Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-10-12
HANG TWO BLACKS
ON WAY TO TRIAL.
Mobile Mob Takes a Train to Meet
Sheriff and Prisoners from Biz
mingham.

MOBILE, Ala, Oct. G.-Two hundred
masked men met Sheriff Powers with
the two negroes charged with assault at
Richardson Switch three miles north OF
Mobile on the Southern railway, took his
prisoners from him and hanged them Oh
the spot. No one else was harmed.
The negroes had been taken to Bir-
mingham for safekeeping and were being
brought to Mobile for trial on a train.
At an early hour this morning the
mob, styling itself Il committee lett
Oh a Southern train to meet the sheriff
and his prisoners. Everything was done
quietly, although no apparent effort was
made to hide the formation of the COM
mittee.
The committee met an early train OH
which, it was expected, the sheriff and
negroes would arrive, but was disap-
pointed. Apparently the sheriff had been
warned. Thereupon the committee de-
cided not to be disappointed again, and
took the train to meet the sheriff.
When the committee met the sheriff,
the latter was poweress to hold his
captives who were hanged on the spot.
The sheriff several days ago took the
prisoners away to foil Il mob and was
bringing them back for trial, under the
probable assumption that the public had
cooled down meanwhile.
The recent race riots, with the severe
storm which struck the south, and the
lynching today have left the popular
mind in an excited condition and negroes
are very uneasy here. Some are going
to leave as quickly as they can.
Tremendous crowds surrounded the
railroad station during the morning and
when the report of the lynchIng OF the
negroes was received, the greatest excite
ment prevailed. The crowd was APP
parently dissatisfied with the method of
lynching Oanging) and a mob departed
for the scene of the lynching with the
declared intention of burning the bodies.
The victims of the crime involved are
Ena May Fowler, Lillian LAVAL, Ruth
SoSSaman and others.
The leaders of the lynchlng ordered the
men, who were all armed with revolvers,
shotguns and rifles, not to fire a shot
and the orders were carried out.
Robinson, the negro who committed
the first crimes that startled the people
of Mobile and worked them into a fury,
was first strung up. A long half-inch
Robinson was ierked up fifteen feet and
the rope fastened According to one of
the leaders Robinson confessed and
called the Associated Press representa-
tive over to hear it. but Robinson looked
frightened and said he was not the
man.
Thompson. the negro, was hanged i'm
mediately after Robinson. The hanging
of the negroes was conducted in n very
quiet manner and during the time it was
going on, hardly Il word was spoken.
The negro Thompson was very sullen
from the time he was taken off the train
until the rope was placed around his
neck. Neither IF the men showed signs
of fear, Robinson saying all the time
that he was going to heaven.
When Mount Vernon was reached on
the trip from Birmingham, eight men
wearing white masks boarded the train.
Five of them covered Sheriff Powers and
Deputy Charles Green with revolverS
and told them that they had come for
the prisoners. The revolvers of the sher-
tf and deputy were then taken from
them. The conductor was asked to move
all the people in the firsI-class coach to
the rear seats as some of the crowd
were going to get on at Plateau. The
conductor complied with the request and
some of the passengers We're also placed
in the sleeper.
One of the men who guarded the train
heavily masked said that the crowd
which just boarded the train were all
business men of Mobile and that their
action had been decided upon only after
careful consideration.
Child Slain; Negro Hunted.
MONESSEN, Pa, Oct. 6.-Anna Kun
pax, years old, was found murdered in
a field near here today. her throat having