Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-07-27
THE DANVILLE RIOT
Mob Lynched a Negro Who
Had Shot White Man.
WRECKED CITY PRISON TO GET HIM
Crowd of Five Thousand Men After
Hanging Murderer Were Fired
Upon by Jail Guards-City Now
Under Military Protection.

Dhuer Military protection.
DANVILLE. ILL.,, July 27.-This city
is in the throes of race riot. One ne
gro, ], ID. Mayfield, refugee from Ev-
ansville, Ind, who shot and killed Hen
ry Gatterman white, has been lynched
by a mob of 600 men. who were later
fired upon by the sheriff. three men be-
ing wounded The mob was clamor-
ing for the life of another negro named
james Wilson, who has confessed to a
brutal assault on Mrs. Thomas Burgess,
the wife of a farmer at Alvon. ILL.,,
just north of here.
Mayfield met his fate while the mob
was on the way to lynch Wilson. The
angry throng was passing down East
Main street when the negro became
Involved in an alteration with some
Of its members. They started after
him, and he pulled gun, firing into
the crowd.
Henry Gatterman, young butcher
who had recently returned from For
tress Monroe, fell mortally wounded
and expired in a few seconds. The negro
turned and fed. but was caught by the
officers within block of the scene of
the tragedy and hurried to the police
station, with the mob in hot pursuit,
temporarily diverted from their march
to the county Jail.
The officers, with their prisoner took
refuge in the city building, barricading
themselves behind the door of one of
the offices. They could not check the
mob, however, for it secured long
pole and tried to batter down section
of the wall and the door, both of which
were very thin. On account of the
overwhelming numbers of the mob it
was useless for the officers to resist.
After securing battering rams 1t took
the mob about half an hour to wreck
the city prison, the negro being found
hid i'll safe, He was pulled from the
SAFE struck with sledges, knocked
down, jumped upon and stamped to
death A rope was placed around his
neck, and his lifeless body was dragged
three blocks through the streets to the
scene of the shooting. An effort was
made to hang the body to a telegraph
pole, but the rope broke. The mob,
which by this time numbered 5000.
then dragged the body to the Jail and
burned it. Then the mob proceeded to
the county Jail and charged it. The
sheriff and deputies after warning
them to desist fired, Mounding several
members of the mob, some fatally
The mob was especially wild in its
anger against negro turnkey. After
the fusillade it recoiled for few min
utes, but Immediately preparations
were made for another attack. A mes
sage was sent to mining camp at
Westfield to bring over dynamite to
blow up the Jail, and the mob leaders
were notified that two miners had
started for the explosive.
Company X, colored troop, has its
have prepared to call it out Leaders
of the mob declare they will try to kill
the entire company if it comes out.
While waiting for the miners who
were expected to bring the dynamite
from Westfield the mob marched up
it and firing shots at random,
Wilson was interviewed in the JAIL
He said he was the man who visited
the Burgess farm, and he admitted that
he had attacked Mrs. Burgess, but de-
MED that he had criminally assaulted
her. The sheriff implored the mob to
let justice take its course, hut he was
interrupted by shouts from the mob
members of which loudly declared their
determination to have the negro's life
sooner or later.
The city is now under military pro-
lection, and there have been no fur
ther disturbances. -Four companies of
the Seventh Illinois infantry have ar
rived from the state camp at Spring
field, They are under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Clasby, who has
doubled the guard of militiamen about
the Jail. One hundred sentries now
form a Gordon around it,
Adam Murray, who was fatally
wounded by charge of buckshot in
the head during the charge on the Jail
and now lies dying at st. Elizabeth's s
hospital, is miner from Westville,
and his friends are revengeful. 1t is
known that inhammatory talk has been
widespread among the miners.