Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-08-08
NEGRO BURNED
Assaulted A White Wo-
man--Met Death
At THE STAKE
Negroes And Whites Join In
The Lynchlng
AT The STAKE

Birmingham, Ala, Aug. S.-Witt
agonizing screams and eyes bulgine
from his head, John Wesley Penning.
ton, negro was burned at the stake
near Enterprise, Alabama. before a
crowd Of 500 enraged and determined
citizens OF Coffee county yesterday
The mob was composed of both whites
and blacks, and though the suffering
man pleaded for mercy and frantically
endeavored to break hi, chains that
tightly bound him. not trace of
sympathy was shown on the faces that
peered at him through the flames
Pennington had committed a brutal
assault upon Mrs. J. C. Davis, wife OF
one Of the most prominent farmers Of
Coffee county and had confessed his
guilt
The crime was committed Tuesday
afternoon while Mrs. Davis was gath
ering vegetables in the garden. Pen.
pington choked the woman into in
sensibility accomplished bis in
tention and fled through the woods
nearby. AS soon as she regAiueo 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 be was captur-
ed In swamp. He was bound hand
s-d fVot and taken to the Davis home
for identiticati H..
News of the assault on Mrs. Davis
had been spread for miles around Ea-
terprise and every farmer in the
neighborhood had j 'ined in the pur.
suit. When the posse arrived in.the
morning with Pennington at least 500
people gathered at the Davis residence.
A great sh Ut went up when the pri
Suner appeared but at signal the
men withdrew to the woods and quiet
ly awaited the result of the meeting
OF Pennington and Mrs. Davis. Mrs
Davis recognized him as her asSailant
and the negro broke down and wept
He admitted having committed The
assault and pleaded for mercy but he
was dragged frolu the house to the
woods where the crowd had gathered
Evidently expecting the confession
several citizens had driven an iron
pipe in the ground, and as the captors
with Pennington, both
whites and blacks we're piling brush
wood around the stake. The negro |
saw his doom and with a scream of
terror fell in a faint. He was quickly |
revived and dragged to the stake,
while the crowd stood silently bv. |
The frightened man was limp and had |
to be held up while the chains we're |
fastened around his neck and body. A
match WAS applied to the pile and
with oil to feed upon the tiny flame
soon burst intOa roaring fire.
The terrified egro again pleaded
Tor mercy in the most agOnIZing tones
and prayed to God that those around
him might perish. He then called
upon his Maker for forgiveness and as
The flames leaped to and encircled his
neck an unearthly Shrek was heard
and the mans eyes almost bulged out
from their sockets. by this time the
ire had gained such headway that
nothing could be seen except wrig'
Cling motion in the circle OF fire. A
silence followed and In few minutes
/ flames had subsidized sufficiently to
show that Pennington's head had fal.
en- forward and hung limp over the
ron chain. His body was quickly con-
'umed and nothing was left but pile
If ashes.
The crowd quietly dispersed.