Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-08-15
BURNED AT STAKE
AWFUL FATE OF A NEGRO WHO
HAD ASSAULTED A WHITE
WOMAN.
SCREAMS FOR MERCY UNMttDfD
Mob Composed of Both whites ana
Blacks Take Pant I'M the Execu-
ton of the Brutc-Idcntified by
His Victim, He Is Quickly Tied to
a Stake and Burned to Death
Confcsses His Brutal Crime.

Birmingham, Ala, Aug. 9.-With ag-
onizing screams and his eyes bullying
from his head, John Wesley Penning-
ton, negro, was burned at the stake
near Enterprise, Ala, before crowd Of
poo enraged and determined citizens of
Coffee county yesterday morning. The
mob was composed of both whites and
blacks, and though the suffering
wretch pleaded for mercy and fran
tically endeavored to break the chains
that tightly bound him, not q trace of
sympathy was shown on the faces that
peered at him through the flames. PEN
nington had committed a brutal as
sault upon Mrs. j. c. Davis, wife Of one
of the most prominent farmers of Cof-
fee county, and confessed his guilt. The
crime was committed Tuesday while
Mrs. Davis was gathering vegetables in
her garden. She was STOPPING over
plucking tomatoes when Pennington
slipped up from behind and threw her
to the ground. He choked the fear
stricken woman into insensibility,
Accomplished His Intention
and fled through the woods near by.
AS soon as she regained her senses
Mrs. Davis crawled to the house and
told her husband what had happened.
"A large posse was quickly organized
with bloodhounds and they chased the
negro until early yesterday morning,
when he was captured in a swamp.
Pennington was bound hand and foot
and taken back to the Davis home for
Identification. Mrs. Davis Immediately
recognized him and the negro broke
down and wept. He admitted having
committed 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 confession several of the
citizens had already driven an iron
pipe in the ground, and as the men ap-
preached 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 the 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.
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 pleaded for mercy In the
most agonizing tones and prayed to
God that those around him might per-
fish. He then called upon the maker
for forgiveness and as the flames
leaped up and encircled his neck an I'M
earthly Shrek was heard and the mans
eyes had almost bulged out of the SOCK
cts BY this time the fire had gained
such Roadway that nothing could be
seen except wriggling motion in the
center of the fire. A deathly silence
followed and in 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 that was left of him was
a pile of ashes. The crowd then quietly
dispersed.