The Oskaloosa herald., 1901-02-28
is SHOWN NO MERCY.
Brutal Negro Is Lynched by a
Terre Haute Mob.

out Tuesday TO George Ward, the ne
gro who murdered Miss Ida Finkel-
stein, the school teacher. by shooting
her with a shotgun and cutting her
throat Monday afternoon. In a few
hours after his arrest an angry mob
battered down the doors of the Jail.
dragged the miserable prisoner to the
Wabash bridge, several squares away.
and hanged him to the bridge draw.
Not content with the hanging. the
crowd cut the corpse down and, lay
ing it on a sand bar under the bridge,
kindled a fire and cremated the re-
mains. 1t was the first lynching that
ever occurred in Terre Haute. and the
day abounded in exciting incidents.
Confessed HIS Crime.
Ward was arrested at ten o'clock at
the a works, where he was en-
pioyed as a laborer, and after being
fully identified by two citizens, made
a confession. His only excuse for the
murder was that Miss Finkelstein
called him a "dirty niger" and slapped
him in the face. Sheriff Fasig COM
municated with Gov. Durbin. but the
mob accomplished its work before the
militia could be ordered out. Being adj
vised of the threatening situation, the
governor wired to Capt. Thomas. of
company B, to place his company fully
armed in a position to be Immediately
ready for duty in response to a call
from the sheriff. Before the sheriff
could call On the militia, the prisoner
was in the hands of the mob and was
dead even before being taken to the
place arranged for hanging.
Mob Attacks Jail.
At moor the crowd outside the Jail.
numbering several hundred, including
men, women and boys, battered down
the iron doors, but were driven back
by Jailer Lawrence O'Donnell, who
fired over the heads of the mob.
Deputy Sheriffs Cooper, Hessick and
lie Forge were struck by scattering
shot and slightly injured, but nobody
in the crowd was hurt. A detail of
police arrived at the Jail and tried to
disperse the crowd, but with poor
success The crowd kept on grow
ing, and the excitement increased,
and at 1885 o'clock another crowd
of irresistible numbers attacked the
Jail, battering down the outer doors.
securing possession of the KEYS and
entering the cellroom. A piece of
railroad timber, 25 feet long and
eight inches thick, was used as a bat
tering ram. The side door was
opened by the crowd inside, and the
Others were admitted in that way.
Dragged from His Cell.
The cell was quickly opened, and
Ward was dragged forth. He real
lied that no mercy could be expected
from the mob, and he fought with
the desperate feroeity of a beast at
bay. He was dragged out to the
street, still fighting with all his
strength, but a blow from a heavy
hammer felied him to the ground.
4 moose was quickly adjusted to his
neck, and the mob started with its
victim toward the Wabash bridge.
The feeble resistance made by the
wretehed creature after that blow
with the hammer vas soon Quoted
by the savage blows of the mob.
Hanged from a Bridge.
Face downward he was dragged
through the street to the bridge and
across the rough planking of the
driveway to the drawbridge. Many
are of the opinion that the fellow
was dead before the scene of the
hanging was reached. However, the
rope was thrown over one of the up
per beams and the body drawn up.
1t had been swinging in that posi-
tion but a short time when some
suggested burning at the stake as
the nearest approach to a proper eX-
patton of the awful crime.
Body Ia burned.
The suggestion was adopted unani-
mously and a fire was quickly kindled
on the bank Of the river just south of
the west end of the bridge. Into the
fire the body, bearing no sign of life.
was thrown and faggots were piled
upon it. The stake was omitted. The
body was in a'~horizontal position, the
feet protruding at one end, the head
at the other. The fire had barely been
started when a man arrived with a
can of t~urpentipe. which was fed to the
eager flames. After that combustible
oils seemed to flow spontaneously to-
ward the fire, and the flames leaped
high. while the body Of the wretched
murderer was rapidly consumed. The
certainty that the wretch was dead did
not appease the anger of the mob.
With grim determination they fed the
flames and watched the flesh shrivel to
cinders and the bones crumble and
burn.
The souvenir fend was on hand in
force, and fragments of the wretched
murderer are now scattered broadcast.
One man, while the feet stin protrnded
from the flames, offered one dollar for
a toe from "the nigger's foot" A ven
turesome youth, drawing a knife from
his pocket, made a dash for the prize.
He quickly amputated a toe. delivered
the goods and got his money. As the
bones began to crumble and fall apart
the fragments were drawn from the
fire and carried away. At three o'clock
there was nothing LEFT of the body ex.
cept a small section OF the trunk and
the back OF the head. Busy hands kept
the burning faggots piled upon the
roasting segment An old stump with
spreading roots was placed upon the
apex of the pyre and was soon aglow,
bearing a grotesque resemblance to a
giant hand working dire vengeance up
on the wrongdoer.
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