The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-26
CAR PORTER'S CRIME
LYNCHED BY COLORADO MOB FOR
HEINOUS ASSAULT.
HIS VICTIM AN AGED WOMAN.
HOwLING MOB OF 1000 REJOIcED
AT HIS DEATH.

The Eighth Assault of This Kind I'm
n Few Months and Citizens Were
i'm n State of FrenEy-Was Identi-
fed by His Victim, but Died De-
cIaring His InnOcence-Hange to
an Electric Light Pole aud His
Body RiddIed With BuIIets-EnOrts
to Save His Life Were without
Avail.
LaJunta. Col, March 25.-W. H.
Wallace, a negro sleeping car porter,
was lynched at O'Clock tonight in a
corner of the court house square, be-
ing hanged to an electric light pole by
a bowling mob of 1900 persons who
had been hunting him all day. After
the hanging the body of the negro was
riddled with bullets. Wallace had been
kept out of town all day by Sheriff
Farr, in an attempt to save him from
the mob. The prisoner made no resist
ance to the lynching and died protest.
ing his innocence.
Mrs. Henrietta H. Miller, a gray
haired woman aged g. going from Los
Angeles, Cal, to Denver, to visit rela-
tives, was brutality assaulted in the
night by a negro porter on a Pullman
car running between Denver and La
Junta.
After leaving the Chicago limited
train here Mrs. Miller asked a porter
whom she met on the station plat
form, where the Denver sleeper was.
The man offered to conduct her to the
car. After going with him a consid-
cradle distance Mrs. Miller became
suspicious and started to return to the
station. she was then knocked
down by a blow on the head
and after struggle with
her assailant was choked into
insensibility. When she regained con-
seriousness about an hour later, she
crawled back to the station and gave
an account of the assault and de-
scription of her assailant. Washington
II, Wallace, a Pullman car porter,
who runs between Denver and this
city, stopping here on each run from
945 at night until noon the following
day, was arrested in the car of which
he had charge. He was identified by
Mrs. Miller. Bloodhounds were
brought from Canyon City and they
trailed the man who accompanied Mrs.
Miller through the yards to the car in
which Wallace was found.
Eight assaults have occurred here in
the past few months and it is believed
all were committed by one man.
Mrs. Miller's condition is critical.
Would Not Haul Rapist.
Fearing a Iynching, Sheriff Farr de-
cided to take the prisoner to Pueblo.
When his intention became known,
however, the railroad employees de-
clared that he could not travel by rail
as they would refuse to operate the
train out of LaJunta with Wallace on
board. The sheriff placed his prisoner
in a carriage and started for Sugar
City, on the Missouri Pacific, twenty
miles north. At that place he was too
late to catch the train for Pueblo and
then decided to drive through.
Meantime an armed party had
left LaJunta to overtake the sheriff
and prisoner. The carriage was finally
overtaken at Patterson Hollow, mid
way between Rocky Ford and Man
zanola. Sheriff Farr made no resist
ance and Wallace did not ask for
mercy. The carriage was turned back
toward LaJunta. Passing through
Rocky Ford the mob was Joined by
500 men of that town. LaJunta
was reached about o'clock, where
thousands of women, men and chill
dren, many of them from the sur
rounding country, awaited them. A
peace element endeavored to stop the
proposed lynching and a committee
consisting of Robert Patterson, bank
er, DR.. Fleming, Charles Dearborne,
county treasurer and other prominent
citizens, asked the privilege of trying
to get a confession from Wallace. This
was granted and the negro was taken
into the court house.
wild Scene at Court House.
After a half an hour or so the word
went out that the court house doors
were locked and that the committee
would try to prevent a lynching. I'M
mediately pandemonium reigned.
Stones were thrown at the building
until every window was broken. Then,
with telegraph pole for a battering
ram, the crowd broke in the doors and
Wallace was taken out. Mayor Sabin
made a speech to the crowd, counsel
ing them to let the law take its course.
He was listened to, but as soon as he
had finished, the crowd moved down
the street, dragging the negro by
rope.
A boy was sent up telegraph pole
with a rope 1t was thrown over the
cross bar and then dropped to the
ground. A hundred hands grasped it
and in an instant the negro was in
the air. Hardly had the boy climbed
out of danger when hundreds Of pis-
tolls were drawn and before the ne
gro's body reached the top of the pole
il was riddled with bullets and the
man was dead.
At late hour tonight the body had
not been taken down.
The coroner lives at Rocky Ford.
Blood on His Clothing.
Sheriff Farr said tonight that Wal
lace steadfastly maintained his inno-
cence, but the police say that when
they arrested him in his car there was
blood and gray heirs on his clothing
and other evidence which satisfied
them that he was the guilty man.
Wallace lived with his wife in Den
yer. They had no children. He had
been employed by the railroad COM
pany for several years.
ROBBED COUNTY TREASURER.