The Montana plaindealer. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1906-1911, 1906-04-20
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 a Fire Under Them
as They Hung-Nearoes Had As
saulted a White Girl.

Springfield, Mo, April 15,-A mob
tonight took two negroes from the
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 were Horace Duncan
and James Copeland, both under Il
years of age. They were in Jail charg-
ed with %assaulting Mabel EdmOndson,
4 white girl. Fully 5000 people went
to the county jail about 3 O'Clock, and
with sledge hammers and telephone
poles literally tore the Jail 10 pieces.
The two suspects were dragged from
the Jail and taken 10 the public square
and hanged. II is fully a mile from
the Jail to the square, and me mob
marched down one of the principal
streets Of the town, shouting and fir
ing pistols.
Maoel Edmondson came here recent
ly from Monet, Mo, TO obtain EN-.
oloyment as a domestic servant. The
other evening she was riding in a bug
gy with Charles Cooper, a young nan
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 of the gas, hoping TO thus confuse
the mob and defeat its plans. He was
just a second too late, as the mob
had secured ,ne negroes.
Sheriff Horner tried to argue with
the mob, but ii was determined, and
hOoted 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 sheriff's house, demol-
ished the furniture and rendered the
sheriA's wife unconscious by threats
and violence.
Will Allen, a negro charged with
the murder of a 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 it. and he dropped
into the chaTred remains of uls former
companions in prison. He was taken
up on the tower again and this time
his captOrs were more successful in
their work. Il swear that I am not
guilty Of killing Rourke.' were his last
words.
The lynchings took place under a
statue representing Justice. on an
electric light tower.
When Duncan and Copeland were
dragged from their cells in the Jail
they could say nothing but oh. oh,
oh, and it is thought that long be-
fore they We're dragged into the square
that they We're completely unconscious
from fright. When they were strung
up to the statue of Justice their bodies
were limp "a though they were dead
Neither made the slightest resistance
II developed about midnight that
there were two mobs. one well organ
lied and composed of men. and an.
other composed altogether of rowdies.
The first mob reached Inc Jail at
about the same time as did the mob
composed of boys and rufians in gen
eral. While the mob was making a
great noise outside the Jail. shooting
threatening and throwing stones al
jail windows. the organized mob
getting in its best work.
Later.
Leslie Peters, Is years old, shot and