The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-11
Attempt To Get Negro Prisoner
 RspuIsed By Sheriff
SEVERAL NEGROES SOUGHT
Cause of Attack Was Assault Upon Young White Woman By Negro,
 But Mob Also Wanted To
 Lynch Other Prisoners.

spartanburg. s. C., October lo.--1n the heart of Spartanburg. with its 2O.O00 peo- pie. a mob of infurated citizens. at times numbering 1000 more. fought today and tonight with the military and civil authorities for the possession Of John Irby, a negro. who is charged with criminal assault upon Miss Lillie Demp- sey earlier in the day, while the young woman was on her way here from Saxon Mill village, three miles away. Four per sons were wounded one sof them serious ly, and John Sparks. a restaurant keeper, was arrested and held without bail on the charge of shooting Sheriff Nichols, who was slightly wounded, in the ex change of shots between the mob and the authorities who were protecting the pr- soner.
 Beginning about noon the crowd, sullen and bent on vengeance on the negro. roamed about the courthouse square, ap- preaching at times the very gates of the high wall enclosing the jail. Late to- night the situation became alarming. The crowd was augmented by 500 persons from Greenville. There was some shooting In the street and the mob moved into the public square. The first shot came from window of the jail and it was followed by others from the same quarter. An answering shot was fired from the crowd. This broke a window in the pail and slightly wounded Sheriff Nichols. Sparks was accused of the shooting and i'm mediately taken into custody. His attor- neys offered 5000 bail tonight, but this was refused. Those wounded by the of ficers when they fired on the crowd were:
 List of Injured.
 Grover Fowler, IA years old, shot in the arm and hand.
 Ernest Foster 20 years sold, seriously wounded in the side and shoulder.
 - Garner g years old, slightly wourid- ed in the hip, all mill operatives.
 Just before nightfall the guard at the jail was augmented by the arrival of the Morgan rifles, 50 strong, from Cliff ton, suburban mill town, and later by company of state troops from Lau- rens The Hampton guards. 40 strong. the local company of state troops, had been at the jail since 1 o'clock today. A hundred regulation army rifles protrud- ing from windows, doors and porches of the building presented a formidable prop osition for the consideration of the mob leaders. Governor Ansell left his home in Greenville, 40 miles west of here, on a special train tonight.
 As this is a prohibition town, the main source of supplying the demand for liquor is through the office of the Southern Ex- press company and that establishment was closed early this afternoon in so far as the delivery of whisky was concerned. There were threats of dynamiting the jail and precautions were taken to have all known supplies of the explosives guarded.
 After More Than One.
 While today's crime of the negro 1rby was the chief cause of the mob's fury, the presence in the jail of two other ne- groes against whom there have from time to time recently been threats of violence. added to the excitement. One of these negroes, Clarence Agnew, wrecked pas senger train on the main line of the South ern Railway two weeks ago near Duncan, s. C., and the engineer and fireman were killed n that wreck.
 It 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, Will Foster was twice convicted of the revolting murder of John Young, white man, last No vember
 Jrby,s arrest was effected shortly after the commission of his crime and close to the scene of his attack. He was captured by mill operatives, was taken before the young woman, who immediately identi- fled him and was then carried into the woods His captors were about to lynch him when mounted police arrived and wrested him from the crowd. not, how ever, before the negro had been badly l haatap The negro was taken to the jail and almost immediately the storming of the jail began. Sheriff Nichols swore in a number of deputies and the militia was ] ordered out The mob tried to gain in gress by means of stepladders, but that | too, was ineffectual