Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-03-12
NARROWLY AYFRTFD
 A LYNCH|NC Negro Who Insulted White Ladies, Attacked by a Mob
 at the Shops.
IS TAKEN TO THE PEN
For Safe keeping-Was Badly Beat en and Cool HeadedneSs is
 All That Saved Him.

A lynching bee was narrowly averted in this city at noon yesterday when a mob of about 300 white en- ployes of the Cotton Belt shops at tackled John Henry Crosby, 26 years old, a negro blacksmith employed in the blacksmith department at the shops, and beat him severely after
 he made an effort to escape. It was only by the presence of mind of employees that Crosby was not killed. The two men pleaded with the mob l to permit them to take the negro to Sheriff Philpot's office to be placed in jail and urged to let the law take it's course. Crosby was roughly hand led by the mob and was bleeding and :, trembling from fear when he reached the sheriff's office.
 For fear another effort would be made to lynch Crosby, Deputy Sheriff J. s. Holcombe and Deputy Constable w. A. Branson hurried the negro out of town and he was taken i to Little Rock to be placed in the penitentiary for safe keeping. They hired a surrey and drove to Dexter, where Deputy Holcombe and Crosby boarded train for the capital dur 1 ing the afternoon Crosby was handcuffed and although he made a statement, his words were almost in- audible. Deputy Constable Branson returned to Pine Bluff last night.
 Crosby is said to have insulted Mrs. J. l.. McBurnett, wife of for mer policeman, and Miss Lizzie Off, i ford when they were walking with /, an escort H. H. Phillips, on Main street last Monday night. According , to the ladies and MT. Phillips they were walking on Main street in front of the Dreyfus Department Store, when negro, whom Phillips knew and is positive that he was none other than Crosby, deliberately knocked against Mrs. McBurnett, forcing her off the sidewalk. Mrs Nc Burnett cautioned the negro to be careful and he replied that she had better get off the street if she didn't like his conduct Phillips made an effort to go after the negro, but when I h fo ho rooohino fOr o.
 volver the ladies pulled him back and insisted that he go on down the street with them. The negro hurried away in an opposite direction.
 MT. Phillips is employed at the Cotton Belt shops and sees Crosby daily at the blacksmith shop. He told the story of the incident and yesterday the employees of the shops got together during the noon hour and decided to punish Crosby. The latter was in the blacksmith shop playing cards with several other ne- groes when the mob grabbed him un- expectedly and began beating him. Crosby was knocked down several times, finally getting away and es- caping to the coal shute. Two of the white men captured him and took him back to the shops, where he was given a severe whipping in the presence of hundreds of the an- gry mob.
 IA lynching was suggested, but the crowd was appealed to and finally agreed to let the negro go to jail. Placing him on street car they brought him to the court housN,
 where the officers took him in charge.
 Crosby declares he is innocent; that he was not even up town Mon- day night, but was home sick. He is married and lives with his wife at No. 1908 West Fourth avenue. He has been employed at the shops for some time. He says he was never arrested before.
 Mrs. McBurnett is the wife of a city firemen and lives at Station No. 2. Miss Offord lives at No. 520 West Third avenue, and is a sister of city fireman.