The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1904-03-05
A MILE A MINUTE
TO SAVE A NEGRO MURDERER
FROM A MOB.
THE GOVERNOR WINS HIS RACE
Albert Baldwin, Slayer Of Engineer
Fogerty, Safely Landed In jackson
Jail ceIl-Trip Not Without Its In
cidents.

Jackson, Miss, Feb. 28.-The negro,
Albert Baldwin, who was to have been
burned today at Tutwiler for the muir
der of Engineer Fogerty, tonight lies
safe in cell of the Jackson Jail, and
what was planned to be most hor-
rlble burning has been saved the
State. And this burning of negro
at the stake was averted by the prompt
action of Gov. Vardaman, whose views
on the negro question have been the
subject of SO much discussion. This
afternoon at $3.50 o'clock special
coach hitched to the southbound linn
corted by the Greenw ood company I'm.
der the command of Captain Keesler,
Adjutant General Fridge and Gov Var
daman. Not twenty people at the
Jackson depot knew what was going
on. The negro was placed in hack,
and taken to the Jail by Adjutant Cen
eral Fridge. Governor Vardaman went
to the mansion and the Greenwood
company stepped from the coach of
the special to the Yazoo and Missis-
sippi Valley train and left immediate
ly for their home in Greenwood.
The trip last night and this morn
ing was not without accident or Incl
dent. The governor and the adjutant
general left here at 10 o'clock. They
arrived at Greenwood at about 2
o'clock where they were met by Cap
tain Keesler with forty-fve men, of
the Greenwood company and fifteen
from the Itta Bena company under
Lieutenant Rich. No time was lost at
Greenwood and the special pulled
straight out over the branch for Gre
NADIA. At Grenada there came very
near being collision between one
of the freights in the Grenada yards
and the special and the governor and
the soldiers were greatly shaken up.
1t was known that the engineer was
in sympathy with the burning of the
negro, and it was thought at one time
that the accident was premeditated,
but an investigation proved this to be
incorrect.
Race for Life.
The forty-five miles between Gre
NADIA and Batesville was made in fifty
minutes. 1t was race for life, for it
was known that when daylight came
the Tutwiler mob would be after the
negro. Batesville was reached about
daybreak. Sheriff Johnson had pick
ed posse of fifteen men protecting the
negro, and Immediately upon the ar
rival of the governor and the militia
company the negro was brought to the
depot and turned over to the chief
executive and the soldiers. There was
little excitement at Patesville, hut the
excitement would have begun as soon
as the Tutwier posse could have ar
rived at that place.
Governor Vardaman made the COM
pany of about hundred people that
had gathered at the depot very OPP
perfume and appropriate speech. He
thanked them for assisting in uphold
ing the law Sheriff Johnston made a
short reply to the governors speech
In less than fifty minutes the special
was turned around and pulled out OF
Batesville with the negro prisoner.
The return trip to Jackson was with
out incident until the special was
few miles south of Canton, when one
of the cogs in the engine broke, and
the company of soldiers with the pris-
oner waited two hours for the regular
to pick them up, arriving
at Jackson at $3.50.
Baldwin was seen by a newspaper
this afternoon and con-
fessed that he killed Engineer Foyer
ty at Tutwiler two weeks ago. but
says that he did it in self-defense.
Since then up to the time of his ar
rest at Batesville he says that he has
been wandering in the woods.