ] have told them
II was guilty?''
When he talked his voice was steady
He spoke with the resignation of a
man who sees before him only death
The negro was taken in a wagon, fol-
lowed by bowling thousands, to the
place where Miss Forbes was murdered.
He constantly reiterated his innocence
Arriving at the place he was placed on
pile OF wood. with hands still shack
led, and there bound to an upright rail-
road iron. Chains and irons were
wrapped about him, and with his hands
still shackled he was made fast to the
post. Coal oil was then poured over
him.
Before the match was applied John
Forbes. the father OF the murdered girl.
stepped up to Alexander and said:
Are you guilty of numbering my
daughter"
81 don't know what you have me
here for" said Alexander.
Forbes replied: For killing my
daughter on this very spot"
"Mr. Forbes, If that's your name. you
have the wrong man." said the negro.
Burn him; burn him." cried the
crowd
Gentlemen, you've got lots OF time"
| said Alexander. You're burning an
innocent man. You took advantage of
me. You gave me no show. Can
| Sc my mother?"
A man in the crowd called for the
mother, but she was not in the crowd.
Alexander then said: "WiH you let
me shake hands with all my friends?"
You have no friends in this crowd
| you id beast" said one of the men
in charge of the negro. eff you have
anything to say. say II in a hurry
Another men then stepped up and
said to Alexander: make your peace
with your God, niger. for you will
| surely die"
Coal oil was then applied for the
second time, and while IL was being
done Alexander called to acquaintance
in the crowd and said goodbye to them.
1
| the father OF the murdered girl, lighted
the match. Again Alexander was ask
( ed to make a confession, but he replied
/ that he had nothing to say.
AS the flames leaped about him Al
exander turned CHASTITY hue, and
clasping his hands together began to
sway to and fro while the crowd yelled
In five minutes the negro was hang
ing limp and lifeless by the chains
that bound him. AS soon as the crowd
saw that life was extinct Il began to
slowly dispense. Hundreds, however,
stayed to the last
When the fire had died down suf-
ficiently to allow the crowd to approach
the remains OF Alexander there was a
wild scramble to obtain relics. Bits
OF charred flesh, pieces OF chain, scraps
OF wood, everything that could possibly
serve as souvenir, was seized on
with morbid eagerness.
| Governor w. Il. Stanley, saws n To-
| peka dispatch, is indignant over the
| lynching at Leavenworth. He says il
will result in the establishment of the
death penalty in Kansas, as il should
do. Governor Stanley condemns Sher-
In Everhardy in unmeasured terms.
PhiladeIphin's Murder Mystery.
Philadelphia, Jan. 15.-The police
yesterday recovered the broken pieces
OF the bottle which is believed to have
contained the poison administered to
Rev. Father Riegel, rector of the
Church OF the Presentation, Chelten-
ham, who is alleged to have been muir
dered and robbed in a house on North
Eighth street. Among the several sus-
poets under arrest is a 16-year-old boy
known as kid" Howard He inform
ed Coroner Dugan that after the phial
had been shattered he buried it in the
yard. where it was discovered. The
boy was then committed as a principal
in the. alleged crime. Later a warrant
was issued for man whose name was
not made public.
The Texas On Find.
Beaumont, Tex, Jan. 16.-The ex.
element here over the big oil well in
/ craa sas with each hour Tharn 20 nc