The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-06-04
BURNED AT THE STAKE
Horrible Death Suffered by q Negro
for Hefnous Crimes.

Barlow, Fla, May 29.-Fred Ro-
chelle. a black negro. So years Of age,
who at moor yesterday criminaIly as
saulted and then murdered Mrs. Rem
Taggart, a we'll known and respectable
white woman Of this city. was burned
at the stake here early this evening in
the presence of a throng Of people. The
burning was on the scene Of the ne
gro's crime, within 100 yards Of the
principle ~thoroughfare of this city.
The assault and murder was one Of
the boldest and most ld-blooded
crimes ever committed in Florida. At
10 o'clock yesterday morning, Mrs. Tag
CART. who was born n reared in this
place and was a woman of good family
and reputation, went fishing alone in
a small row boat that she kept at the
city bridge over Piaco creek. This is
in full view Of the public th~oroughfare.
A few minutes before noon Mrs. Tag
CART, desiring to return home, rowed
her boat to the bridge and made it fast.
A negro man was fishing from the
bridge at the same time. Mrs Taggart
started home n had proceeded. only
a few steps in the swamp toward the
open prairie INT thence to the street
when she was approached by Rochelle
WHO udu Dee1 HlOlIlS III the SWdIlp. 4
seized her and she broke loose and,
screaming, ran from the swamp into
the prairie where he overlook her, over
powered her and assaulted her.
After the assault. while she was pros
trate. he held her with his hands and
knees and taking his knife from his
pocket, cut her throat from ear to ear,
causing instant death He then walked
to the negro who had been fishing on
the bridge and who was thoroughly
frightened and asked him what he
should do with the body. He says he
told him to leave it where it wa
u%nheedful of this request. he took the
bleeding form in his arms and carried
it back to the swamp, threw it down
n escaped into the interior of the
swamp
In a few minutes the crime had been
reported and in less than an hour prac-
tically the entire city was in arms and
a we'll armed posse was moving in ev-
cry direction in search of the criminal.
Bloodhounds were secured inc al nigh;
the fruitleSS search was continued. This
morning no trace of the negro had
been secured and the people were be-
coming more desperate in their deter
minatiOn to a~pprehend him, as the
chances for his final escape seemed to
grow.
About noon a courier arrived an
nouncing that the negro had been cap
tured by two other negroes three miles
south of the city.
Posses were Immediately on the trail,
but the captors evaded detection and
succeeded in getting their prisoner
quickly into the city and in turning
him over to the sheriff of Pix county.
In less than ten minutes after the
transfe had been made, as if the news
| had been flashed voluntarily through
| out the city and neighborhood, the
| SfrQafS haoamo nnn 0aStQ6 with np0nI0-
and the crowd augmented as 1t march
| ed on the Jail.
In spite of the sheriff and a strong
| guard of extra deputies who made ev-
cry effort to protect HIM from mob vio-
| lence, they secured the prisoner n
took up the march to he scene of the
crime. He was half dragged, half car
ried to h bridge, enveloped by a
| great throng of people of all ages, who
were resolute and determined, but quiet
and orderly. Scream after scream
broke from the wretch's quivering lips,
followed by groans and prayers for
mercy. At the bridge the mob turned
toward the prairie and then into the
swamp and to the scene of the negro's
horrible crime.
By common consent burning was to
be the penalty. There were no ropes and
no plans for lynching by hanging.
The stake was the only sugges-
ton as to the prope ~eXpiatiOn of
the crime and without organized effort
and yet with apparently unanimous
understanding a barrel was in readi-
ness and was placed by the stake on
the very spot where Mrs. Taggart was
assaulted and murdered.
On his the negro was placed and
chained to the stake. Louder and loud
er and more desperate grew mis- plead
ings to God and man for mercy, but in
the great crowd around him silence was
the only response. There were no jeers,
no swearing, no disorder. Before the
chains around the negro had been made
fast, cans of kerosene oil from any
sources were passed to the front and
and slowly but deliberately poured it
upon him, and his clothes and the bar
rel were we'll saturated.
It was then 6 o'clock. The crowd was
growing. business in the city had been
practically suspended and all eyes were
turned toward the scene. In an in
slant the match was applied. AS il by
explosion the blaze quickly leaped sky
ward in volume. The burning body
could be seen only as a dark object in
the circle of a maddened, roaring flame.
Then the fire leSsened in speed and
the writhing body came back to full
view, but already the groans had ceased
and the only evidence of life was the
contortionS of the muscles of the limbs.
For fifteen minutes the body burned
and in half an hour from the minute
of the application of the match only the
charred bones were left as a reminder
Of h negro'S horrible crime and his
fate.
The crowd dispersed as orderly as it
L hod OofharoI on1 a r 2 n'nI0aE fnniOht