Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
ALL Think DAVIS
GOT JUST DESERTS
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in sight of the railroad tracks, she was
seized from behind and dragged from the
buggy, 1t being necessary for her assailant
to break the top of the vehicle before he
could drag his victim out upon the road.
Mrs. Reid screamed for assistance, but her
outcries only seemed to enrage Davis, and
he choked and beat her before he finally
assaulted her.
1T was my intention to kill her." he
said after he was placed under arrest, but
/ was scared away
why did you want to kill herr" he was
asked.
Because she could tell on me-" was his
answer. -.. -
Mrs Reid was left upon the road by her
assailant. and she was found there by
Aunt Cassie" colored woman. She was
assisted home. and DR. Hinkle was called
upon to attend her Numerous cuts and
bruises were found on the victim. the
the neck. This wound. it is thought. was
inflicted with a club or heavy stick Of some
kind.
After Mr.. Reid had summoned physi-
Aunt Cassie" and went in search of the
assailant. He hurried to the place where
the crime had been committed.
II called for help he said, but did not
find any men who seemed willing to go
with me. and SO 1 went alone, being armed
and not afraid to meet the scoundre He
was in the woods near me at that time,
but 1 was unable to find him without as
sistance."
LAS 1 said before" he remarked before
boarding the late train to go home, my
only regret about yesterdays occurrence
is that l was not there to assist the boys
in their work"
Reported to Sheriff.
No time was lost In reporting the oc-
currence to the authorities. and Sheriff
Joshua Linthicum and his two deputies.
James H. Grouse and Reuben Smallwood,
proceeded to make rigid investigation.
The identity of the colored man was not
known until colored school teacher re-
ported that she had seen Davis near the
scene of the crime Friday
L knew what he had done before she
Is reported to have said, land 1 was afraid
of him."
Sunday morning Mr.. Reid was in town.
having come here to get the authorities
more deeply interested in the case, and
also to do little detective work himself.
He saw a number of persons one Of them
being Constable James T. Small. By noon
the constable had Davis under arrest and
lodged in the jail on Calvert street. The
sheriff began degree" work upon the
prisoner. but the latter denied the charge.
Sheriff Linthicum, satisfied that Davis was
guilty, kept up the work until the prisoner
finally broke down and confessed. Only
confession. and they put Davis In cell
on the third floor, he being the only pris-
oner there. This was done, not. only to
guard against the escaping OF Davis, but
also to prevent him from talking to other
prisoners.
Because of the nature of the charge
against the prisoner the sheriff realized that
there was danger of Davis being lynched.
and he was careful to keep from exposing
the man to unnecessary danger. Davis was
told that he would have to go to the house
of Mrs. Reid in order to see If she could
identify him. but he insisted that such a
proceeding was not necessary.
I'm guilty hSrepeated. land it was my
intention to kill her, and you can't get any
more than that
Davis realized that a trip to the Reid
home might result disastrously to him. He
feared the husband of the woman might
shoot him, and he preferred to remain in
prison. When the time came for the pris-
oner to be taken to 1glehart he was placed
Sheriff Linthicum going behind in a buggy.
Upon reaching the store and home of John
Reid, his wife and daughter, the sheriff
and his deputies escorted the prisoner to
friend of the family, being there at the
time. 1t had been feared that Mr.. Reid
might become excited and use violence to-
ward the prisoner, and in order to prevent
such trouble. if possible, his firearms had
been taken from the house.
4oeutlued Oy V1ct1m.
Mrs. Reid also feared trouble and she
therefore refrained from making a positive
identification while her husband was in
the room. only saying he looked and walked
like the man who had assaulted her. After
the prisoner had been returned to the car
rage and started upon the return trip to
the jail, Mrs. Reid announced that Davis
was the man who had committed the as
saut. Davis was returned to the Jail and
threats of lynching were heard. 1t was
ported that an effort had been made upon
two occasions prior to Thursday night to
form a mob. but the absence of a leader
caused the plans to be abandoned.
Tuesday night Sheriff Linthicum feared
lynchers would come for the prisoner and
he remained in the Jail all night. AS the
mob failed to appear he thought the report
about violence was probably nothing but
idle talk, and Thursday night he felt that
there would be no trouble. He had his depu-
ties remain in the Jail as a precautionary
however. With them were George
Taylor, the warden, and Hugh Marcellus,
the night Waterman. AS early as 10 o'clock
that night some strangers here heard that
a party was being formed to lynch Davis
but not wanting to become involved in the
affair they said nothing about it. By mid
night, it is stated, most of the members
of the mob had gathered about st. JOINS
College.
1t is said that it was upon the college
premises that some of the mob backened
their faces and made improvised masks of
various kinds. Their talking in low tones
aroused Some of the students and Prof
Waddell The latter going to an upper
window demanded to know what was going
on. He received no satisfaction however
and short time afterward the men who
presented the appearance of a minstrel
troupe or a party going to a masquerade
ball left the campus. 1t does not seem
to have dawned upon the professor or the
students that the men were preparing to
lynch Davis
While all this was going on the prisoner,
whose hands were fastened with hand
cuffs. was sleeping quietly on the top floor
of the Jail, and the four men who wer there
to guard him were the second floor
They had bolted and barred the front doors
and felt secure. They had made no pro-
vision. however, for spriting the prisoner
away TO a place of safety In case of
trouble. The mob moved toward the jail
and only stopped at the plant of the gas
company for a short time. endeavoring to
gain admittance. 1t is assumed that they
wanted to cut off the clty's gas supply and
make it an easier matter for them to escape
detection, but they were unable to enter
the building, and about 1870 o'clock they
reached the vicinity of the jail.
At the Prison Door.
Two men in the party advanced to the
prison and attempted to gain admittance