The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-06-23
BURNED AT THE STAKE
Was Taken to the Scene Of the Crime
and Confessed There That He
Assaulted the Girl.

iltulb&bUH3 DrAf JUNE Als--A uOhhn~
ern mob, led by Yirginian, burned ne
gro at the stake tonight within mile Of
Mason and Dixon's line. The victim was
George White. negro. just out of the
work house, who was accused OF having
feloniously assaulted and stabbed to death
Miss Helen 5. Bishop, the 17-year-old
daughter Of the Rev. T. A. Bishop The
crime was committed last Monday after
noon and ever since then there has been
mutterings Of lynehing the man. An ef-
fort was made last night to get White but
il failed Tonight, however, mob that
was estimated at four thousand men and
boys gathered IN the neighborho0d Of
Prices Corner. The police and the con
stables tried to disperse the growing
crowd, but without avail. The chief war
den Of the workhouse and his guards, who
have been on constant duty since the ne
gro was landed ID the jail had been warn
ed Of the coming Of the mob and prepared
to defend the man at all costs,
With a battery Of railroad ties the mob
soon carried away the great outer door Of
the work house. The second, third and
fourth doors were quickly battered down
Then the would-be lynchers were momen-
tarily halted by hail Of bullets from the
inside. A great howl went up from the
leaders but they were pressed forward BY
those In the rear. In the fusiade that fol- |
lowed four persons fell, an members Of
the mob. They were quickly carried to
the rear
The FIRE hose was then turned on the
crowd. This also held the mob for a time
but not long A general rush was made, |
the guards were brushed aside and a man
hunt Of the Jail was made for the negro.
His cell door was battered open and the /
covering, accused man, begging for mercy
was dragged ffom the cell aud prison At
tempts were made TO shoot White Ga the
spot but the leaders OF the crowd would /
have nothing but his life at the stake. Re- 4
sigtence on the part Of the negro was use.
less, both hands were tied behind him, |
then the march To the place Of execution I
was taken up.
The negro was led to almost the very
spot where the assault took place He
was given a last chance to speak and he
confessed to the murder Of the girl a
stake had been arranged By ON advance
guard White was quickly chained to the
post and the dry underbrush soaked with |
oil was gnited. White. suffering intense
agony, tainted and his body hung limp |
Shots were tired into his body and the vic.
tim Of the mob was soon dead.
Satisfied with It's nights work tie lynch !
ers left the neighb0rhood many fearing ar
rest,
The failure Of the county court to give
White a speedy trial is iu a great measure |
responsible for tonlght's tragedy.
The citizens Of Wilmington and those in |
the vicinity of the crime wanted immedi- |
ate trial and Attorney General ii. Ill |
Ward laid the matter before the court on /
Thursday with that end in view The |
court. however, did not consider haste as
important and the trial was set for the |
September term Of court With this de- |
cision Of the court the murmuring Of mob |
violence became louder and the indigna-
tion Of the people grew hourly,
The coroner's inquest was held today. I
The verdict of the jury was that Miss
Bishop came to her death from the eff
feets Of an assault committed upon her by |
one George White, negro.
The crime for which White was |
lynehed was one Of the most revolving In |
the criminal annals Of Delaware The vic |
ttnl Miss Helen S. Bishop, daughter Of
Rev. L. A. Bishop, was II years old and
was student of the Wilmington high |
school, While on her way home from
school last Monday afternoon she was at
tackled.
4 farmer on his way home later saw a
young woman crawling on hands and
knees in the road. When the farmer
reached the girl she was unconscious with |
three ugly gashes in her throat, her body |
was badly scratched and her clothing was
torn in many places In one hand she |
elutched small pen knife. There was
every evidence that Miss Bishop had made |
a desperate resistance in defense OF her |
honor and her life. The wounded girl was
taken home and died the next aftern 0on
without regaining consciousness
Suspicion was soon fastened on White |
who was just out of the workhouse. White |
was found In bed that same night and !
and when taken into custody denied all |
knowledge Of the crime He was identified I
by several persons who said they saw him |
In the vicinity
On Sunday evening Rev. RI Al EIwood |
preached a sensational sermon in the Oil !
vet Presbyterian church of Wilmington, |
entitled "Should the Murderer of Miss |
Brooks be Lynehedn y His sermon so
stirred thes community as to cause Rev. |
Il. A. Bishop father Of the murdered girl, |
to issue letter last night, begging the
people to permit the law to take its course |
and to do nothing rash.
The Rev. i. A. Bishop was formerly
principal Of the Montpelier Seminary and |
many people In this vicinity remember |
Miss Bishop as bright child about eight |
years old when she left Montpelier, where
she was born.