The Meeker herald., 1902-03-29
la JUNTA LYNct,INd
a NEGRO HUNG ron ASSAULT.

Mrs. Henrietta n. Miller Assaulted by
Washington ". WsiIses, . Negro
Car Porter from psnvsr-csisninai
Hanged BY an Immense Mob Of En-
ragged Citizens.
Denver, March GA Denver Re
publican special Of March 18th gives
the following account OF terrible
crime at La Junta night lHfOrc last,
and Its fearful retribution last night
Washington II. Wallace, a negro car
porter from Denver, was lynched to-
night by . mob of 1000 citizens of this
and surrounding towns. The crime Of
which his hanging was the penalty
was the brutal assault upon Mrs. Hen.
rietta ii. Miller, gray -haired woman
Of sixty-seven years, en- rOnte from Los
Angeles to Denver. Wallace was itlen-
titled by her as the porter who. under
pretense OF directing her to her sleeper.
led her through the railroad yards,
knocked her down and left her uncon-
scious from ten O'Clock to midnight
last night.
Wallace was stoical to the last and
not once did he beg for mercy as he
was dragged to the post with a rope
around his neck.
Wallace was caught red-handed and
there Is strong evidence that he COM
mitted the nine criminal assaults per-
petrated here within few months,
the last of which may result in the
death Of Mrs. Miller.
When the negro was captured In the
car his clothing was bloody and a tow
el In the car was covered with blood
which. 1t il believed, the negro wiped
from his hands. On the front of his
uniform were several gray hairs iden-
tically the same as the gray locks Of
the aged victim. When confronted
with the evidence the negro turned
ashen. but assumed an air of bravado
and denied the crime. He later refus-
ed to talk and the air Of bravado
and reticence was with him till the
last.
Wallace was arrested In his car !,
few hours after the crime, which was
committed about ten O'Clock last night.
Early this morning Sheriff Farr, Un-
der Sheriff Stewart and Marshals Rose
and Franklin took him from jail and
endeavOred to spirit him out Of town.
An obstacle was encountered when
they found that every employe OF the
railroad refused to run train on
which the negro should be carried. A
carriage was secured and the officers
started with their prisoner towards
Pueblo.
The town by this time was thorough
ly aroused and a crowd OF several hun
bred armed men started In pursuit Of
the carriage, which was Overtaken at
Patterson Hollow, near Fowler. The
negro WINS taken from the officers and
brought back by way of Rocky Ford.
The citizens of that place were In
formed that there would be q lynch.
ing and about 500 people from that
city Joined the ranks of the mob. At
every village the crowd swelled and
when It finally reached La Junta,
about Z o'clock tonight II numbered
about 1900, which was reinforced
with several thousand who awaited
the arrival Of the posse.
Several speeches had been made dur
ing the day and those opposing .
lynching, a small minority, asked that
a committee be appointed to try to get
the negro to confess. This the mob
consented to and the following promi-
nent men were appointed: Robert Pat
terson. banker; DIR. Fleming, hospital
physician; Charles Daerbohn, county
treasurer, and others. Recruits to the
mob were informed of the program
and the negro was taken to the court
house, where he was delivered into the
hands Of the committee. He was tax
en- into the county clerks Office and the
building was surrounded.
1t was not fifteen minutes. however,
before the crowd began yelling, Bring
hi ,vvkt 1x.x,,k kI,G &t, H.
covered TINT all the entrances to the
building were locked, and 1t was EVIL
dent that the committee intended to
hold the prisoner.
When this was announced, the crowd
began yelling and throwing stones.
Battering rams were improvised. and
the court house assaulted Soon all
the windows were broken and the
doors of the county clerks and treas
urer's offices and the main entrance Of
the court house were broken down,
and the mob rushed in at the door and
windows.
The negro was soon pulled forth
with a rope around his neck. The
crowd paused for an instant as Mayor
Frederick A. Sabin was seen to mount
to the entrance to the court house COR
ridOr and wave to the mob for silence.
The crowd listened while the mayor
made an impasstoned speech for the
Negroes life. He said that the city was
about to be disgraced, and that the
mob was not sure that they had the
right man.
The crowd listened respectfully until
he had finished. when low murmur
broke forth; then there were shouts Of
NO! Nor and the crowd was again
the yelling, bowling mob of few min
utes before.
The tallest of the electric light poles
In the park In the center OF the city,
was singled out and small boy
climbed up with the end of the rope in
his hand. He threw 1t over the cross
bar and pulled it into n coil in his
hands. Then he threw the rope into
the crowd. A thousand hands reached
for 1t and n hundred caught II. In an