The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-15
LYNCHING FEARED IN JERSEY.
NEGRO HURRIED FROM RED BANK
TO TIE FREEHOLD JAIL.

while Committing Burglary He Attacked
tho ls-Year-Old Daughter or Mayor
! Dayis-Struck Her Repeatedly to Make
Her Stop Fighting and Screaming.
RED BANK. N j., July IA negro with
long criminal record made an attempt
to criminally assault Grace Davis, the
eighteen-year-o daughter OF Mayor D. ~
Davis, after committing obbery early
| this morning. The negro got into tho
house wi hout disturbing the members OF
the Davis family and, after stealing some
jewelry in the room. attacked the girl.
When the girl made an outcry the negro
| threatened to kill hor, and then beat her
on the head several times with his fists
| The girl fought him, and when her screams
aroused her father the negro escaped. He
was caught half an hour later in barn,
to which he had been tracked by footprints
| in the mud. There was another negro
with him. and both pretended 10 be asleep.
The negro attacked the girl about
o'clock. Four hours later the town hee rd
OF the assault and a crowd OF about fifty
persons gathered around the lookup. In
the crowd was a number of the town
ha ngers-on, but there were also some solid
business men, One of the latter told Police
Captain William II. Wilson that if the negro
We snt taken out of town before night there
would be lynching. There IVES no dem
onstration me de to capture the negro. but
Capt. Wilson decided that it would be wiser
TO have him in a stronger lookup. and he
was hurried to the county Jail at Freehold.
II was probably lucky for the negro that
the girl. except for few bruises where the
negro struck her, was unin iured The girl,
who is pretty, is a social favorite in the
town. Her father was Sheriff Of Mon
mouth county up to year ago and is we'll
TO do. They live in a comfortable two
story frame house on Riverside avenue.
The negro, Thomas Thomas. alias Thomas
Drum, had been employed by Mayor Davis
up to about month ago, when ne began to
drink. IL seems that although Thomass
reputation il bad. he was not feared, except
when he was in his cups. Then he was
known as "bad niger" On mis- record
alone, however, il would appear that he
was n man TO be feared under any circum-
stances.
About twenty years ago he was a men,
her Of gang that terrorized the town by
firing houses and by robbery. He was
sentenced to thirty years IN prison at Tren-
ton for that, but hadn't been there long
when, with another negro named Henry
jackson, he attempted to escape. In the
chase that followed jackson and one of the
keepers were killed. Thomas was re-
captured, but was relea sed on parole about
two years ago for good behavior. Since
then he has been doing considerable work
for Mayor Davis, painting houses and
doing odd jobs.
Consequently he was familiar with the
Davis house and had no trouble in getting
in. He first pried open the shutters on
porch window and then got inside by SHOW
ing back the latch on the window with
knife On the porch he had removed his
shoes and, in his stockings. he was able TO
move around the house noiselessly.
Apparently Thomas went to the pantry
| first and found some pork chops. These
| he put in kettle and left on the porch
nsar the door where he probably expected
to get them when he made his escape from
the house His calculations were wrong,
| however, as the pork chops were still on the
porch when he was captured.
After taking the pork chops. Thomas
made his way upstairs and came to the
| door of Miss Davis's room, which had not
been locked. Her father and the other
members Of the family sleep on the same
| floor, but at another corner Of the house
It is thought that Thomas's original inten-
| tion was robbery, and he went into the
| first room he came to, which was Miss
! Davis's
A gold neckchain ard bracelets belong
! ing 10 Miss Davis, and pocketbook with
a five-dollar gold piece belonging to her
brother, Herbert, were on dresser. These
| Thomas put in his pocket, ard then he
went over to where the girl was sleeping,
The girl was awakened by the negro
bending over her with his hands on her face.
| She screamed ana struggled with the negro,
| who tried 20 grab her around the neck.
| Miss Davis, who is strong and wiry. from
| outdoor exercise, fought the negro. who
| finally whispered in her ear
IF you don't stop screaming will kill
you"
The girl didn't step, but went on scream
| ing with all her lung power, The negro
! became furious then. and raired blow after
blow on her head, Mayor Davis was
| awakened by his daughters screams and
! came running down the hall from his room.
| The gro heerd him coming and jumped
| out of the window Oh the roof of the porch.
and from there dropped to the ground.
Az he dashed down the walk to the street
Mayor DAVIS saw the negros outline in
the dark and thought he reco gnized Thomas.
The negro Disappeared in tho dark and MIR.
Davis hurried around TO Capt. wilson's
house few blocks away and got the Cap
tain out OF bed. Several of the neighbors
had been aroused by the girls screams,
and they joined in hunting for her assalant.
II had been raining during the night and
with the aid of a lantern there was not
much difficulty in following the negro's
tracks in the mud. The footprints led
across Riverside avenue Front street and
West street and then to barn belonging
to Mayor Davis near the railroad tracks
In haymow in the loft of the barn Capt
Wilson found Thomas pretending to be
asleep. Capt. Wilson grabbed his feet
and found that the shoes were on and that
the stockings were wet and muddy.
Il didn't do nothin', Loss yelled the
negro. q nd he jumped out Of the NOW and
tackled c. pit. Wilson. The other negro,
named DE MEL Webster, didn't move during
the scuffle and feigned sleep. Thorn a.
q he fought with Capt. Wilson, kept digging
into his pokcets trying TO throw something
out.
Finally the ca pta in got him over his be ok
and slipped one hf ndcuR over his wrist
The negro punched ct him with the other
hr nd and thrust it into the other wrist
| band Capt. Wilson snr pped the lock and
| the negro WIS held fast. When he hG
| Thorn secure Cept. Wilson shook the
other negro and took hem both to the
| lookup.
Mea ntime Mayor Davis he'd summoned
Dr. A. G. Brown. The doctor found that
| Miss DE- Wis hf q cut on the be elk of her
head and lump over the right eye, where
the negro had struck her. The girl va r
| hysterical for a time, but soon Quoted
| down. and il WIS g. id this fternoon that
oh hor tttr, in