The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-01-18

III NulCH bue NlCblIu FOue anu OuS WulCli
had a tank instead of box, and coal
oil for freight. Men beat both to the
scene. These had taken from the
Santa Re track nearby rail and had
set it upright in the ground. About
its base they were piling kindling and
cordwood as the negro and hiscaptors
arrived. Alexander was forced to
stand up in the wagon, so that the
bowling, shouting, screaming thous-
ands could behold him.
"Burn him." from thousands.
Hurry" from as many.
"Confess?" Those nearest to him
asked.
"He has confessed, those further
est from him said; the crowd heard the
latter and never the former. They
gloated as.they saw the fire built.
BY o'clock the st axe was declared
ready. 1t was the work of but few
moments for half dozen men to haul
Alexander from the wagon, upthe four
foot bank of cordwood and to ia stem
chain about his chest and another
about his feet to the rail. Then came
the coal oil. 1t was poured on his
head and allowed to drain to the cord
wood.
"More. Good. Light it,"
The crowd could scarcely wait.
Gtf',,g,ga - s., "a 10 gf finn ,trrra1 old
Mr.. Forbes, determined to finish the
tragedy he had set out to witness, but
anxious to that he was
about to help kill the man who had
killed. more cruelty even, his own
daughter.
81 amt got a thing to confess"
"Then you are off for hell, washis
answer.
"Wait. Let me see my mother. Let
me shake hands with my friends. |
see lots of them here"
But the oil was all poured, and the
match was ignited. In moment there
was "a flicker, II lame, the head of the
negro waved from side to side as the
flames jumped to meet it. A yell
such yell-left histhroat and all was
over.
The fire burned for three hours, but
the man must have died in two min
utes. He must have inhaled the blaze
and burned to death internally.
STANLEY VERY INDIGNANT.
Topeka, Kansas, Jan. Governor
w. +. Stanley is vbdo, indi gnant at
the result of the lynching at Leaven-
worth this afternoon.
'"The sheriff of Leavenwonth is
either despicable scoundrel or
despicable coward, " said the Cover
nor tonight. "There was no reason in
the world why the negro should not
have been protected to the last. The
whole military power of the State
would have been devoted to that effort,
and the sheriff knew it all the time. |
ordered the militia of Lawrence and
Topeka to be ready and they would
have been sent to the scene of the
trouble the minute the sheriff would
say he needed them"
"Instead of that, however, the
sheriff was very sure that he could
guard the man. Upon receiving re-
peated assurances from Sheriff Ever
hardy thathe could and would protect
the prisoner to the last, very re-
luctantly countermanded the order for
the troops to go to Leavcnworth.
1.-The warden of the penitentiary had
no right to keep Alexander there, Gas
ne had been convicted of no crime.
He could do nothing else than deliver
him to the sheriff when that individual
insisted that it should be done. But
the life of the negro should have been
preserved ut all hazards, and it is to
the lasting shame of the great state of
Kansas that such an infamous pro-
ceeding should have been allowed to
take place, within few miles of the
capital city.
"What makes the disgrace to the
State more CALLING is the fact that we
had ample military forces with which
the terrible tragedy could have been
avelted. The sheriff is TO blame and
nobody else. could not very well
send the troops there in the face of the
repeated assurances of the sheriff that
they were not needed and not wanted.
"The death penalty must be re-
stored in Kansas and then things of
this kind will not happen. am 60
ing to do all | can to restore the
death penalty and | think this awful
happening will bring the legislators
to the same opinion"
81 shall tomorrow morning offer a
reward of $500 for the arrest and con-
viction of any person or persons who
participated in the burning. l shall
order the attorney general to investi-
rate the affair and If he finds that the