The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-07-08
A NEGRO LYNCHED
At Scranton, Where He Murdered a
White Man in February.
VICTIM TAKEN FROM A TRAIN.
While He Was Being Conveyed from
Kinxstree to the Peniten-
tiary at Columbia for
Safe KeeDfny

Safe Keeping.
A special dispatch from Florence to
The News and Courier says Cairo
Williams, the negro who killed Thurs
ton O. MCGEE, at Scranton, in Will
liamsburg County, on the oath of Feb
ruary last, was taken from the fast
West Indian limited train on the At
lantic Coast Line at Scranton Thurs
day evening and lynched.
1t will be remembered that strategy
was used. Sheriff Graham, of Will
liamsburg County, when Williams was
carried to Kipgstree In February after
the shooting, how he evaded the mob
that went to Kingstree that night t.
lynch Williams, and how he finally
managed to get Williams to the Peni-
tentiary for safe-keeping. This was
nne work on the part Of Sheriff Ora
nam, for which be was commended.
The strategy used Thursday evening,
however, played into the hands OF the
lynchers, and they were rewarded for
their efforts.
THE LAWS DELAY.
Williams was put on trial at the
April term Of Court in Williamsburg
County, but Judge Purdy had ordered
the case continued until this term Of
the Court. Williams was carried back
to the Penitentiary and kept there
until Monday morning, when he was
taker to Kingstree for trial. The
case Was called and tried, but the jury
failed to agree and a mistrial was or
dered
Thursday afternoon Sheriff Graham,
OF Williamsburg, deemed it advisable
to send Williams again tc the Pe2!r
tentiary for safe-keeping, and placed
him In another prison In charge Of
Deputies Britton and Wheeler. The
plan was to send the party through to
Columbia without stopping, and for
that purpose the sheriff requested the
Coast Line officials to have train No.
80, the northbound fast West Indian
limited, stop at Kingstree and take
tile four aboard This was done and
+Tis train delayed only moment. In
thet meantime, however, the news
reached Scranton that Williams was
being sent to Columbia as rapidly as
possible, and was aboard the train
that would pass through Scranton
within a few moments thereafter.
THE LYNCHERs GET NOTICE.
s It did not take long for the crowd
f TO get the information, for by the
\ time train No. 90 the local passenger
from Charleston, was due the crowd
had their faces BACKED, and with all
sorts of masks and dresses collected at
the station. BY this time train No.
5O approached the station and the en-
tire train was searched, but Williams
was not aboard. The train was then
let go and proceeded on to Florence.
Ihe paSseng, rs, however, were terri
ply frightened. AS soon as train No.
5O left tie crowd arranged to hold up
train No. 80, which was only fifteen
minutes behind the local.
THE FAST TRAIN STOPPED.
AS 1t approached the station, En-
:. gineer Louis Mills was tagged down
by red flag. Having been stopped
at Kingstree to take the prisoner
aboard and it being an unusual thing
to stop north Of L1ne'S the engineer
Throughout that the prisoner was to be
put off at Scranton, and he stopped
his train at the station. No sooner
than the wheels stopped moving, the
crowd of lynchers, some twenty five or
: more. boarded the train The out
side vestibule doors were closed, but
they broke them open. Capt. Charlie
GaSque, who was in charge of the
train, made every effort to shove them
back out Of the doors, but they had
gained entrance through the dining
and other cars Of the train and
ran into the car looking for Williams
Capt. Gasque told them he was not
aboard. but they would not believe
him. He then begged them to get
out of the coaches, as the lady passen-
gers and children were being scared to
death.
THE MURDERER SEIZED.
They then moved forward 20 the
combination coach and found Williams
in charge Of Deputies Britton and
Wheeler, who made every effort to
keep them back. The door was
broken open and twenty or more guns
covered the deputies. They we're
ordered to turn Williams over. They
again refused and scuille enSued
Both Of the deputies were considerably
bruised and SCARED from the scunic.
Finally they were told if they did not
give him up, and that quick, both or
all of them would be shot down there
and then. The deputies soon saw
that there was no use making any
further effort to hold their prisoner,
and released him under protest. The
crowd then grabbed Williams, who
held to the iron end Of the seat In
which he was sitting, but that soon
gave way and he was carried out OF
the train.
TRAIN ARRIVES AT FLORENCE.
Capt. Gasque, as soon as the crowd
left the train, ordered his engineer tC
90 ahead, and the train came on tC
Florence. The whcle affair did not
last over three minutes, but the excite.
ment was great during that time
When the train arrived at Scranton it
was two minutes late and the passen.
gers we're still greatly excited. Capt
GaSque asked some Of the party what
they intended doing with Williams
and they told him that j. he would hold
his train there for five minntes they
would show him.
1t is certain, however, that Will
liams was dead when the train reached
Florence only a few mintets later
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