The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-22
maryland MOB
LYNCHES F|END
Henry Davis, CoIored, Taken
From Jail at Annapolis
/ and Done to Death.
GUILTY OF FOUL CRIME
OFFICERS MAKE LITTLE OR NO
80, RESISTANCE.

: Annapolis. Nd, Dec. 21-Henry Davis,
alias Henry Chambers. colored, who COM
mitted a felonious assault on Mrs. John
Reed. of Brownsville, five miles from
Annapolis, last Friday, and who had con-
fessed his crime. was taken from the Jail
here this morning by a mob of about
sixty masked men and lynched. He was
strung up and his body riddled with
bullets.
The Jail is situated in Calvert street in
The western part of the city and is quite
isolated. The mob had no difficulty in
securing the prisoner Taking him from
his cell they carried him along the road
leading to the scene of his crime The
plans of the lynchers were kept very
quiet, as no one except those who PAL
tieipated i'm it knew anything about
what was to take place.
Statement of Sheriff.
In a statement made after the man was
taken from the jail, Deputy Sheriff Ru-
ben l.. Smallwocd said that about two
O'Clock a man appeared outside the Jail
and rang. He said that he had a pris-
oner- Deputy Smaliwood said that he
had no prisoner and refused to admit
him, whereupon he left. Soon afterwards
\ mon of about sixty men appeared be-
fore the Jail with a whipping post and
endeavored to batter down the door. I'm
successful with that means they pro-
cured q sledge and pick and broke q hole
in the door. through which two of the
men craWled and unlocked the door. Then
five or six men entered the building and
proceeded to the warden's room, where
they encountered Warden George Taylor.
Deputies Smallwood and James O. Grouse
and Night Waterman Frank Marcellus.
At the point of a pistol the warden sur
rendered the keys.
Victim Secured.
In few moments more Davis was Sc
cured and carried out bodily He made
10 resistance. His appearance outside
the Jail vas greeted with yellS. He was
kicked and beaten by members of the
lynching party, and IN a FEW minutes
was taken to Backyard hill. on the An
ma polls, Baltimore and Washington rail-
road.
Here Davis was closely questioned and
again admitted that he had Criminally
assaulted his victim, and repeated that
he would have done it living OF dead.
Wild Cry for Vengeance.
As he made this assertion those who
heard him raised cry, rope was
Quickly knotted and the moose slipped
over his head.
BY this time Davis was nearly uncon-
scious from fright and the blows which
had been rained on him. While i'm this
condition he was hoisted to a limb of a
tree. Almost before his feet had left
the ground a revolver cracked and a
bullet cut a cash through his scalp 1t
was signal for general firing. and at
least 100 bullets must have riddled his
body.
After few minutes the body was cut
down and after a few had examined il
and few took pieces of rope and cloth
ing as souvenirs, the mob dispersed.
The personnel of the mob is not known,
but reliable witnesses to the occurrence
state that all those who composed it
were young men in appearance. They all
wore masks. had their faces blackened,
and each one was armed with a re-
Yolver.
Police Did Not Interfere.
The negro was carried through the ne
gro section of the city, but no one in
terfered- When people appeared at the
windows they were warned to remain
indoors if they did not want harm to
mob to have its way. none of the Off
GERS apparently interfering.
Mrs. Reid, the negro's victim. was
confined TO her home for some days in
a serious condition as a result of her
injuries.
Mrs Reid is a white woman. When ar
rested last Sunday, Davis protested in
confronted by his victim. who identified
him. he confessed. He had already
served two years i'm the penitentiary for
d similar crime
The lynchers, it was learned today, as
sembled on the campus of St. Johns col
lego about midnight and made their
preparations for descent upon the Jail in
senior hall of the college, indicating that
most of them were Annapolis men.
States Attorney Green said he would
do all in his power TO locate and prose
cute members of the mob.
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