Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1906-04-21
HUNG The NEGROES
WORK OF ANGRY MOB At SPRING
FIELD, MISSOURI.
Took Them From Jail and Strung
Them Up In Center Of the Pubic
Square and Built Fire Under Them
as They Hung-Negroes Had As
sauIted a White Girl.

tonight lOOh lWo hcblOco rum NhN
county Jail and hanged them to .ne
electric tower in the center of the pub
lie square and built a fire under the
men as they hung.
The negroes we're Horace Duncan
and James Copeland, both under 81
years of age. They were in jail charg-
ed with assaulting Mabel Edmondson,
a white girl. Fully 5000 people went
to the county Jail about O'Clock, and
with sledge hammers and telephone
poles literally tore the Jail to pieces.
The two suspects were dragged from
the Jail and taken to the public square
and hanged. It is fully a mile from
the Jail to the square, and the mob
marched down one of the principal
streets of the town, shouting and fir
ing pistols.
MaYel Edmondson came here recent
ly from Monet, Mo, to obtain en-
ployment as q domestic servant. The
other evening she was riding in bug
Ky with Charles Cooper, young man
of Springfield. In a secluded part Of
the city the couple were held up by
two negroes. The man was knocked
unconscious and the girl dragged from
the buggy and into the woods by the
roadside and assaulted. The two ne
groes lynched were suspected and ar
rested, but were only partially identi-
fed
Circuit Attorney Arthur Sager was
a witness of the tragedy. He slipped
down into the cellar of the jail and
cut off the gas. hoping to thus confuse
the mob and defeat its plans. He was
just a second too late, as the mob
had secured lne negroes.
Sheriff Horner tried to argue with
the mob, but it was determined, and
booted and insulted him. Jailer King
was assaulted when he refused to give
up the keys. He finally gave the mob
some keys, which were not for the ne
groes cell, however, and the mob was
forced to smash in the iron doors.
Sheriff Wilson Crane of Polk county
was present and tried to induce the
mob not to hang the negroes.
The mob, beside wrecking the Jail,
attacked the sheriffs house, demol-
ished the furniture and rendered the
sheriff's wife unconscious by threats
and violence.
VIII Allen, a negro charged with
the murder of man named Rourke
last January. was next taken from Jail
by the mob that lynched Duncan and
Copeland, and hanged in the public
square.
Allen was perfectly calm and col
lected as he jumped from the scaffold
The rope about his neck broke after
his weight fell on ii, and he dropped
into the charred remains of MS former
companions in prison. He was taker
up on the tower again and this time
his captors were more successful in
their work. 81 swear that am not
guilty of killing Rourke." were his last
words.
The lynchings took place under &
statue representing Justice" on al
electric light tower.
When Duncan and Copeland wer,
dragged from their cells in the jai
they could say nothing but "Oh. "Oh,
"Oh." and It is thought that long be
fore they were dragged into the squar,
that they were completely unconsciou.
from fright When they were STRUNG
up to the statue of Justice their bodie.
were limp as though they were dead
Neither made the slightest resistance
II developed about midnight thai
there were two mobs, one well organ
lied and composed of men, and an
other composed altogether of rowdies
The first mob reached the Jail al
about the same time as did the mol
composed of boys and rufflans in gen
eral. While the mob was making {
great noise outside the Jail. shooting
threatening and throwing stones a
the jail windows the organized mol
was getting in its best work
Later.
Leslie Peters, / 6 years old, shot anC
killed Ralph Burns, a negro of bad re-
putation, one of two who attacked him
while he was escorting a young lady
home from a party. The nergoes &C.
costed him at the gate of the young
lady's home and one of the negroes
firsd two shot from revolver at him
but neither shot took effect. Peters
Immediately fired four shots at the ne
groes, killing one of them and the
other escaped Peters went Ito the po
lice station an gave himself up, but he
wassreleased without bond.
The news of the killing of another
negro spread like wildfire through the
city and hundreds of people left theii
beds.and FASTENED to the public square.
The militia on guard prevented any
VIOLENT outbreaks and after time dis.
persed the crowds and no further trou.
BILE is feared. though it is believed that
the killing Monday night will tend &c
increase the feeling against the ne.
groes. People who had been disposed
TO sympathize with the nergoes are in.
censed at this latest negro assault.
-Four men are now under arrest
charged with being leaders in the moi
that broke into the county Jail and
lynched three negroes. One of the al.
legged mob leaders is in Jail and three
have been released on bond. Charles
Cannefax and Oney Gallery were the
first men arrested.