The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-04-24
NEGROES DRIVEN
out OF JOPLIN
Lynching Of a Black Provokes
a Reign Of Terror In
the Town.
HAD KILLED A POLICEMAN
Mob Then Drives Negroes in Coloreo
Quarters, and Then Forces Them
All From Town, Setting Fire
to Many Houses.

Joplin, Mo-, April ia mob took an
unknown tramp negro from the city
Jail last night and hanged him to a
telephone pole two blocks from the
Jail.
me negro was charged with having
murdered Police Officer Leslie, who was
shot dead Tuesday night in the Kansas
city southern railroad yards while en-
deaVorlng to arrest several negroes
suspected of theft from the railroad
cars.
Late yesterday afternoon Lee Fuller
ton, a member Of one of the searching
posses, located the fugitive in a slaugh-
ter house just east of Joplin. The negro
was armed with a rifle, and detied ar
rest. Fullerton slipped into the struc-
ture unobserved and crept up behind
the negro, effecting his capture before
resistance could be made.
n mob gathered about the Jail
early last evening Inc compelled the
Jaller to surrender the prisoner. He
was hanged a few minutes later. An at
tempt by City Attorney Decker to pre-
vent the lynching was without avail.
The lynching of the negro served to
only temporarily satisfy the indigna-
ton of the moi and later hundreds Of
men assembled and rioted through the
negro section Of the city, burning
houses, stoning negroes, and finally
drove every negro from the confines Of
joplin. The police were 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 I'M
der arrest on the charge Of a%ssaulting
a negro. In the hope that this would
appease the Sacb, the prisoner was set
free.
. Negro Quarters Fired.
But h mob did not dispense. In
stead, a rush was made through Main
street, the principal street Of Joplin,
ana every negro was frightened off
the street and fled to the northern part
of the city, where the colored popula-
ton lives. In this way the negroes were
driven from all parts of the city to the
negro section. Then the mob charged
down on that section. Stones were
thrown, doors n windows of negro
houses were broken in, and finally sew
eral were fired. The fire department
responded, but many Of the houses We're
burned to the ground. The mob made
endeavorS to prevent the fire depart
ment from e~xtinguishing the fire, and
were partially successful.
All officers of the city, township II
county were called out, but the mob
swept them aside and proceeded with
the rioting.
Mayor Trigg ran from corner to cor
aer, and mounting boxes made n
appeals to the moi to cease, but while
cheering the mayor the mob swept on
n the de%predations continued. The
saloons We're hurriedly closed by the
mayor.
After the hundreds of frenzied men
composing the moi had vented their
wrath in the north end Of the city they
c,,~ ~ - ~ -. $500 49, ,-l~.~ 1.-,-J
q number Of negroes Their houses
were vacant, and not a negro could be
found. Three more houses were fired,
and two We're consumed.
All efforts to reason with the rioters
were futile, as apparently a frenzy had
seized upon them. The streets We're
thronged, and at 11:15 o'clock the
whole city was in an uproar. So far as
Known at that hour no fatalities had
occurred, though man. persons had re
ceived minor injuries.
Shooting of Policeman.
Policeman G. Leslie was shot and in
stantly killed here Tuesday night while
trying to capture several negroes sus-
pected of theft. The negroes had taken
refuge in a box car and Officer Leslie
had commanded that they surrender or
he would shoot. They would not sur
render and the officer fired several
shots at the car. Meanwhile one of
the negroes slipped from the car, and
making his way unobserved around be-
hind the officer shot him through the
head: The other negroes Their riddled
the officers body with bullets and fed.
~
Negro Legally Hanged.
Michigan City, Ind, April 17.-At 1901
this morning Matthew Alexander, a ne
gro, was hanged in the Indiana peniten-
tiary for the murder of George Burke at
Srerre Haute last September. Alexander
slept the early part of the evening, and
when awakened to prepare for the scat
fold he smoked a pipe Of tobacco and
walked unassisted to the death room.
His neck was broken by the fall.
innocent Negro Killed.