The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-23

Ashville, Aug. 2z.-(Specfal. 1.-The | trial today of Jim Brown, the negro rapist, resulted in a bloody fight be-
 tween Sheriff North's force and a mob
 of about 400 men. congregated in front of the court house. Over one hundred shots were fired, and three persons. all supposed to be members of the mob,
 were wounded. The wounded are Wal ter Blankenship. shot through the head with Winchester rifle ball; Ar thur Blankenship. shot through the head and shoulders with buck shot, and a Boy named Hanby. shot through the shoulder. At last accounts, Walter Blankenship was dying and Arthur Blankenship was not expected to re- cover.
 Jim Brown was tried at a special term of court today for assault to rape Miss Dell Garrett near Springville early last May. Court convened at 10 o'clock, Judge Pelham presiding. The trial lasted just two hours and one minute. The only witnesses heard were those for the State, the defense putting no witnesses on the stand but contending itself with cross-examina- tion.
 When Miss Garrett took the stand, Judge Pelham required all the specta- tors to leave the courtroom. the only persons who were permitted to remain
 being the lawyers, officers. newspaper
 men and attaches of the court Miss Garrett recited the shocking details of hn ov1 at
 Brown, said: "He is the guilty man;
 there can be no mistake about it; he is the man." She said that after the ne- gro had assaulted her, he tried to
 drown her in pond. but her struggles prevented him from doing so.
 At Il :50 o'clock the case was given to
 the jury. and after being our eleven minutes, the following verdict was re- turned: We. the jury. find the de-
 fendant guilty as charged in the indict-
 ment and fix the penalty at death." It
 then became noised around that the judge had ordered the sheriff to take the prisoner, who had been sentenced to | hang September 20, back to Birming-
 ham for safe-keeping. This enraged
 the populace and the sheriff was called upon by citizens and warned not to | take the negro outside of St. Clair County. The sheriff is said to have re- piled that he had certain orders and
 would proceed to obey them.
 At the conclusion of the trial the crowd in front of the Court House was so large that the Sheriff deemed it un-
 safe to try to get his prisoner back to the jail at that time. Inside the Court
 House with Sheriff North and the prls- oner were twenty-eight deputies armed
 with shotguns and rifles. These offi- cers had been arranged around the bar during the trial, almost completely surrounding the prisoner, who sat trembling in a chair. An hour after court adjourned the mob had increased | to about 400 men and there were loud cries made for the prisoner The Sheriff finally stepped to the Court House door and warned the members of the mob that he would shoot the first man who set foot upon the Court House steps. A few moments later an excited cit izen rushed up the steps with a drawn
 revolver and began firing it. This was
 the signal for a battle and general
 shooting followed, the officers firing
 from the Court House windows and the
 mob shooting back from the street and retreating as it did so. Bullets flew in
 every direction. Three members of the
 citizens party were seen to fall, and
 then the mob ran going to the south side of the Court House.
 The wounded men were picked up and
 hurried away to receive medical atten-
 ton. It was found that Walter Blank
 enship had been shot through the head with a rifle ball and would die. Ar
 thur Blankenship was shot through the
 head and shoulders with buckshot. A
 boy named Hanby was wounded in the shoulders. The mob was about to form on the other side of the Court House,
 when a heavy rain came up and it's members scattered to nearby stores to seek shelter, many of them mean
 while having run away to get more guns and men.
 The Sheriff and his posse still held the Court House and the Sheriff. 1t is said, sent out word for a telegram 10
 be sent to the Governor for troops. The
 telegraph operator, 1t is said, refused to send the message unless the sherir's name was signed to 1t. Before the con- flict occurred several speeches were made to the mob urging them to desist from any violent action. Clerk of the City Court Hood was among the speak CTS. He oounseled moderation and a citizen from Springville named Conc ton also spoke in a similar vein.