The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1906-08-09

Salisbury. y. G., Special.-A mob
Of over two thousand determined
men entered Rowan county Jail short
iy after IL o clock Monday night. re
moved therefrpm Nease and John
Gillespie and Jack Dillingham;. charg-
ed with the murder of the Lverly
family al Barber Junction, July 18th.
and marching them to the edge Of
town, strung them up to a tree, nd
ding the dangling bodies with bull
lets.
George Erwin was taken from his
cell with his associates, but after
closely questioning him, the leaders
Of the mob returned him to his cell.
Before setting in lis work the mob
gave the three victims an opportuni-
ty to confess the crime. Dillingham;
and Ne&sa Gillespie refused either
to confess or deny the crime. John
Gillespie, IN tears. maintained his in
nocence to the end. Tirinr of efforts
to Get confessions from the negroes
and needless Of the pleadings of cit
Izens who urged that the victims be
spared. the crowd hurried the victims
to the baseball field near Col. join S.
Henderson S residence and complet-
ed their work. At midnight. less
than an hour from the time of the
final attack on the jail the three bod
les were swinging III the moonlight
from the limbs OF big oak.
Fireman McLendon, an employe Of
the Southern Railway, was shot and
fatally wounded presumably by
stray bullet from a weapon in the
hands of some member Of the mob
during the riotous scenes around the
Jail, and Will Troutman, a negro
drayman, was also seriously wound
ed by a stray bullet Rnth were sin,
ply interested spectators of the pro-
ceedings.
Judge Long, Solicitor Hammer.
Mayor Boyden, Senator Overman and
other prominent citizens did all in
their power to persuade the lynchers
to desist. Their appeals fell upon
deaf ears.
AS the clock struck II the mob
came out Of the Jail with Nease and
John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham;
and lead them out Main street to-
wards Spencer. The Yelling had
ceased and the crowd was solemn. The
negroes were walked along in the mid
die Of the streets, each one between
two strong men. There were about
1900 people in the crowd that fol-
lowed the lynchers. The crowd grew
as the procession marched.
The party that went in the Jail
was about 30 strong. Hodge Krider,
the jailer, was the last man to give
way. He argued in vain. When 81
lence fell on the mob it was evident
that a serious lot of men had taken
control of the lynchers. The mystery
is where the leaders came from. for
none Of the Salisbury officers knew
their faces 1t is believed that they
came from Whitney.
80 o'clock: At first it was
thought that all six Of the accused
negroes, Nease and John Gillespie,
Jack Dillingham;, Henry Lee and Geo.
Erwin and Della Dillingham;, had been
taken from the Jail but it develops
now that the mob left Henry Lee
and Della Dillingham; in their cells
and brought George Erwin back after
questioning him as to his guilt. Nease,
Jack and John were lynched. 1t is
considered fortunate that Henry,
George and Della we're left unmolest-
ed for it is generally believed that
the two men are innocent and Della
is a woman. So soon as the process
sion marched into Main street and
turned toward the country, the town
took on calmer aspect. Many men,
sick at heart, went to their homes
and their beds. The officers here did
all they could except shoot to death
the members of the mob.
II O'Clock: Just at midnight the
mob halted beneath a large oak tree
| at Henderson baseball ground nea-
the home of the Hon. John S. Hender-
son. Instead of killing the men mt
once the leaders tried to make the
prisoners confess to the murder. One
of the 1ynchers, had climbed big
tree and was sitting on a limb smOk-
ing a cigarette, waiting for a rope.
| The negroes were obstinate. A re-
port to the effect that they would
be burned came to town, but this
| proved to be a false rumor.
Nease and Jack said that they
would neither deny nor own that
they did it. John held out to the
last that he was innocent.
Mr.. W. J. Mcmahon, of Pittsburg
Pa, was at the scene of the death
He did all that he could to stay tht
mob, and his words of counsel wer'
heard, but not needed. Little Johl
chung to his arm and begged him t.
save his life. Ed. Barber, relativ'
of the murdered people, begged tn
crowd to listen, but it was bloodthlrs
| ty. Each negro's feet were tied Il
his head, be vas draw ap to the tim