Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-04-04 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

MURDER AND MOB LAW.  A cold-blooded and apparently causeless assaeiirs ation at Middlesbrough (Kentucky) has bees followed by swift retribution. Thomas Hunter, a mulatto servant, in the employ of Mr. F. Watts, a prominent English capitalist, who has large interests in the town, was the 'murderer, and subsequently the subject of mob law. He had shot and instantly killed, a week ago, Mr. J. A. Burke, the ticket agent of the Knoxville, Cumberland Gap, and Louisville Railroad. and Western Union telegraph operator at Cumberland Gap. Mr. Burke was walking home with a frien when Hunter, who, so far as is known, had no excuse for committing the crime, lay in wait, and when his victim was within a few feet he fired a shot gun at him. Burke dropped dead without a word. Over 130 shots were found in his head and face alone. The murderer fled to Middlesbrough and was captured and returned to the Tennessee authorities. Many threats were made by the Kentuckians when the prisoner was turned over, and the excitement was at fever heat all day. Armed men, fully determined to mete out summary justice to the murderer, began to gather in the city from the surrounding country as soon as the news spread. There was not much noise or bluster, but a quiet determination was evident on every face; it had been decided to call in the services of Judge Lynch as soon as night came. For a long time this section has been cursed by a set of lazy, vicious negro loafers, who have been committing all sorts of crime. The Tennessee officials, fearing trouble, had secured a strong guard when they started for Vazewell with their prisoner. Shortly after they got away a body of Ero well-mounted and fully-armed men took the same road. About dusk the lynching party overtook the officers of the law near Cumberland Gap. They demanded that Hunter should be given up to them. This was, of course, refused by the deputysheriff in charge. It was of no avail. The crowd of Kentuckians closed in on him and by sheer force of numbers overpowered the guard and secured the assassin. Hunter broke down when he saw that his hour had come. He begged piteously for his life. but his pleading fell on deaf ears. He was carried a short distance from the road, a rope which had been brought along already noosed was paced over his head, and the loose end thrown over the limb of a tree. A moment later he was dangling in mid air. His struggles were short, for scarcely had he been jerked clear of the heads of the horsemen than he was riddled with bullets. The mutilated corpse was left hanging. This is the first lynching in this part of Kentucky. A singular feature of it is that the men engaged in it were from the State in which the murderer had taken refuge, and were not friends and neighbours of the deceased, as is usually the case. Mr. Burke was a brother-in-law of Mr Marshall, who was killed a few weeks ago by a negro during the riots at Junction City. He leave& a widow and two children.  Archduke Joseph of Austrra seems to nave a neut, knowledge of Romany than of English, judging from a letter he has just sent to a student of gypsylore. The "Honoured Mister" receives notification of the movements of the Archduke's "Hungarian Gypsy Musicians," and the epistle proceeds : "Knowing that you are interested about gypsies, I Inform you about it. They are good musicians, but only some of them speak well the 'rom ' language. I recommend them to your kind attention. My Gypsy Grammatik's German edition is only now leaving the print. I will not forget to send you an exemplar of it. And now, my dear Mister, 1 take leave 'of you, being your sincere admiratot."