Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-19
TELLS MURDER STORY
Taylor on Stand Describes
Night Rider Crime.
LYMCHERS HAD NO MERCY
Rankin's Body Filled With Bullets
When He Pleaded.
HIS OWN THRILLING ESCAPE
LYNCHERS HAD NO MERCY
HIS OWN THRILLING ESCAPE
Leap Into Lake and Friendly Log
Alone Saved Life-Judge
Warns Preachers.

| UNION CITY, Tenn. December 10
| Following his caution to the press yester
! day not TO print the testimony in the
| night rider cases. Judge Jones today cau-
! toned the ministers of the local churches
not to refer to the cases in their sermons
| Sunday. since the jurors might be present.
| He took no further action regarding the
press. although he conferred personally
with the correspondents of several state
papers, impressing upon them the neces-
| sity of following out the courts orders
| The first witness today was Col r. H.
Taylor, who was the companion of Capt
Quentin Rankin the night of the
| murder of Capt Rankin. Taylor is sixty
three years old, a veteran of the Confeder-
at army and wealthy man. He is tall
erect and soldierly in spite of his years
and wears gray beard neatly trimmed
Piercing blue eyes shining out from be-
meath shaggy eyebrows give him stern
appearance.
| Col. Taylor and Capt. Rankin went to
Reelfoot lake to lease some land to Car
penter They drove over the property
known as Grazey Island. leading to the
hotel, on the night of October 10. and lett
orders for horses for another trip the day
following. Then they retired
tol- laE!or was awakened by Ward s
| call, and the same instant a rear window
OF his room was raised Two guns were
| thrust in, followed by two black-masked
| heads. But not word spoken until
the leader of the band entered the room
| by the door. The night riders separated
Taylor from Rankin. and Taylor did not
see Rankin from the time they left their
| room until he saw Rankin murdered
| They told Taylor they proposed TO kill
| him.
''Give Him Time to Pray
| When the night riders reached a forked
ash tree on the bank of the slough they
| halted Taylor and marched Rankin to the
foot of the tree The rope was adjusted
and thrown over the fork. Then some
night rider said: "Give him time to
pray.
II have attended to that" was Ran
kin S quiet reply. >ree ~ - =
Some of the masked band seized the
rope and drew Rankin up The tree was
inclined trif1e. and they raised the body
until the toes scarcely touched the
ground From the lips of the swaying
| figure came the muffled appeal: You
| are choking me. gentlemen; | pray YOU to
| let me down.
Then one of the riders fired shot into
the body of Rankin even as he pleaded
! for his life. Instantly a fusillade came
most of the riders, however. shooting into
| the air.
| Taylor turned to his captors and said
l am tired. gentlemen; let me sit down.
| lie crouched to his knees. ready to
spring, waited until the guns were empty
| then when the firing stopped he Jumped
| into the waters of the slough Instantly
the firing was renewed. Taylor dived,
out heard the bullets striking the water.
Log Saved His Life.
| He swan under water to ii big log. He
did not know whether il was fast or not
/ He knew ii IL were loose that when he
| grasped ii for support it would splash
and his life would be forfeited But he
was exhausted and faintinS and had to
/ take the risk From the bank came
cries. yells and shots Silently he swan
to the log. reached for it and il was fast
| in the slough. He was safe The bullets
struck the log like hail in a storm. but
gradually ceased. For two hours this
aged veteran o. many battles lay in the
! water gr4sIing the log, and when all
| sounds had ceased he swan to the oppo-
| site side and took TO the woods He
wandered all day. following course
| marked by the moss, which he knew was
| heaviest on the north side Of the trees
Ills eyesisht began to fail and he suf
Tered fearfulIy from thirst Then he
| Imagined that he saw masked men in
every thickcl
Taylor realized that he was suffering
from delusions. but his experiences had
troll himself or dispel the hallucinati tions
He hid in the canebrake until Wednes-
day. when thirst drove him out and into
the arms OF his friends.
Pleaded for Rankin.
Just before the nightrders killed Rankin
/ Taylor said
Gent enIen. | am an old man. | can
not expect TO live many years more. BY
killing me you will not be cheating me of
much. But Capt. Rankin is a young
man with many years before him DO
not kill him.
The leader curtly replied: Shut up
The aged witness made d most pro-
found Impression. Al times his emotions
mastered him, and once he half turned
dropped his head into his hands and
SObDed audihly the scenes of that
| awful night passed in memory before him
The o.d gentleman asked Oniy one
question ON cross-eXamination. Did he
recognize any of the riders positively the
night of the crime? He did not