The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-29
WILL HARRIS HANGED MURDERED A LITTLE NEGREss
 NEAR SELMA.
The Condemned Mans Neck Was Broken by the Fall-No Sensa-
 tional Incidents at the Execution.
Advertiser Bureau.


 At 11:15 o'clock today, in the tower of the county jail, Win Harris, alias Rat Sims, was hanged for the murder of a little colored girl. Hattie Bell, in the western suburbs of the city.
 Harris came to Selma about two years ago from Allenton, Wilcox County. His reputation in this city was not good and he was continually in some sort of trouble with the police authorities. He was noted crap shooter and loafer around low negro dives and no one who knew him is surprised at the fate that has overtaken him.
 Harris made profession of religion day or so ago and was baptised in bath tub in his cell He professes great penitence for his crime and says that his punishment is just.
 Your representative had long talk with Harris, in which he confessed every- thing. He denied that he was the man who had killed the little girl, Hattie Bell while he was being tried, but after his conviction he weakened and made full confession, not only of this crime. but of others.
 He also said that he had assaulted several other females.
 The crime for which Will Harris was hanged today was one of the most brutal and attrocious ever committed in Dallas county. The Htlie SiTi HNeu WILL HeT father and mother in a cabin just be- yond the bridge across Valley Creek. She was small for her age and rather fraii | in person. Her father worked at one of | the oil mills in the western part of the | city and one of Mattie's duties was to carry his breakfast to him every morn- | ing. It was while performing this duty l that Harris waylaid her.
 Here is what Will Harris. who killed ,.In <f | the little girl:
 T killed little Matte Bell. I am mighty sorry for 1t now, but its been done, and | what's done can't be helped. don't | know what made me do it. The little | child never did me any harm in her life | While making this confession Harris's manner was perfectly cool, his face was
 solemn and serious. but he did not seem | to be the least frightened. He made the
 statement to your representative several
 days ago. and at that time seemed greatly
 concerned about his future salvation. Since then he has professed to be con | verted and talked to those around him, 1 telling them that his punishment was | just
 | The night that he came home, after killing the little girl, he was arrested
 near the Valley Creek bridge, and but | for the timely arrival of Sheriff Black | we'll on the scene the crowd of negroes
 that had assembled would have hanged
 him. Mattie's father. good old colored
 man, trotted along beside Sheriff Black | wells horse, the tears streaming down | his face, and begged that the negro be | turned over to the blacks that they | might mete out swift and terrible punish | ment to the brute. Mir. Blackwell told
 the old man kindly, but firmly. that all of his feelings were with him in wanting | to see the murderer of his little girl punished. but he was an officer of the
 law and it was his duty to protect Harris
 and put him in jail and he was going | to do so.
 Although there were several hundred negroes in the crowd, men, women and | children. they opened a way for Sheriff | Blackwell and his prisoner and a great
 many of the crowd accompanied him to | the jail and saw him safely placed behind | the bars.
 At 1o:So o'clock this morning three colored ministers. Revs. W. S. Rowe, J.
 w. Pollard and J. B. Goldsby. three of four newspaper reporters and ten or ff- teen deputy sheriffs. policemen and others who had been accorded permission to see the hanging, repaired to the condemned mans cell, where religious services were held. The ministers and the spectators stood on the outside of the cell, while the condemned man stood on the inside. He was neatly dressed in a black suit of clothes and white shirt without a collar.
 Rev. T. B. Goldsby conducted the re- ligious services. They were entirely de- void of any sensational features Will Harris stood with his head bowed, hold | ing on to the bars of the cell. and lis- tened attentively to every word that was | said. He was to all appearances, the | calmest man in the crowd.
 MT. Goldsby read an appropriate pas Jesus Lover of My Soul" was sung. the | newspaper men and officers joining in the | song. Harris himself raised his voice and | helped to sing the song. Rev. J: ". Pol | forgive the condemned man for the great | crime that he had committed.
 Rev. Goldsby then made short ad- dress. appropriate to the occasion. He | told how 1t was the duty of ministers to | visit men condemned to die that there was plenty of Scripture to teach that God could forgive the sins Of even murder or like the condemned. He thought that there was a chance for any man to get forgiveness for his sins. it mattered not what they were.
 At the conclusion of the religious ser vices. which lasted about thirty minutes Rev. Rowe produced set of resolutions which he read. thanking Sheriff Black we'll Jailer Babcock and Deputies Town send and Mosley for the uniformly cour- teous manner in which they had been treated by those officials while visiting the jail to administer to the spiritual wei fare of the prisoner. Rev. Rowe. In put ting the resolutions. said that not only the ministers. but all the colored popu- Iation in the city were deeply grateful to the officers for the many courtesies shown them and for the kind manner in which the condemned man had been treated. He said that such treatment was deeply appreciated. and was quite different from the way that ministers were treated in some counties of Alabama.
 At this juncture Jailer Babcock came up to where the services were being con- ducted and informed the ministers that Sheriff Blackwell had requested him to state to them that the hour had arrived for the execution. All then filed down. stairs to the second story of the iail
 In few minutes Will Harris. with his hands in handcuffs behind him. walked info the cell on the corner. where the