The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-08-03
BU1GAERy OF NEGROES.
THE MOB IN WII.DS OF TExas
MILLS NEGROES WHERE.
FOUND.
ofhcer Returns From BlOodr
borhood With Tales OF
Caused by Whites of
Negroes. =

Palestine, Texas, July 31.-At least
10, and it may be 20 negroes. all of
them probably unarmed, were hunt.
ed down and killed by a mob numb.
ering perhaps 200 or 800 men, in the
Slocum and Denison Springs neigh
oorhood, ner Palestine last night and
yesterday, according to the opinion of
Sheriff Black who returned early this
morning from that district The
sheriff told Of fierce man.
hunt In the woods, of riddled
bodies found on lonely roads and Of
the terror almost indescribable
among the inhabitants in the south.
eastern part Of Anderson county.
L found the greatest excitement
prevailing throughout that section Of
the county," said Sheriff Black. Men
were going about and killing negroes
as fast as they could find them, and
so far as have been able to ascer-
tain, without any real cause at all.
These negroes have never done any.
thing that could discover.
II found II dead bodies, but from
what have heard, the dead must
number Is or 20. We came across
four bodies in one house.
Il don't know how many there
were in the mob. but think there
must have been 200 or 800 altogeth.
or.
Found Few Guns.
Il sent two detectives out through
that country to collect all the arms
they could find in the houses of the
negroes. They made a thorough
search, but found only nine little sim
gled barrelled shotguns.
II believe the main trouble was
due to a controversy, over a promi-
sorry note. r. Afford, a white man
who Is a cripple, had gone on a
negro's note. The note came due and
he got after the negro to renew 1t
or pay it. The negro would not do
it and cursed him. The incident
caused bad feeling. Then r think
Mr.. Spurges probably had a little
trouble with them. At least they
claimed that he had whippel one.
Somebody saw this negro slipping UP
to Spurges' house.
This negro was killed and then
they went to killing them all over
the country. I have been told that
two were killed. I think the most
of that crowd of men came from
Houston county and according to
what I am told, the shooting was still
going on late yesterday evening. They
were hunting the negroes down like
sheep. We found two in the road
that had been shot about 10 o'clock
night before last.
Everybody seemed to be almost
scared to death. Everybody was
armed with shotguns. They had the
women and children all punched up
in places and were guarding them
The mob had been sending out scary
reports that hundreds of negroes
armed to the teeth were coming
from Cherokee county. They tele-
phoned me early yesterday morning
that 200 negroes were at Denison
Springs heavily armed, and when we
got there we found just one negro
and he was not armed"
Palestine tonight has very little
more definite information about the
troubles between the whites and the
blacks between Anderson and Deni-
son Springs than it had yesterday.
Sunday has been characterized by
the utter absence of news from there
except the report which Sheriff Black
made. District Judge H. E. Garner
received a telephone message from
Elkhart this afternoon to the effect
that everything was quiet and that
the troops would not be needed.