The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-16
HAD A TUG OF WAR
WITH A NEGRO's NECK THE PRIZE
IN THE CONTEST.
LYNCHERS HAD THE PULL
AND THE NEGRO SWUNG FROM A
TELEGRAPH POLE.

N,
TpOn an Armed Negro, Over Pow
cred and Captured Him-CrOwd
Took the Jail by Assault and Sc
cured the NegrO-Swayed by IN
orator, Some Sought to Save the
Negro, but This Was In Vain.
Joplin, Mo, April 15-A mob took
and unknown tramp negro from the
citv iail this evening and hanged him
ia a telegraph pole at the corner of
Second 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 Kan
sas City Southern Railroad yards,
while endeavoring to arrest several
negroes suspected of theft.
officer Leslie had ordered several
negroes who had taken refuge in box
car to surrender, and when they failed
TO do so, he fired several shots at the
car. During the shooting a negro
slipped from the car. and, coming up
behind the officer, shot him through
the head. The negro then fled, and
within a short time posses were after
him.
About o'clock this afternoon Lee
Fullerton, aged 21, located the fugi-
tive in a slaughter house, just east of
Joplin. The negro was armed with
rifle and defied arrest. Fullerton
slipped into the structure unobserved
and crept up behind the negro. Sud-
denly he sprang at the unsuspecting
fugitive, and before resistance could
be made, he had the negro on his
back with a knife at his throat. The
negro then surrendered his rifle, and
pointing the weapon at him Fullerton
marched him out of the building.
Mob Soon Gathered.
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 speed
ly surrounded by hundreds of people.
There were cries of Lynch him!" on
all sides, and City Attorney P. II.
Decker mounted the Jail steps and
made strong plea in behalf of law
and order. This served to temporarily
stay the. mob, hesraaid not appease it,
aifds a short time after Decker's
s&seeh the mob started to batter in a
sEfon 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
-
decker again interfered, and urged
that the negro be given trial. For
h4lf an hour he talked, and the mob
liMened to him with the negro in their
custody.
Dispersed, but Gathered Again.
At one time it seemed that the city
attorney 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 a 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 a
veritable 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.
The name of the negro was not
known, and he was 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.
There was still great excitement In
Joplin, and it is feared that more
trouble will follow in case the asso-
ciates of the dead negro are ap-
pretended.
Drove All Negroes Out.
The lynching of the negro served
only to temporarily 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 ne
groes and finally driving every negro
from the confines of Joplin. The police
We're powerless.
The first act of the. mob after hang
Ing the negro was to demand the re-
lease from Jail of a local character
known as Hickory Bill" who was
under arrest on the charge of assault
ing a negro. In the hope that this
would appease the mob, the prisoner
was set free.
But the mob did not disperse. In
stead, 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 negro population
resides. In this way The negroes were
driven from all parts of the city to the
negro section. Then the mob charged
down on the section. Stones were
thrown, doors and windows of negro
houses were broken in and finally sew
eral were fired.
Burning md Destroying.
The fire department responded, but
many of the houses were burned to
the ground. The mob made endeavors
to prevent the fire department from
eXtinguishing the flames and were par
TALLY successful. All the officers of
the city, township and county were
called out, but the mob swept them
aside and proceeded with the rioting.
Mayor Trigg ran from corner to cor
ner and mounting boxes made earnest
appeals to the mob to cease, but be-
yond 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