The Washington herald., 1909-01-10


OF the Night Rider Outrages in the Reel
foot Lake district. IN the northwestern
corner Of Tennessee Nor could any al
p ford more material for the serious stu
dent who wonders 10 what lengths the
present tendency 10 mob violence viii so
before certain lingering expOnents Of the
old frontier ethics are taught the sharp
lesson that they are not themselves the
Law
In the past eight months at least sew
enty crimes. including the whipping OF
individuals and the destruction OF prop
erty. have been perpetrated in the Reel
foot Lake district by an organized gang
OF terrorists. and hundreds Of law-abid-
ing citizens have been 50 cowed ana
buiIied that even now. with the armed
forces Of the State in control OF the
situation. they scarcely dare tell all they
know. A few OF these outrages have
been reported IN the newspapers from
tine 10 time. a number are under inves-
tiqation at present. and many more VIII
likely never be exposed in their entirety
One the murder OF Capt. Quentin Ran
kin. an attorney Of Trenton. IN Gibson
County. called the sudden attention Of
the whole country 10 conditions N the
lake district and aroused the state and
local authorities 10 action.
Capt. Rankin was killed on the night
Of October u, or very early o nthe morn
Ing Of October % He and Col Robert L.
TAYLOR. also a Trenton lawyer, were
taken from their rooms IN the hotel al
Walnut Log. fishing hamlet a. 'Ae
northeastern end Of ReelfoOt, a little att
r.r--r-- Tn n
i've masked men. They were forced to
accompany their captOrs 10 spot on
the banks Of Bayou &c Chen, narrow
and marshv arm Of the lake. about a
mile from the hotel. and there Capt
Rankin was done TO death Col Taylor
made a remarkable escape
Both TAYLOR and Rankin were members
Of the corporation known as the West
Tennessee Land Company. and the lynch
ing was evidently due 10 the belief on the
part Of certain inhabitants OF the Reel
foot country that they had been dtsloyal
70 the interests Of the fishermen and
farmers in the vicinity OF the lake whom
they had formerly represented in vaTi-
Gus suits.
OF this West Tennessee Land Company
and the history Of its formation, and OF
its claims 70 exclusive ownership OF the
along its shores still deny IS suscepu-
be Of private ownership. more later, and
the question Of disloyalty is one which
IS still bitterly disputed throughout the
lake region and may never BE- decided,
except as each man decides II for him
self
Il must not be supposed from the fore
going statement that the Night Riders
are all fishermen, nor all the fishermen
Night Riders. nor vet that the point OF
the ownership and control Of the lake
his inspired all the outrages which have
occurred in that region. The case IS not
so simple as that The question Of the
motive for the killing is an almost in
Credibly complicated one; only giimmer-
lngs Of light may be thrown on il here
- and there BY the relation OF series OF
events which have dragged through
many years in their development
The manner Of Capt Rankin's death
vas horrible He was not hanged IN the
sense OF having his neck broken BY
drop. The rope was put about his throat,
its free end passed through The fork OF
q tree the masked men behind the tree
pulled il taut. and he was slowly lifted
from his feet so that he strGngled for
some fearful seconds.
he was lowered so that his toes touched
the ground. and lifted and lowered again
and again. according TO some. reports,
then a more mercifUI fusillade was let
loose By The mob and his body was
pierced by half dozen bullets; the rope
was released and the body fell 10 the
ground. where II was found the next day.
Col. Taylor owes his escape largely 10
his own presence Of mind and partly 10
q happy combination Of accidents. The
r1r-- - .v-I-- r.Tss nj loot
was dark the band had but little disci-
pline. and as Rankin was swung up the
guardians OF Taylor relaxed their vigi-
lance for an instant 10 shoot at the sway
ing BODY With the crack Of the guns
Col Taylor turned and dove headlong
into the bayou. swan under water while
his breath lasted, and. as his good luck
would have II. came up on the Tar side
OF a sunken log Had this log been free
and floating on the surface OF the water
il would have turned with a splash as he
grasped IL thus revealing his where
Rbouts 20 the mUrderers and making his
doom certain. But the bottom Of this
particular snag. or log. is embedded in
the mud at the bottom Of the bayou. il IS
thrust above water at an angle Il did
not turn under his hands; he came 20 the
surface as quietly as a muskrat, head
there IN the dark and chung and held his
breath. while the water ali about him
seethed and Kissed with the bullets fired
at random by the Night Riders
They fired wide. they fred high, but
the marks on the log show that a mum
her OF shots came close to him; and they
kept on firing for what must have seem
ed an eternity 20 Col TAYLOR.
When they had raked the creek at the
point where Taylor jumped - he says
about go shots were fired-they stopped
and listened q moment They concluded
from the silence that Taylor must have
been hit and that his body had sunk 10
the bottom. for after some discussion
they left Taylor lay quiet and listened
20 the noise OF their withdrawal When
some time had elapsed and he no longer
heard footsteps or voices. and was salts
fed that no lookout had been left be-
hind. he swan 10 the west bank OF the
bayou and drew himself I'D on the shore
10 think.
He concluded to Try 10 reach Lake
County. on the west shore OF the lake
between the lake and the Mississippi
River. IS Obion County, which bounds
II on the east is more thicklv infested
with Night Riders than any other part
OF the lake district
What Il must have been to a man OF
Col. Tayl0T's age. drenched and chilled
and stumbling through the dark. only
Col Taylor knows. He splashed in water,
he slipped in mud. he tTipped in the tan
gled grass. he mistook logs for shadows
and shadows for logs: briars reached out
and whipped the flesh from his hands
and face All the rest Of that night he
wandered. and when the welcome sun
came up 10 give him light and warmth
he crawled into some tall dry grass and
lay down 10 hide and rest He lay quiet
nearly al day Tuesday. and on Tuesday
night set out again. At o'clock on
Wednesdsv morning October ID he