The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1914-05-27
NEAR LYNCH|NG
MONDAY NIGHT.

Monday night at about half-past twelve
o'clock, a party of some hundred men or
more. filed into Abbeville in buggies and
automobiles to take John Thomas, the ne
year-old white girl near Honea Path, from
the County jail. r..
Sheriff Lyon lives on the opposite side OF
the Square from the Jail, and would have
been in blissful ignorance of the whole af-
fair but for the fact that his son, G. j.
Lyon Jr., was on the street along which
the party came in, and he ran home and
notified his father, the Sheriff. The jailer
is.also night watchman at the pumping
station, and while his wife and children
were in the Jail he was at his work more
than half mile away.
Sheriff Lyon jumped into his shoes
without socks, and ran for the jail. On
arriving there the front Of the jail was
guarded and he ran around to the back
door. This too was guarded by four men
with shotguns who stood and called on the
Sheriff to halt. Just then very powerful
man stepped up and threw his arms about
the Sheriff pinning down his arms. The
mob was alreadyin the Jail.
After the negro was taken out they
started to take him up the Due West road.
Members Of the mob told the Sheriff that
they did not intend to kill the negro but
they would emasculate him. The Sheriff
followed them after getting DR.. Pressly to
go with him. The party halted near Long
Cane cemetery and carried out their
threat. Something was said about killing
the negro, and the Sheriff went up and
told them they had said theylwould not
kill him and they shouldn't dol it. He took
the negro in charge, placed him in an au-
tomobile and brought him back to jail,
where he had DR.. Pressly dress his wounds.
The crowd was perfectly orderly except
for breaking into the Jail and holding up
the Sheriff at the point Of shotguns.
A reporter Of the Press and Banner, to-
gether with several other gentlemen,
talked to the negro yesterday.
He said that he had just gone down into
a swamp to tie UP his mothers cow, and
that he, ran up on the railroad in front of
the young lady, and she screamed; that
an old negro named Griffin came along,
and the girl said something to him, and
that Griffin went up to Honea Path and
told the white people that he had fright
ened the young lady. He said he went
home and went to someone's house to get
a floor mop and carried it back home and
then he went down to Mr.. Melvin Ashley's.
He says his father came to him there and
told him to hide in Mr.. Ashley's barn, and
some white men came there while he was
in the barn and Mrs. Ashley toln them to
get away from the place. He said, after
the white people left, his father came to
the barn and brought him s4 and told him
to go to the Bigby woods, and he would
meet him there after dark that his father
met him in the woods and told him to go
to Ninety-Six where an uncle lived, and he
would bring him some more money there.
He says he walked to Ninety-Six, and that
his father came to Ninety-Six next morn
ing and brought his valise and $1,000 more
which he said he had gotten from Mr..
Phillips, Of Honea Path. He says his IA
ther bought him a ticket to Gainesville,
Fla, and that he brought the ticket and
his valise down to Dysons, below Ninety
Six. He said he went to Gainesville and a
policeman was waiting for him at the sta
tion and arrested him as soon as he ar
rived. Sheriff Ashley, Of Anderson, went
down for him, brought him back and de-
livered him to the authorities in AbbevilIe.
The father Of the negro was in the city
yesterday and he denies pretty much ev-
erything The boy says. He says he gave
him only $400. and at Ninety-Six |;
that he got five dollars from Mr.. Phillips
and gave the boy s4.OO. He failed to ex-
plain how the boy could ride to Gaines
vile, Fla, on s40O. He denied meeting
his son in the woods, where the boy says
his father told him to hide, after leaving
the barn. He also said that he knew moth
ing Of the boy being in hiding at Mr.. Ash
ley's.'
John Thomas, the accused, Is 23 years Of
age, tall, rather light in color. Though he
denies criminal intent, the girls screams,
the old negro's testimony, and the fact
that he, man, ran up to her, indicate that
there was something in his manner that
convinced the girl Of his purpose. The
fact that the old negro came just then into
view likely accounts for his stopping. 1t
is said that he made a pretty full confess
sion Of mis- purpose to his captors Monday
night, and he told some other very inter-
esting facts in connection wi tn the case
that we will not quote uucorroborated.
COTTON