The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-04-17

Joplin, MO-, April 1o.-A mop tOOk ali
unknown tramp negro from the city
Jail this afternoon and hanged him to
telegraph pole, at the corner of Sec
ond and Wall streets, two blocks from
the JAIL The negro was charged with
having murdered Police Officer c.
Leslie, who was shot dead last night
in the Kansas City Southern railroad
yards, while endeavoring to arrest sew
eral negroes suspected of theft.
Officer Leslie had ordered several ne
groes who had taken refuge in ooX
car to surrender and when they failed
to do SO, ne fired several shots at the
car During the shooting, negro slip
ped from the car and coming up be-
hind the officer. shot him through the
head. The negro then fled and within
a short time posses were after him.
About 3 o'clock this afternoon, Lee
Fullerton, aged Il located the fugitive
| in a SlaughterhouSe, just east of Joplin.
The negro was armed with a rifle and
defied arrest. Fullerton slipped into
| the structure unobserved and crept up
behind the negro. Suddenly he sprang
at the unSuspecting fugitive and before
resistance could be made he had the
negro on his back with knife at his
| throat The negro then surrendered
his rifle, and pointing the weapon at
/ him Fullerton marched him out of the
| building, With the assistance of an
| other man, the negro was brought to
| Jolpin and placed in Jail.
News of the capture spread rapidly
| and the jail was speedily surrounded
| by hundreds of people. There were
| cries of lynch him. on all sides and
| City Attorney P. H. Decker mountei
| the Jail steps and made a strong plea
| in behalf of the law and order. This
| served temporarily to stay the mob.
| but did not appease it and short time
| after Deckers speech, the mob started
| in to batter in a section of the jail
wall. Every effort was made to pre-
| vent the entrance of the mob, but with
| out avail and they secured the tremb
| limb negro.
| AS he was dragged forth City Attor-
| ney Decker again interfered and urged
| that the negro be given Il trial For
| half an hour he talked and the mob
| listened to him with the negro in their
| CUSTODY At one time it seemed that
| the city attorney would win, as mem
| bers of the mob began dispensing, but
| suddenly a rush was made for the spot
! where the negro was being held and
| he was dragged two blocks from the
| Jail, a rope fastened around his neck
| and after the rope had been thrown
| over the cross DdI OIL d IeleSFdDn pOle
| a score of the men attempted to pull
| the negro from the ground. AS many
| more seized the negro and pulled to
| prevent him being hanged. For some
| moments it was a veritable tug of war.
| but re-enfOrcementS on the free end
| of the rope proved the stronger and
| the negro, despite his protestations of
innocence, was finally swung into the
| air and strangled to death, while
| shouts of satisfaction went up from
| the mob.
The name of the negro was not
| known and he was a stranger in Jop-
| lin AS soon as the negro was dead
the mob dispersed and later the body
was cut down and taken in charge by
the coroner.
The lynching OF the negro served
only temporarily to satisfy the indig-
nation of the mob and later tonight,
hundreds OF men again assembled and
rioted through the negro section of the
| city, burning houses. stoning negroes
and finally driving every negro from the
confines of Joplin. The police We're pow
| erless
The frs net Of the mob after hang
ing the negro was TO secure the release
! from Jail OF a local character known
. as Hickory Bill" who was under ar
rest on the charge of assaulting a ne
: gro. In the hope that this would ap-
| pease the mob, the prisoner was set
free. But the mob did not disperse. In
stead, a rush was made through Main
street, the principal street of Joplin and
every negro was frightened off the
street and fled to the northern part OF
the city, where the colOred popula tior
resides In this way the negroes were
/ driven from all parts of the city to the
negro section.
When the mob charged down on the
section. stones were thrown, doors anC
- windows of negro houses were broker
in and finally several We're fired. The
i fire department responded, but many
f of the houses We're burned to the
= ground. The mob made endeavors Il
y | prevent the fire department from eX
9 tinSuishing the flames and were par
TALLY successful. All the officers of th
city. township and county We're called
out, but the mob swept them aside anC
| proceeded with the riOting.
= Mayor Trigg ran from corner to cor
ner and mounting boxes made earnes
l appeals to the mob to cease, but be
e yond cheering the mayor vociferously
the mob swept on and the depreciation
{ continued.
The saloons were hurriedly close b.