The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-08-25
Three Thousand Men, Women and
Children Crowd About the HUI
man Torch and Cheer
His Death.
ASSAULTED A WOMAN
victim Of Negro May Die as Result
Of the Terrible Ordeal Through
Which She
Went.

PURCELL, Okla, Aug 24.-While
three thousand men, women and chill
dren stood by, shouting their ap-
proval, Peter Carter, negro, who I
had been captured by three members
Of his own race and identified as the |
man who attacked Mrs. Minnie Sprag- I
gins, wife of farmer, was burned
to death on brush pile in the main
street OF Purcell.
Deputy Sheriff Hayes and Under
Sheriff Farris, who attempted to res.
cue the negro from the crowd, were
locked in the court house by trickery
and held prisoners until the negro
was incinerated.
Mrs. Spraggins was assaulted while
alone in her home south of Purcell.
Then the negro set fire to the Sprag-
gins home Mrs. Spraggins' husband
saw the flames while working in the
field and rushed to the house in time
to rescue his wife from the fire. She
said Carter, who formerly worked
on the Sprague farm, had attacked
her. Officers went to Carter's home
and arrested him. Carter was turned
over to constable, but on tie way
to jail he escaped When it became
made futile all-night search for the
negro.
Highley Henry, a negro janitor, saw
q negro riding under box car and
with the aid of two other negroes
who had armed themselves to search
for Mrs. Spraggins' assailant, the ne
gro janitor pulled Carter from be-
meath the car. He was taken to the
main street in Purcell where great
crowd had gathered.
Turn the Niger over to me,
said tall farmer, who suddenly as
sumed command of the crowd.
The janitor and his two aides obey
ed. Carter was taken across the
street and at once men and boys be-
gan gathering brush and boxes and
placing 1t at Carter's feet At this
juncture, Deputy Sheriff Hayes and
Under Sheriff Farris arrived and
pleaded with the mob to turn the
prisoner over to the law
Men of Purcell, if you lynch this
man it will be the darkest blot on
yourselves and the town of Purcell
that any town ever experienced" said
the sheriff.
That's all right, sheriff" shouted
one of the mob, '.but we must pro-
tect our wives and daughters from
black hounds
The sheriff pleaded further with
the mob, saying the negro would be
tried at once. and that there would
be no chance for him to escape
After the sheriff had concluded, the
officers were led to the court house
presumably to confer with some ol
the leaders AS they entered room
in the building key was turned ane
the negro was dead
AS soon as the sheriff and his as
sistants had been locked UP the negro
was placed on the oil-soaked brusf
heap, built around telephone pole
AS he was lashed to the pole, the
negro shrieked for mercy but there
was no hesitation by the lynchers.
The torch was applied and thu
smoking piles soon burst into lurie
flames that snapped at the negro
legs.
Cheers came from the crowd as th'
flames ran up the negro's clothes ant
face. Men and women in motor car
watched him die, in fearful agony
The negro's body was burned to
crisp. After the flames died dow
the crowd slowly dispersed
Mrs Spraggins, who is not expec'
ed to live, said Carter entered ne
home and struck her on the hea'
with gas pipe. beating her until sh
was unconscious. When she came t
later she found that Carter had tor
up an old mattress and scattered
over her body The mattress wa
afire. AS Mrs. Spraggins was craw
Ing from the fire, the negro reappeal
ed and again struck her with the pip
breaking her jaw The negro the
ran away Mrs. Spraggins manage
to crawl to the porch where sh
tainted.
If her husband had not rushed 7
the house, Mrs. Spraggins woui
have been burned and the Grim
would have been hidden by the ashes
----------