Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-11-17
Slayer of Anna PeIIey Hanged
in Streets by Enraged
PopulaCe.
Rope Breaks and 500 Bullets
Shot into His Pros
trate Form.
Jail Broken Down and White
Man Charged with Muir
der a Victim.
Governor Deneen Orders Troops
to the Scene-Dis-
grace to State.

Cairo. H., Nov 12.-Will James,
the negro suspected OF being the
murderer of Miss Annie Pelley, was
killed here last night by a mob.
James was strung up TO a public
arch, the rope broke and at least 500
shots poured into his body He made
a partial confession and implicated a
negro. Arthur Alexander, and the
mob has gone out to look for Alexan
der. James was lynched in the most
prominent square of the city ana
hanged to the arch at Eighth and
Commercial streets.
Women present were the first to
pull the rope. When 1t broke the
frenzy of the mob was uncomfortable,
they fired volley after volley into the
body. shooting James to pieces. Inc
mob then dragged the body over the
streets more than mile to Twenty
Sixth and Elm streets and burned 1t
in an alley where the murder was
committed.
At least ten thousand people wit
messed the lynching. James was
found with Sheriff Davis between
Karnak, H., and Balknap, by a Cairo
crowd who went up yesterday after,
noon.
The crowd overpowered the officers,
took the negro from them and after
conference it was decided to bring
the negro back to this city and lynch
him here. Fully a thousand people
went up to help find the negro When
they arrived in Cairo they were met
by a bowling mob of at least 5000
more.
The mob after the negro was SO
large that it covered the entire coun-
try from Karnak to Vienna, distance
of 16 miles When found by the mob
the negro was handcuffed between the
sheriff and his deputy who were lying
on the bank of creek All three
were so weak from hunger and ex.
posure that they were unable to make
much resistance.
The body was burned at the spot
where the crime was committed, while
10000 spectators danced in glee. The
mob was so large here that the re
sistance of officers was fruitless. The
negro had been in Cairo off and on
several years. He came here from the
south. He said before he was lynched
that the assault was committed on
the girl before she was murdered and
that Alexander helped him.
Mayor Parsons sent to Springfield
for state troops. Relatives of the
murdered girl helped with the lynch
ing and were backed up by big
crowd of women.
Sheriff Was Clever.
That James did not hang Wednes-
day night was due to the cleverness
of the sheriff in getting him away
on q northbound train. A patrol
wagon had distanced the pursuers and
made the junction with the train at
Fourteenth street and got the negro
away.
Connection with Anna was obtained
and a mob organized there to take
James from the train, but the sheriff
left the train at Dongola and drove in
the direction of Mill Creek. The
sheriff was seen at Karnak yesterday
by Philip Preetorius, a Cairo lumber
man.
The sheriff bought food and went
down to the Big Four track. The
train passed through Karnak little
later and the conductor telegrapned
back briefly that he had seen the
deputy and handcuffed negro beside
the railroad track beyond Karnak-
When the telegram was received by
the brothers of Miss Pelley that the
trio was in the woods there, box car
train was made up and started to
Karnak filled with men. These
brought the girls slayer back to
Cairo.
Four arrests were made by the po-
lice Tuesday night after six blood
hounds led the police from where the
girl met death to the shack. A ne
gress named Green and three negroes,
Will James. Arthur Alexander ana
Will Thomas were arrested later all
but James were released.
The bloodhounds were tried on