The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-08-16
BURNED At THE STAKE
NEGRO RAVlSHER CREMATED BY
A MOB NEAR ENTER.
PRISE, ALA.
BOTH WHITES AND BLACKS


Crowd Shows No Sympathy for the
Frantic Wretch-Five Hundred Peo
Pile Watch the Scene Until the Body
Is Entirely Consumed.
Birmingham, Ala, Aug. S.-With az
onizing screams and his eyes Dulging
from his head John Wesley Penning'
ton, negro, was burned at the stake
near Enterprise, Ala, before crowd
of 500 enraged and determined citi'
zens of Coffee county. The mob was
composed of both whites and blacks,
and though the suffering wretch plead
ed for mercy and frantically en-
deavored to break the chains that
tightly bound him not trace of SYM
pathy was shown on the faces that
peered at him through the flames.
Pennington had committed a brutal
assault upon Mrs. ]. c. Davis, the wife
of one of the most prominent farm
ers of Coffee county, and confessed his
guilt. The crime was committed
while Mrs. Davis was gathering vege-
tables in her. garden. After accom-
plishing his purpose the negro fed
through the woods near by. Mrs. Da-
Wis crawled to the house and told her
husband what had happened. A large
posse was quickly organized with
bloodhounds and they chased the ne
gro until he was captured in swamp.
Pennington was bound hand and foot
and taken back to the Davis home for
Identification. Word of the assault on
Mrs. Davis had been sent by runners
for miles around Enterprise and every
farmer in the neighborhood had Joined
in the search. Some of them were too
late to join the pursuing party and
went to Davis home and quietly
telegraph Office in Coffee county.
the messenger travelled fast and when
the posse arrived with Pennington
there were at least 500 persons gath
cred near the Davis residence. Mrs.
Davis Immediately recognized him
and the negro broke down and
wept. He
Admitted Committing the Crime
and though he pleaded for mercy
with cries of terror the trembling
man was dragged from the house and
into the woods, where the crowd had
gathered. Evidently expecting the
confession several of the citizens had
already driven an iron pipe in the
ground and as the men approached
with Pennington both whites and
blacks were piling brushwood around
the stake. The negro now saw his
doom and with scream of terror
fell to the ground in faint. He was
quickly revived and dragged to tn
stake, while the crowd stood silently
by. The frightened man was limp
and had to be held up while the
chains were fastened around his neck
and body. When all was ready the
cry was given and the crowd stood
back. A match was applied to the
pile and with oil to feed upon the
tiny flame soon burst into a roaring
fire. The terrified negro again plead
ed for mercy in the most agonizing
tones and prayed to God that those
around him might perish. He then
called upon the Maker for forgiveness
and as the flames leaped up and en-
circled his neck an unearthly shrek
was heard and the mans eyes had al
most bulged out of the sockets. BY
this time the fire had gained such
Roadway that nothing could be seen
except wriggling motion in the CEN
ter of the fire. A deathly silence fol-
lowed and in a few minutes the
flames had sufficiently subsidized to see
that Pennington's head had fallen for
ward and hung limp over the iron
chain. The body was quickly con-
sumed and all of Pennington that re-
manned was a pile of ashes. The
crowd then quietly dispersed.