The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-09
The FIVE WILL DIE
NEGRO MURDERERs MEET DEATH
AT SYLVANIA FRIDAY.
MEMBERS OF BLACK MALTA.
KNIGHTS OF ARCHER, WHOSE MOT
TO WAS "DEATH To WHITES"

rfnEtOn and Milton Menrs, Upon
an October Night of 1s99-The Two
White Men shot Down From Ann
bush-Members of the Gang Sought
All over the Southern states, Hut
only Five Were Captured-These
Have Been Sentenced to Hang ana
Supreme Court and Governor Have
Refused TO Interfere.
Next Friday morning, upon a gallows
which has already been erected in the
yard of the common jail of Screven coun-
ty, at Sylvania fifty miles from this city
five negro murderers convicted of one of
the most cruel and dastardly murders
ever committed in this section of the
state. will pay the penalty of their crime.
Not only was the murder cruel and
dastardly, but it was committed in pur-
suance of a criminal conspiracy, by mem
bers of an organized band of black Ma
fla, the motto of which was Death to the
Whites" Designed in its real purpose
to shield from the just vengeance of the
law a band of outlaws, headed by a eel
ebrated negro desperate known common
ly as Andrew Mckinney. it appealed for
sympathy to the ignorance and prejudices
of the negroes in the section Of the state
in which it operated, and for months and
even years babe defiance to all attempts
of the authorities to check its operations
or arrest and punish ITS leaders.
1t terrorized the law-abiding negroes Of
Screven county, from whom it exacted
constant tribute and never-failing pro-
lection. 1t excited the yelled apprehen-
sion of the whites, who did not know,
however, of the degree of organization
which had been effected nor the extent
of the evil which was meditated. The
murder for which the five negroes are to
die on Friday was but the elimination
of a long series Of crimes and misde-
meanors, Of varying degrees of cruelty
and enormity. Its commission, however,
sounded the death knell of the organiza-
ton which had made it and other like
crimes so easy to commit and so difficult
to detect and punish, for an outraged
community arose in it's wrath and the
members of the gang were either arrest
ed or driven from the state.
This gang was the knights of Arch
er." Common report, implicitly credited
by the negroes, says that its charter was
signed in blood and TO those who know
and understand the character and shrewd
intelligence of Andrew Mckinney, its
originator and acknowledged leader, the
report seems not incredible. He is the
man to have played by such trick upon
the superstitious fears OF the less intelli-
gent members of his race and to bind
their allegiance to him and 10 the band
by all the old voodoo rites and ceremonies
he could remember. Not that he be-
FnA in
ticulariy, himself but that he well I'M
derstood with what effect a master viii
Han like himself could play. even with
the crude weapons of Voodooism, upon the
fears and the child-like faith in. and
dread of the supernatural, that dstin-
guishes the typical country negro.
Out in the swamps that line the banks
of the Savannah river in that section of
the state, Mckinney assembled his band
by dead of night and swore them, with
dreadful rites, to secrecy and to deeds of
death. They preyed on the barns and
farm houses on both the Georgia and
South Carolina banks of the river, so
terrorized the peaceful and well-disposed
members of their own race that they
We're afraid either 10 give information
against or refuse shelter to the members
of the gang and conducted a perfectly
organized campaign of rapine, robbery
and murder.
On a night in October 1899, Milton
Mears, a constable of Screven county and
brave and fearless fellow. started out
from Sylvania TO serve a warrant for the
arrest of Joe Sanders, a young negro who
was wanted for some trivial offense
against the law While the existence and
objects of the knights of Archer" were
not at that time definitely known, they
were suspected and common report as
signed young Sanders and his father,
Jesse Sanders, to membership and leading
places in the councils of the organiza-
tion. Trouble was not exactly anticipated
by the constable, but the possibility of
il was recognized and for this reason he
had taken with him two other men. One
of these was Capt. Jesse Wade a well
known citizen of Screven county; the 9TH
or was Fillmore Harrington, a young
friend Of the constable.
The moon shone clear and bright as the
party Of three approached the Sanders
cabin. Although it was quite late it was
evident that those within the house had
not retired. Mears walked up to the door
and knocked, and it was opened by Jesse
Sanders the father of the boy he wanted
The constable explained his mission ana
demanded the surrender of the man nam
ed IN the warrant which he exhibited. Old
sanders refused compliance with this de-
mand Of the law.
Capt Wade and Harrington, in the
meantime had left the buggles in which
they had driven to the scene and stood
waiting In the yard of the house. in the
1ull glare Of the moon and the light that
poured from the open cabin window.
suddenly there came from the nearby
swamp the wailng note OF the mock bird.
clear, piercing, distinct. 1t was followed
by NO other of similar character and the
men started. To them it brought a chill
foreboding Of tire dreadful fate that
awaited two Of them.
A second later the fusilade began
From the cracks between the logs of the
cabin and from a thicket of dwarf trees
close by, came the fash Of a score of
rifles and shotguns. the latter loaded
with every variety Of missiles. The three
white men, all desperately wounded, fell
40 the ground
Capt. Wade was shot through the thigh
and the bone Of the leg broken by the
bullet. Despite this and a dozen other
dreadful wounds in every portion of his
body he managed to crawl to his buggy
ana climb In and the faithful and intelli-
gent horse he was driving. almost with
out direction from the desperately wound
ed man, found the way to the road and
10 Sylvania. Arrived IN the little town.
Capt. Wade was lifted from his buggy,
ana before he tainted with pain and ex-
hauslon and from the loss of blood man-
aged TO gasp ont tho dire results ~ his