Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-16
MOB HANGED NEGRO
WILD SCENE OF RIOT AT JOPLIN,
After Hanging the Man the Rioters
Swept Through the Negro
Section.

A dispatch from Joplin, Mo-, last night
says: A mob took an unknown negro tramp
from the city Jail this evening and hanged
him to telegraph pole at the corner of
"a 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 several negroes suspected Of theft.
Officer Leslie had ordered several ne
groes. who had taken refuge in a box car,
to surrender, and when they failed to do
so he fired several shots at the car. Dur
Ing the shooting a negro slipped from the
car, and, coming up behind the officer, shot
him through the head. The negro then fed.
and within a short time posses were after
him.
About o'clock this afternoon Lee Full
lerton, aged twenty-one, located the fugi-
tive In a slaughter house just east Of Jop-
lin The negro was armed with rifle and
defied arrest Fullerton slipped into the
structure unobserved, and crept up behind
the negro. Suddenly he sprang at the I'M
suspecting fugitive. and before resistance
could be made he had the negro on his
back with knife at his throat.
Taken to Joplin Jail.
The negro then surrendered his rifle, and
pointing the weapon at him. Fullerton
marched him out of the building. With
the assistance of another man, the negro
was brought to Joplin and placed in Jail.
News of the capture spread rapidly and
the Jail was speedily surrounded by hun
dreds of people There were cries of
Lynch him. on all sides. and City Attor-
ney P. H. Decker mounted the jail steps
a or y,1n IN hob nf low
and order. This served temporarily to stay
the mob. but did not appease it, and a
short time after Decker's speech the mob
started to batter in a section of the jail
wall. Every effort was made to prevent
the entrance of the mob, but without avail,
and within fifteen minutes the men had
gained entrance to the Jail and secured the
trembling negro. AS the negro was dragged
forth City Attorney Decker again inter-
fered and urged that the negro be given a
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 attor-
ney would win, as members Of the mob
began dispensing, but suddenly rush was
made for the spot where the negro was
being held, and he was dragged two blocks
from the jail, rope fastened around his
neck, and after the rope had been thrown
over the cross bar of a telegraph pole a
score of 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 1t was verb
table tug of war, but reinforcements 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.
AS soon as the negro was dead the mob
dispersed, and later the body was cut down
and taken In charge by the coroner.
Excitement Still Prevails.
There is still great excitement in Joplin,
and 1t Is feared that more trouble will fol-
low in case the associates of the dead
negro are apprehended.
The lynching of the negro served only
temporarily to satisfy the indignation of
the mob and later tonight hundreds of
men had again assembled and rioted
ing houses, stoning negroes and finally
driving every negro from the confines of
Joplin. The police were powerless.
The first act of the mob after hanging
the negro was to demand the release from
Jail Of a local character known as "Hick-
Dry BILL who was under arrest on the
charge Of assaulting negro. In the hope
that this would appease the mob the pris-
oner was set free. But the mob did not
dispense Instead a rush was made
through Main street, the principal street of
Joplin, and every negro was frightened off
the street and fed to the north part of the
city, Where the COlOreO pOpulatlOn resides.
Rioting in Negro Section.
In this way the negroes were driven from
all parts Of the city to the negro section.
Then the mob charged down on the Sec
ton. Stones were thrown. doors and win
dows of negro houses were broken in and
finally several were fired.
The fire department responded, but many
of the houses were burned to the ground.
N1,a oh ID nr,dn m yNrn f1n
fire department from extinguishing the
flames, and were partially successful. All
the officers of the city, township and coun-
ty were called out but the mob swept
them aside. and proceeded with the rtoting.
Mayor Trigg ran from corner to corner
and mounting boxes made earnest appeals
to the mob to cease, but beyond cheering
the mayor vociferously the mob swept on
and the depredationS continued.
The saloons were hurriedly closed by the
mayor. After the hundreds of frenzied
men composing the mob had vented their
wrath In the north end of the city they
rushed to the southern end, where lived a
number of negroes. Their houses were va
cant, and not a negro could be found.
Three more houses were fired, and two
were consumed. All efforts to reason with
the rioters were futile, as apparently a
frenzy had seized upon them. The streets
were thronged. and at 11:15 o'clock the
whole city was in an uproar: So far as
known at that hour no fatalities had oc-
Cured although many persons had re-
ceived minor injuries.
dispatch from Carthage. last night says:
The negro lynched in Joplin tonight was
Thomas GiIyard, aged twenty, a tramp. He
had confessed that he murdered Leslie,
and he was crippled by bullet fired by
Leslie in last nights fight. Early today
Sheriff Cohen hurried off to the county
Jail at Carthage Dan Billiard, a negro who
was with Gilyard just before the police
man was killed. Tonight Billiard was
spirited away from Carthage for fear of an
attack on the county Jail.