The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-05-23
BURN NEGRO BOY WHO
SHOT WHITE WOMAN
MRS. KITCHENS, RURAL MAIL
CARRIER, WAS KILLED FOR
HER AUTOMOBILE.

DAVISBORO, Ga.-Following his
confession that he robbed and muir
dered Mrs. William Kitchens, p, ru-
raj mail carrier Of this place, Charlie
Atkins, 15-year-old negro boy, was
burned at the stake at 6 o'clock Thurs
day night.
The lynching occurred at the scene
! OF the murder, more than 1000 per-
sons from several counties witnessing
or taking part.
After being tortured with a slow
fire for fifteen minutes the mob loos-
ened the trace chains that held Atkins
to pine tree and placed his scared
body in the middle OF the main high
way. He was conscious, crying in pain.
The mob demanded to know if there
were others connected with the muir
der
Atkins named John Henry Tarver,
another young negro boy, whom he
said was the only other person con-
nected with it. He had previously con-
nected his brother with the case.
Members of the mob raised his
body again, fastened it to the pine
tree, in an upright position, rekindled
the fire at the base of the tree and
then stood off, giving those in the
crowd opportunity to fire shots into
the body.
Undertakes who obtained the body
following the lynching say that more
than 200 shots entered the charred
body.
Killed "To Make Dream Come True. "
The negro said he shot Mrs. Kitch-
ems, a bride of a month, with shot
gun, determined to get possession of
the Woman's automobile and make a
dream of the night before come true.
He shot her as she stopped at a mail
box at the road side The dream, he
said, was that he was going to gain
possession of an automobile.
The body of Mrs Kitchens was
dragged fifty yards from the scene OF
the killing. The mail sack swas a
| ing been removed. The cash was kept
in cigar box, which the negro boy
said he took home. 1t was found
there
After disposing OF the body and the
I mail sack Atkins said he drove
straight home. He said he told his
father that his dream had come true,
and then, after changing his clothing,
he invited members of the family to
ride with him. In the meantime he
had smeared mud over the blood
stains on the automobile
Sid Lewis, a farmer passing the
scene of the crime, found the body
Of Mrs. Kitchens thirty minutes after
she had been shot He had heard the
shooting, but had difficulty in locat-
ing the body.
Lewis telephoned this information
to Sheriff English at Sandersville and
posses were quickly on the trail of
the slayers. They soon found the au-
tomobile, Charlie Atkins being at the
wheel
Mrs. Kitchens had been rural mail
carrier four years.
7 Sun Set on Chastity Sight.
The sun set on the body of the ne
gro boy as it hung suspended from
the tree, bullet riddled, with the marks
of earlier fogging and only the stumps
of the legs left to show where the
flames had done their work
During the wild fury of the mob,
uneashed and out of bonds, the ap-
peal of law the voice of the sheriff
was lost. The appeal of the spiritual,
the voice of the minister of God was
stilled by the anger shaken mob.
When Rev. A. P. Segers, after a
futile appeal to the mob to listen to
the voice Of reason and after admon-
ishing them to be sure, very sure, ="
that they had the guilty man, had been
lost i'll the rising demand of nearly
three thousand persons there was a
quick hitching forward of the mob.
A few sharp commands and in less
than a quarter of an hour the great
level country, near where the crime
was committed, which had recently
been the scene of a gathering of from
two to three thousand persons, was
deserted