The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-06-30
sPLEADINGS ARE VAIN
Nine Men Were Borne From the Cells
and Lined Up Before the MuzzIes
of the Band, But One of Them Es-
capped Through the SuppositiOn
That He Was Dead.
CBy the Associated Press }

Watkinsville, Ga, June "a mob
o'clock this morning and took there
from nine prisoners, eight of whom
were shot to death and the ninth es-
capped only by being thought dead by
the mob.
The prisoners taken out and lynched
were: Lon j. Aycock, white, charged
with the murder of r. NJ. Holbrook
and wife, of Occonee county; and seven
negroes, Rich Robinson, Lewis Robin
son, Claude Elder. charged with the
murder of the Holbrook couple; Sandy
Price a young negro, charged With at
tempt to rape upon the person of Mrs
Weldon Dooley; Rich Allen, negro
convicted and under sentence of death
for the murder of Will Robertson;
another negro. George Yearly, another
negro charged with the burglary OF u
rifle from Mr. Marshall, and Bob Har-
ris, a negro, charged with shooting
another negro.
The mob came quietly into Watkins
willie Il little before a. M. There
were about fifty to seyenty-iive men In
u.
and no one knows whence they came
or to what point they returned. They
went at once to the house of Town
Marshal l.. H. Aiken and quietly cafleo
him to the door AS he put ms neau
out of the door he was seized ana told
that he must deliver the jail Key. he
refused and the men put pistols in his
face and overpowered him, he being q
rather small man. Aiken refused TO
dress. but some of the party dressed
him and carried him along.
The mob next seized Courtney Eld>
ner n blacksmith, and made him bring
his tools along with him. On theif
way to the Jail they We're met by A:
w. Ashford, Il prominent citizen OF
WatkinsyiIle. who had heard the noise
Mt the marshal's house and came down
town as soon as he could dress. MI
Ashford begged the men to deslst ana
let the law take its course, especlally
pleading for Aycock on the ground
that the evidence had not been Secuf-
ed to warrant his conviction. he also
begged them not to lynch those not
charged with capital crimes. They
told him that they were cool, sober
aud determined and that he might as
we'll go back home and go to bed.
IKE Jail Opened.
The iaiI was then opened by the
town marshal under the cover of sew
eraI pistols and inside the Jail the
mob held up Jailor Crow and de-
,nanded the keys to the cells. He re-
fused at first, but surrendered them
after being menaced with guns
Jailor Crow begged hard for Ay-
cock on the same ground that Mr.
Ashford did, and also for the two
persons who were not charged with
capital crimes Members of the at
tacking party told him to shut his
mouth. They knew what to do, they
said. and they were going to clear out
the whole Jail.
The mob got every prisoner in the
iail except Ed. Thrasher. a negro
charged with gambling, who was on
the misdemeanOr side of the prison
and was not noticed. The prisoners
were carried to a point some one hun
dred yards from the Jail and tied to
three fence posts by their necks. Ay-
cock protested his innocence to the
last He said they swere killing an
innocent man. While the general be-
lief in Oconee county is that Aycock
was guilty still there were many who
did not believe SO. Rich Robinson
said it was all right so far as he was
concerned, but that three more ne
groes were i'm the Holbrook murder.
He named Sidney Norris, Jim Taylor
and Wiley Durham as the three i'm
olicated.
These negroes had been in Jail be-
fore on this charge and had been re-
leased after full investigation by the
committee. The other prisoners did
not open their mouths during their
march to their DOOM
Five VolIeys Fired
After the prisoners had been tied
to the fence posts the mob lined up
and fired five volleys into their bodies.
All died without a struggle with the
exception of Joe Patterson. a negro
who was charged with pointing a gun
at Albert Ward. Patterson was shot
several times in the body. but was
alive after the mob left and will re-
cover.
Aycock's body was fairly rddled
with shot, a great hole was torn
through his heart and another through
his right breast.
The mob left quietly after doing it's
work and none of its members came
towards Athens. 1t is believed that
the men We're from neighboring coun-
ties. as the report was brought to
Watkinsville yesterday afternoon by
A. y. Bostwick of Morgan county.
that a mob would likely attack the