The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-27

what measures he saw proper. The
crowd was large on Monday, but not
boisterous. At the adjournment of
court the two negroes were taken back
to jail under guard.
Col. Wooten: During the trial were
there no restrictions on the public in
entering the court room ?''
Capt. Hitch: None / spoke of the
advisability of keeping the crowds
back. The town was not under mar
tial law and there was no evidence of
disorder, and l hardly thought on the
whole that it was wise to attempt to
clear out the crowd and thus produce
friction"
Col. Wooten: Did you not under
stand that you were to have the dis
erection as to whether or not you would
clear the court room?"
Capt. Hitch mo. I was only to
take such steps as 1 deemed necessary.
1t would probably have been more sat
isfactOry to have cleared the Court
House"
Disarming of the Guards.
The proceedings on Tuesday were
then taken up. A squad of twenty
seven men were protecting the stair
way. The situation had been discuss
ed by Sheriff KendriCk and the Off
GERS and citizens, and it was agreed
that a repulse on the afternoon before,
when a crowd of 100 men had ad-
vanced on the guards, had dispelled
the lynching fever.
Things got squally just after the
conviction of the negroes. The crowd
pressed the guards on each side of
the Court House. Lieut.. Nell was call
ed on to bring a detachment from the
guard house, and responded with about
tWenty-SiX men, who were halted
twenty PAGES away. They were or
dered in at double quick. Capt Hitch
ran up stairs and through the build
ing to meet them. The crowd cut
off three or four of the rear members
and took their guns away. This was
the first case Capt. Hitch knew of
where the guards were disarmed.
Some question arose as to the rela-
tive rank of Lieut.. Nell and Lieut..
Cone, but no conclusion was reached.
When the reinforcements got UP the
stairway, they were dispersed about
the building, three or four going into
the prisoners room.
Lieut.. McIntire had in the meantime
been beaten in the face. Capt Hitch
urged guards to help Lieut.. McIntire.
AS long as the guards held their bay
onets at charge he thought it was a
physical impossibility for the mob to
force its way through. In the judg-
ment of Capt. Hitch, the position could
have been held indefinitely had not
he himself been treacherously at
tackled.
"Men Fought Like Veterans"
Twenty minutes before the final
charge Capt. Hitch got DR.. A. A. Nor
rison to send to Savannah for rein
forcements. DIR. Morrison got out, and
sent a telegram. For two hours the
men fought like veterans, the mob
fighting stubbornly for control. No
weapons were exhibited by the mob.
A message was brought by Sergt. A.
J. Fulton that the mob was preparing
to scale the walls with ladders and
reach the prisoners room. A detail of
men was ordered to assist the guard
in the room. and they were instructed
to throw down the ladders and knock
the men to the ground, if they tried to
get in that way. A number of the
mob managed to get inside the court
room and claimed to want to see Judge
Daley. The members were driven out.
Judge Daley and Capt. Hitch made
frequent efforts to dispense the mob
with words. but to no effect. The
crowd would listen one minute and
howl two Sheriff Kendrick and Rev.
Harmon Hodges had a conference, and
the mob that if the military would
leave the negroes in the Statesborc
Jail they would not be troubled. Capt
Hitch secuted the idea, though the
sheriff and the preacher seemed to
favor the plan.
A tremendous yelH was heard from
the front stairway, and Capt. Hitch
rushed to the front of the building,
where he saw a desperate struggle go
j ! I-AN sta
to direct the fighting.
Col Barker: What is the distance
to the Jail, and why did you not send
for the reserves there %
Capt Hitch: The jail was about
$50 yards away, and I could not send
word or make them hear
How He Was Taken.
While Capt. Hitch was near the bot
tom of the steps he was approached
by one of the sheriff's assistants,
though what title the man had he
did not know.
1.-The officer came along the wall
and passed the guards" said Capt.
Hitch. Il knew he was an officer and
welcomed him as valuable ally.
When he got half past me he sudden
ly threw his arms over my shoulders
and pinioned my arms and pushed me
DOWN l0e steps. ne was d ldi &c iidlis
We both fell into the arms of the mob
and 1 was carried and lifted away
from the stairway. Somebody said,
Boys, this is the captain
Col Barker: did not the guards
make any attempt to rescue your"
Capt. Hitch II do not know. / was
in the hands of the mob. My pistol
was taken away. l worked my way
out of the crowd. which thinned, I
suppose, by the rush to get the pris-
oners. l fought my way in from the
back and saw that the prisoners room
was OPEN"
AS soon as he looked about he saw
a few soldiers and formed them and
dashed down the steps. Capt Hitch
was asked several questions as to the
whereabouts of the other officers at
that juncture, but he did not know.
No mob and no prisoners were in
sight and he sought information.
Col. Wooten: What was the time
after you were forced down the steps
until the mob took the prisoners?"
Capt. Hitch: Il reckon 1t was from
three to seven minutes. Somebody
said they had taken the prisoners to
the Hodges home, six miles away.
Il then ran to the guard house,
where / found Lieuts Nell and Nc
Intire. Pursuit on foot did not oc-
cur to me as a very rational way to
catch the prisoners, who l understood
were in wagons"
break camp and as the company was