The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-07-30
SERIOUS RACE WAR.
Wild Work of Infrriated Mob in An
Illinois Town
WREAKED VENGEANCE ON NEGROES
An Infuriated Crowd Literally Hutil-
lated Two CoIored Men and Pro-
posed to Lynch the Jail Keeper.

Danville. Ill.,, Special.-This city Is
in the throes of a race war. One ne
gro, an unknown mar from Evans
Vile, Ind, who shot and killed Henry
Gatterman, white, has already been
lynched by a mob Of 600 men. who
we're later fired upon by the sherin,
three men being wounded. The mob
were clamoring for the life Of another
negro named James Wilson, who has
confessed to a brutal assault on the
wife of a farmer at Alyon, ILL.,, just
north Of here. The unknown negro
met his fate while the mob was on
the way to lynching Wilson. The
angry throng was passing down East
Main street when the negro became
involved in an alteration with some
Of its members. They started after
| him, and he pulled a pistol, firing into
the crowd. Henry Gatterman, a young
butcher, who has recently returned
from Fort Monroe, fell MORALLY
wounded and expired in a few seconds.
The negro turned and fed, but was
caught by the officers within a block
of the scene of the tragedy and hurried
to the police station with the mob in
hot pursuit, temporarily diverted from
their march to the county Jail. The
officers with their prisoner took refuge
in the city building, b%aricading them
selves behind the door Of n Of the
Offices. They could not cheek the mob.
however. for it secured a long pole
and tried to batter down a section Of
the wall and the door, both Of which
were very thin. On account Of the
overwhelming number Of the mob 1t
was useless for the officers to resist.
! The negro was seized and rushed to
the spot where he had shot down
Gatterman. 1t was the work Of an in
slant to throw q rope around his neck
and swing him up to the nearest tele-
phone pole. The mob did not delay
long, but waited to see that their VIC
tim was dead. The life was slowly
strangled out and he was left hang
ing, while the mob proceeded on to
the county Jail. The officers hope to
F, ave the second negro by some ruse.
Wilson, it is charged, went to the
farm house while the woman was
alone and told her he was hungry.
While she vas getting him something
to eat he entered the kitchen door and
seized her. He fed, leaving her half.
dead. Afterward she managed to
crawl to the nearest farm house
where she told the story. A posse OF
officers started in pursuit Of the ne
gro and when Wilson was captured
he was hurried to the county Jail to
prevent lynching. There the negro
confessed.
Three other negroes have been at
tackled by members Of the mob and
severely beaten. One Of them is Ben
Rich, and the other two are said to
be refugees from Evansville, Ind.
Some negroes are arming themselves
and others are preparing for fight.
The victim Of the mob later was iden-
titled as j. D. Mayfield. The mob
changed its mind before attacking
the Jail and went back and cut down
Mayfield's body. They rushed it to
the public square and burned it in a
bonfire, hacking it to pieces with
knives as it burned. Then they
charged the Jail and the sheriff and
deputies fred. wounding several
members of the mob. some fatally.
Among the woundedsare Adam Merry.
fatally shot through the head; H.
Hines. shot in neck and shoulder, may
die; Otto Heinke, shot in the arm.
will recover.
The mob repulsed, sent to a neigh
boring mining camp for dynamite and
probably will attack the Jail. The mob
is Infatuated and threatens to lynch
the sheriff and his deputies, also the
negro turnkey in the jail.
After securing battering rams, it
took the mob about half an hour to
wreck the city prison. the negro be-
ing found hid in a safe. He was pulled
from the safe, struck with sledges.
knocked down, jumped upon and
stamped to death. A rope vas placed
about his neck and his ~lifeleSs body
vas dragged about three blocks. An
effort was made to hang the body to
a telegraph pole but the rope broke.
The mob, which this time numbered
5000, then dragged the body to the
Jail and burned it.
Company K, a colored troop, has rs
quarters here. and the officials have
prepared to call it out Leaders Of the
mob declare they will try to kill tie
entire company, If it ome out.
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