The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-11-20
PROBABLY LYNCHED.
Mark Davis Taken From Constable
Floyd. by Masked Men.

has been dissraccd by an utterly m-
cNcusablc lynching. 1t is certain that
Il negro under arrest was taken from,
the custody of the constable. who had
captured him and who was bringing
him to Newberry to Jail, and that, at
this writing there is no clue to his
whereabouts, dead or alive.
W. II. Hendrix, a white farmer liv-
ing III the Dominick settlement, about
eleven miles from Newberry, rented II
piece of land from Will and Aft Dor
rob, white men.
A negro, named Mark Davis worked
the land for Hcndriv on shares. Hen
dirk was afraid that he would not
get his share of the corn crop if lie
left the measuring of it TO the negro.
and asked him to gather the crop and
bring to his, Hendrix, house to be
divided. The negro became angry and
declared that he would not gather the
crop.
On Saturday Will and Alf Dorroh
drove to the corn pile in wagon to
gather the corn. They found Davis
in the iirlh. and the negro fired az
them with II single barrel shot gun.
The shot ratified ON the wagon bed,
but neither Of the Dorrohs was hit.
They returned the fire and the nc"ru
ran away. Later Magistrate j. b.
Smith. Of l.ongShorcS, upon the infor-
nation of the DorrohS, issued Il war
rant for the arrest of Davis. Con-
Stable Nancy Floyd, with posse
went in search nf the negro and read
ily found him on the Ben Amick
place. thirteen miles from Ncwbcrry.
He arrested him and with him in his
buggy started I" town. One by one
the men If the posse left him as they
ncarcd their hume. until at length
Constable Floyd and the negro were
alone in the buggy.
When they reached the ravine on
the Belfast road about five and one
half miles from Ncwbcrry, near the
Smyrna church. il party Of masked
men suddenly lcaprd from the bushes
by the road side, surrounding the bug
%y, "vcrpowcrcd the constable, and
made off with the negro. The work
was done rapidly and in silence. There
are two theories rs to the subsequent
acts of the mob. Some suppose that
they whipped the negro and ordered
him to leave the country. 1t is hoped
that no greater deed of violence was
committed, but there is absolutely no
ground to accept this rather than the
more common view that the negro
was killed by his captors and thrown
into the Bush river.
The deed of violence was utterly
without excuse, and there were no
circumstances which could possibly
have caused the officers Of the law to
anticipate it and take any unusual
precaution for the protection Of The
prisoner.
Sheriff Buford heard late Saturday
evening that there had been some
difficulty in the Dominick neighbour
hood and teleph"neL to Mr.. II. II.
Abrams to find if his services were
needed. Mr.. Abrams gave him the
information that the arrest had been
made and the negro in the hands OF
the constable was being brought to
Ncwbcrry.
Magistrate Smith and Constable
Floyd are reported as having spent
all day Sunday in securing" the coun-
try {" learn the fate Of TIE negro, bu,
without s;Irr"->. Sheriff Buford is
usln" every mca"S t" solve the mys-
terry, and if he succeeds, it will eo
hard with the whitccappcrs or lynch
rrs, whichever thcv prove to be.