Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1919-05-24
TOO NAUSEATING TO PUBLISH.


it was, it ended well, and this week it is
the Shubuta lynchings, and if your blood
does not run cold on reading this latter
gruesome story, then it's because you have
ice water instead Of hot human blood in
your veins. These blood curdling stories
Gall true) pains to have to publish them
because we hate to have children read
them, but, for the good 1--WE hope) Of our
fellow man, we are almost compelled to
do so. The following, taken from the May
"Crisis,' which was recently held up by
the postal authorities, doubtless because it
contained this and like articles under the
caption Of ''The Shubula (Mississippi) Lynch
you stop and wonder if the United States
is safe for democracy, in what country is it
unsafe. But here is the story:
On Friday night, December 20, four
Negroes Andrew Clark, age IS; Major
Clark, age 90 Maggie Howe, age 20; and
Alma Howe, age 16, were taken from the
little jail at Shubuta, Mississippi, and
lynched on a bridge which spans the
Chickasawha River near the town. They
were suspected of having murdered a Dr..
E. L. Johnston, whom the papers stated was
ca wealthy retired dentist.' These were
the meagre facts as given in the press dis
patches The real facts in the case are as
follows:
Instead of being an old man, DR.. johnson
was thirty-five years of age, failure at
his profession and living at the time of the
lynchings on his fathers farm, where he
had with him Maggie Howe whom he had
seduced and who was about to bear him
child On the same farm were Maggies
sister Alma, also a victim of johnson, and
two colored boys, Major and Andrew Clark,
who were working out debt of their
fathers to the Johnsons. Major Clark be-
gan going with Maggie and they planned
to marry. DR.. Johnson hearing of this,
quarreled violently with Major Clark tell
ing him to leave his woman alone. Matters
were at this point when the doctor was
killed early one morning near his barn.
It is common gossip about Shubuta that
the murder was committed by white man
who had his grudge against johnson and
who felt he could safely kill the dentist and
have the blame fall on the Negro. At any
rate, after subjecting the boy to extreme
torture, confession was secured from
Major that he had committed the murder.
At this preparations for the lynchings
began.
Major and Andrew Clark, Maggie and
Alma Howe had all been arrested. After
Majors confession they were taken to
Shubuta for trial and placed in little
jail there. The mob secured the keys OF
the jail from the deputy sheriff in charge
of the place without trouble, took out the
prisoners, and drove them to the place
chosen for their execution, a little covered
bridge over the Chickasawha River. Four
ropes were produced and four ends were
tied to girder on the under side Of the
bridge, while the other four ends were made
into nooses and fastened securely around
the neclzs Of the four Negroes, who were
standing on the bridge. Up to the last
moment the Negroes protested their inno-
cence and begged the mob not to lynch
them. Just as they were about to be killed.
Maggie Howe screamed and fought, crying
out. ct amt guilty Of killing the doctor
and you oughtn't to kill me- In order to
silence her cries one Of the members Of the
mob seized q monkey wrench and struck