Evening star., 1902-08-01
BY NEGROES
Continued from First Page)

Continued from First Page)
yesterday afternoon in the potters field. or
free burying ground as it Is known. only
a few feet from where he was lynched.
Capt. o. II. Clagett. the coroner, summoned
a jury of inquest, composed of Edward b.
Harrison. John c. White, Edward Titus. w.
W. Chamblin. Henry c. SelIman and John
Rinker. An hour after life left the colored
mans body the coroner was on the ground
with the members of the jury. With up
lifted hands the six men stood near the
corpse, which was hanging motionless from
limb of a tree III the corner of the ceme-
terry. These men. all representative citi-
zens, listened attentively to the coroner s
instructions regarding the necessity OF
diligent inquiry into the manner of the
death of Craven and to fix the response
blity if possible.
The inquest is adjourned until 10 o'clock
tomorrow" he stated in conclusion. IF
there is any one in the crowd who can tell
anything concerning the death Of Charles
Craven let him raise his hand
One ColOred man, a resident of the town,
lifted his hand and the coroner told him 10
appear at the hearing. This same colored
man was in the searching party on the pike
the day before, and did picket duty with "a
rifle Several other coIored men were in
the party, but they were not on hand when
the mob took Craven's life
Yesterday was emancipation day in Lou
doun county. and cOlOred people from all
sections of the county were in town to par
ticipate in the ceremonies of the day. Ihe
lynChing however. put a damper on the
celebration. and the remarks of some of the
co.Ored visitors COndemntng the action OF
the lynchers caused several petty quarreis
and came near resulting in serious con-
fiict at the railroad station about the time
of the departure of the 6:l5 train
You've killed one Niger, shouted one
excited COloTed woman, but there are
plenty of US left.
The woman became hysterical and had
to be cared for by friends. When the
members of the lynching party had hnlshed
their CHASTITY work and departed scores OF
coIored people who had participated in the
celebration visited the scene of the sum-
mary execution and viewed the body. as
did a number of white people. The body
was not cut down until after the coroner
had sworn the jury. and then an under
taker was dispatched to the cemetery with
injunCtiOnS to inter the body as soon as
possible.
From the scene of the unlawful hanging
and shooting the lynchers went to their
homes and did not return to town. Most
of them. it is stated, live In the lower end
of LoudOur county and in the upper end
of Fairfax Some few Of them returned
to town and remained about the streets ali
the afternoon. The saloons were permitted
to open after the affair was over, and they
were We'll patrOniZed by both whites and
blacks. Several cases of drunkenness fol-
lowed. but up to sundown no trouble had
been experienced.
Composed of Business Men.
Most of those who composed the search
ing party were business men, professional
men and farmers. and there was no dis
order of any kind in connection with the
case until yesterdays exhibition of mob
violence. But the execution was quietly
accomplished considering the boldness Of
the IyuChsrs and the seriousness of the
business upon which they Were engaged.
Tne transfer by train from Ashburn to
this city and the drive through the main
street TO the county jail was accomplished
before noon.
When Glre prisoner had been lodged in Jail
Sheriff Russell believed there would be no
attempt at lynching before dark. Certainly.
he argued. no men would be bold enough to
commit a deed so serious in its conse-
quenCvS in broad daylight and in sight of
many people who might be witnesses
against them in the event of a subsequent
investigation. When the lynching had
really happened and attempt was made
by those who participated in the deed to
hide their identity the sheriff was amazed.
He had planned to get the prisoner from
the JAIL and had arranged for a sham bat
tie in the streets a square away to attract
attention. thinking those who found the
vicinity of.the jail a convenient witnessing
place would leave to witness the mimic
war In order to accomplish the quick
transfer he would require a pair of fast
horses and would be obliged to reach
Whites ferry before the hOrsemen could
evertak. him The ferryman was notified to
have his boat on this side of the river ready
T. take the team across Had this been ac-
Complish-d an effort would have been made
to take Craven as far as Washington and
there have Gov. Montague arrange for the
safe escort of the prisoner to the Jail in
Richmond 1t so happened however that the
good livery horses had been engaged to the
colored people to be used in the procession
and the sheriff was unable to get the fast
team. even had time been given for the
other arrangements for flight. Everything
was quiet about town and only few men
loitered about the Jail. These men were
stationed on all sides of the brick structure.
To the town officials it seemed as if it
Were case of a calm before a storm.
Appeal to the Governor
Sheriff Russell consulted Mayor White
and others and reaching the conclusion that
he could not protect Craven's life in the
event of an attack. which he believed was
imminent, he sent a message asking for
help. as follows:
Gov. Montague. Richmond. Va.
Charles Craven, charged with murder is
in jail Feeling against him intense. Re
ported so men coming to lynch him. 1t
will require military to save him.
H. H. RUSSELL. Sheriff.
In a few minutes he received the follow
Ing response
H. II. Russell. Sheriff:
CAPT James Z. King, commanding COM
pany OF Alexandria. has been ordered to as
semDie his company at once and proceed by
nrst train available today to LeeSburg, Va
and report there TO you for such orders as
you may have to give him. Alexandria
Company should arrive at Leesburg not
later than 30 pm. today. Will this force
be sufficient? Answer.
wv. NALLE. Adjutant General
a second message sent to Richmond read
Governor Montague. Richmond Va:
Mob now battering down Jail door Send
troops by special train from Alexandria at
once
III II. RUSSELL. Sheriff"
Before any response received Craven
had been taken from the county prison and
the lynching quickly followed. Then the
sheriff wired Captain King that he need
not bring his company, telling him of what
had occurred
Later in the afternoon telephone mes
sage was received from Captain King ask
Ing II his Company's services were needed
As a report had reached Alexandria that
colored people were expected to make an