The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-08-17
Military Men Are OVerpoWersd and Prisoners Taken from
 StatesbOro Court House
KEROSENE SOAKED BODIES
 ARE CHAINED ID 4 STUMP
Angry Men at the Court House Dis cover That Militiamen's Rifles Are Not Loaded-The Prisoners
 Had Just Been Sentenced.

statesboro, Ga, August 16.-With clothing saturated with kerosene. writhing and twisting In their agony screaming to heaven for the mercy that the mob would not show, raul Reed and Will Cato' negroes, two of the principals in the das- tardly murder and burning of Henry Hodges and wife and three of their chil- dren, six miles from Statesboro three weeks ago, were burned at the stake to- day.
 This afternoon at 1:21 o'clock deter mined mob charged upon the court house. overpowered the military guard, secured Cato and Reed, who had been found guilty after legal trial and sentenced to ! be hanged, took them two miles rom Statesboro and there exacted the fear 3ful penalty The forenoon passed quietly, the trial of Paul Reed, the ringleader in the murder, being concluded and a yer dict of guilty rendered. Sentence was im- posed upon both him and Will Cato, sen tenced the day before. and September 3 was fixed as the date for the execution.
 ominous Silence.
 The crowd assembled about the court house was not So large as yesterday. There was a quiet about s4ie crowd that augured the worst and the determination of the countrymen who had come in from miles around for the trial was never to be doubted
 In the trial of Reed little delay was caused and upon It's conclusion the pris- oners, as before. were hustled into the witness room, where a strong guard Of military was mounted over them.
 Tn the corridors the agitation began. The spectators left the court room and from the lawn outside many entered the hall ways Shortly before 10 o'clock the crowd was addressed by a tall man who seemed to inflame it greatly. He called on those about him to follow him. Then Captain Hitch of the Oglethorpe Light in- fantry. who was in command of the forces, realized that the situation was desperate. He posted guards on each of the stairways that led to the floor above where the prisoners were confined. l Rifles Were Not Loaded. { With fixed bayonets, but unloaded rifles, the guards stood. The mob surged toward them, but were repulsed several times The determined effort was yet to be made.
 At the rear stairway the gravest dan ger threatened. Prominent men, among them the Rev. MT. Hodges, brother of the murdered man. sprang to the front to ad- dress the crowd. They begged them to disperse.
 Sheriff Kendrick was among these. He cautioned the crowd against violence and pleaded with them to disperse.
 'I am your friend" he said. T beg you to do nothing that will reflect on us as well as on the community. Disperse and let the law take its course. We need these men. There are others to be brought to justice and only from the information to be gained from Cato and Reed can we bring the right ones to justice. can almost promise you that when the case is finally settled there will be five parties who are equally guilty
 We know you are our friend, Ken drick," some shouted, but promise us that you will let these men stay In the Statesboro jail and not be taken back to Savannah Then we will disperse, not until then"
 There was some shouting and cheering and Kendrick, could not reply.
 Promise us.'' they shouted. That you will not take them away from Statesboro jail"
 Wrested Weapons From Guards.
 There was commotion at the front of the crowd. This was but temporary. Pre- sently they were back at the rear and some twenty-five men crowded around the guards. Before they could be prevent ed they had caught two of the guards. wrested their weapons from them and thrown open the breech blocks The weapons were empty. That was what the trowd wanted toascertain. The troops had been given orders not to load their rifles The captured soldiers were held prison CTS. The same policy was followed with other of the soldiers. Man after man caught isolated. was relieved of his rifle after a struggle.
 At the front a member of the mob crept along the wall until he got close to the guards. He threw himself upon them In the breach thus formed his cornnan. ions threw themselves. Two hundred wild. ly cheering men followed him and soon the soldiers. though they fought desner. atey and Inflicted bayonet wounds unor some of their assailants. were overpow. cred One young soldier of the orle. thorpe guards never surrendered. He fought his way free, fought through his captors and out upon the lawn
 weapon was raised to strike him shame" shouted the crowd and struck down the man who had raised the weapon Then they threw themselves upon the boy and overpowered him.
 Mob Bursts Through Door.
 The small guard about the prisoners withdrew into the room and closed the door. The mob crashed against 1t, burst ing 1t as though 1t were an egg shell. The prisoners were at their mercy, all resist ance having been beaten down. Cato, Reed, Handy Bell and the other prisoners cowed before the crowd. They dragged Cato and Reed out. releasing Bell into the hands of the few soldiers left there as soon as they learned that he was not Reed for whom they had mistaken him.
 Reed was taken down one stairway with a rope about his neck and Cato down the other, both pleading for their lives. The crowd now numbered five hundred. They dragged the men along, shouting and cheering along the roadway leading to the Hodges homestead where the five mem- bers of the family had been murdered.
 That was their destination. The heat