New-York tribune., 1908-10-11
FOUR PERSONS SHOT
Tn ATTACK ON JAIL
SOUTH CAROLINA TROOPS
COMB4T MOB.
Three Negroes Nay Be Lynched f
Infuriated POpulace Cams
an Entrance.
ERv Telegraph 70 The Tribune ]

tBy Telegraph The Tribunal
Columbia, s. c.. Oct 1O--An attempted as
sault upon Miss Lille Dempsey, young book
keeper at the Saxon cotton mills, just outside
the corporate limits of Spartanburg. by negro
giving his name as John Irby. native OF Lau-
rens, near the mill. shortly before noon to-day
has thrown the town into state of intense ex-
element with mob numbering several hun
dred persons beating itself against the walls Of
the county prison Late tonight the situation
is ugly and threatening though there are within
the Jail yard one hundred and fifty mIitiannen'
armed and ready for any emergency
Four persons were wounded. one Of them serf-
ousIy and John Sparks a restaurant keeper,
was arrested and held without bail on tne
charge OF shooting Sheriff Nichols. who was
slightly wounded In the exchange Of shots be-
tween the mob and the authorities. who were
protecting the trembling prisoner in the jail
Beginning about noon the crowd. sullen and
bent on vengeance roamed about the court
house square. approaching at times the very
gates OF the high wall inclosing the Jail, but no
leader appeared, and the mob spirit by $50
O'Clock tonight had died out to extent.
although Jeers and curses were still heard
Just after nightfan the guard at the Jail was
augmented by the arrival of the Morgan Rifles
fifty strong. from Clifton. suburban mill town
The company came in on the electric car line
Guards. forty strong. the local company OF stats
troops had been at the Jail since I o'clock to-
1ay hundred regulation army rifles. pro-
truding from windows. doors and Dorches OF the
building presented a formidable proposition Tor
the consideration Of the mob leaders
An hour later the situation again became
alarming. The crowd was augmented oy nVe
hundred persons from Greenv1ne, the home OF
the engineer killed in the wreck caused by the
uraS shoot
ing in the streets and the mob moved into the
public square
The first shot came from a window OF the
JAIL and it was followed by others from the
same quarter. An answering shot was fred
from the crowd This broke window in the
iaf and slightly wounded Sheriff NlchOHs-
Sparks was accused of the shooting and imme-
diateIy taken into custody His attorney offered
bail Of 81. 900 tonight but this was refused
Those wounded by the officers when they
fired on the crowd were Grover Fowler four
teen years old, shot in the arm and hand. Err
nest Foster twenty years old. seriously
wounded in the side and shoulder. and man
named Garner, twenty years old. shSntly
wounded in the hip. All are mil operatives
Governor AnseI left his home in Greenville-
forty miles west OF here, on special tram To-
night AS this is prohibition town. the main
source Of supplying the demand for liquor is
through the OTf1CeTS OF IIic COulA4CAAA ~@NFA
COMPANY. and that establishment. measure
OF precaution, was closed early in the afternoon
in so far as the delivery Of whiskey was con-
cerned. There were threats OF dynamiting the
iaiI and precautions were taken 70 nave an
known supplies Of the explosive guarded
Irbv's arrest was effected shortly after the
commission Of his crime and close TO tne seeEe
Of his attack He was captured by mill opera
tives who had Joined in the pursuit. was taken
before the young woman. who Immediately
identified him. and was then carried into the
woods His captOrs were about to Iynch nm
when a mounted police officer arrived and
yrrasted him from the crowd not. however. be-
fore the negro had been badly beaten The
uee-r, was taken to the Jail. and almost immedt-
a+a1v the attacks on the building began Sheriff
Nichols swore in a number of deputies and the
militia were ordered out Fowler. one Of the
wounded men. was fred at by those within the
iau inst as he was about TO batter down the
gates Of the institution The mob also tried to
gain ingress by means Of stepladders, but they
too. were Intellectual
Tudge r. c KIugh. who was holding court IN
the city. addressed the mob and begged them
70 aunvv the law to take its course. assuring
+bar, that the negro failed 10 accomplish hf9
,,,rDosA and promising a speedy trial State
senator II B Carlisle and H r. Black also
pleaded with the mob. which remained obdurate-
While to-dav's crime Of the negro Irby was
the chief cause of the mob's fury, the presence
in the TAIL of two other negroes against whom
from time to time in the last two weeks there
have been threats of violence added TO the ex-
citement One of these negroes. Clarence Ag-
new wrecked a passenger train on the main
line of the Southern Railway two weeks ago
near Duncan, S c.. and the engineer and fire
man were killed in the wreck 1t was expected
that Agnew would be tried at the last term of
court. but for some unexplained reason he was
not tried The other negro. VIII Foster was
twice convicted Of the revolving murder of John
Young. white man. last November
These circumstances make it certain that en-
trance of the mob into the Jail would mean
triple lynchinS.