in nearly all communities wife beating is punishable with a fine, and in no community is it made a felony. dave jackson, of abita, la., was a colored man who had beaten his wife. he had not killed her, nor seriously wounded her, but as louisiana lynchers had not filled out their quota of crimes, his case was deemed of sufficient importance to apply the method of that barbarous people. he was in the custody of the officials, but the mob went to the jail and took him out in front of the prison and hanged him by the neck until he was dead. this was in nov. 1893.
hanged for stealing hogs
details are very meagre of a lynching which occurred near knox point, la., on the twenty-fourth of october, 1893. upon one point, however, there was no uncertainty, and that is, that the persons lynched were negroes. it was claimed that they had been stealing hogs, but even this claim had not been subjected to the investigation of a court. that matter was not considered necessary. a few of the neighbors who had lost hogs suspected these men were responsible for their loss, and made up their minds to furnish an example for others to be warned by. the two men were secured by a mob and hanged.
lynched for no offense
perhaps the most characteristic feature of this record of lynch law for the year 1893, is the remarkable fact that five human beings were lynched and that the matter was considered of so little importance that the powerful press bureaus of the country did not consider the matter of enough importance to ascertain the causes for which they were hanged. it tells the world, with perhaps greater emphasis than any other feature of the record, that lynch law has become so common in the united states that the finding of the dead body of a negro, suspended between heaven and earth to the limb of a tree, is of so slight importance that neither the civil authorities nor press agencies consider the matter worth investigating. july 21, in shelby county, tenn., a colored man by the name of charles martin was lynched. july 30, at paris, mo., a colored man named william steen shared the same fate. december 28, mack segars was announced to have been lynched at brantley, alabama. august 31, at yarborough, texas, and on september 19, at houston, a colored man was found lynched, but so little attention was paid to the matter that not only was no record made as to why these last two men were lynched, but even their names were not given. the dispatches simply stated that an unknown negro was found lynched in each case.
there are friends of humanity who feel their souls shrink from any compromise with murder, but whose deep and abiding reverence for womanhood causes them to hesitate in giving their support to this crusade against lynch law, out of fear that they may encourage the miscreants whose deeds are worse than murder. but to these friends it must appear certain that these five men could not have been guilty of any terrible crime. they were simply lynched by parties of men who had it in their power to kill them, and who chose to avenge some fancied wrong by murder, rather than submit their grievances to court.
lynched because they were saucy
at moberly, mo., february 18 and at fort madison, s.c., june 2, both in 1892, a record was made in the line of lynching which should certainly appeal to every humanitarian who has any regard for the sacredness of human life. john hughes, of moberly, and isaac lincoln, of fort madison, and will lewis in tullahoma, tenn., suffered death for no more serious charge than that they "were saucy to white people." in the days of slavery it was held to be a very serious matter for a colored person to fail to yield the sidewalk at the demand of a white person, and it will not be surprising to find some evidence of this intolerance existing in the days of freedom. but the most that could be expected as a penalty for acting or speaking saucily to a white person would be a slight physical chastisement to make the negro "know his place" or an arrest and fine. but missouri, tennessee and south carolina chose to make precedents in their cases and as a result both men, after being charged with their offense and apprehended, were taken by a mob and lynched. the civil authorities, who in either case would have been very quick to satisfy the aggrieved white people had they complained and brought the prisoners to court, by imposing proper penalty upon them, did not feel it their duty to make any investigation after the negroes were killed. they were dead and out of the way and as no one would be called upon to render an account for their taking off, the matter was dismissed from the public mind.
lynched for a quarrel
one of the most notable instances of lynching for the year 1893, occurred about the twentieth of september. it was notable for the fact that the mayor of the city exerted every available power to protect the victim of the lynching from the mob. in his splendid endeavor to uphold the law, the mayor called out the troops, and the result was a deadly fight between the militia and mob, nine of the mob being killed. the trouble occurred at roanoke, va. it is frequently claimed that lynchings occur only in sparsely settled districts, and, in fact, it is a favorite plea of governors and reverend apologists to couple two arrant falsehoods, stating that lynchings occur only because of assaults upon white women, and that these assaults occur and the lynchings follow in thinly inhabited districts where the power of the law is entirely inadequate to meet the emergency. this roanoke case is a double refutation, for it not only disproves the alleged charge that the negro assaulted a white woman, as was telegraphed all over the country at the time, but it also shows conclusively that even in one of the largest cities of the old state of virginia, one of the original thirteen colonies, which prides itself of being the mother of presidents, it was possible for a lynching to occur in broad daylight under circumstances of revolting savagery.
when the news first came from roanoke of the contemplated lynching, it was stated that a big burly negro had assaulted a white woman, that he had been apprehended and that the citizens were determined to summarily dispose of his case. mayor trout was a man who believed in maintaining the majesty of the law, and who at once gave notice that no lynching would be permitted in roanoke, and that the negro, whose name was smith, being in the custody of the law, should be dealt with according to law; but the mob did not pay any attention to the brave words of the mayor. it evidently thought that it was only another case of swagger, such as frequently characterizes lynching episodes. mayor trout, finding immense crowds gathering about the city, and fearing an attempt to lynch smith, called out the militia and stationed them at the jail.
it was known that the woman refused to accuse smith of assaulting her, and that his offense consisted in quarreling with her about the change of money in a transaction in which he bought something from her market booth. both parties lost their temper, and the result was a row from which smith had to make his escape. at once the old cry was sounded that the woman had been assaulted, and in a few hours all the town was wild with people thirsting for the assailant's blood. the further incidents of that day may well be told by a dispatch from roanoke under date of the twenty-first of september and published in the chicago record. it says:
it is claimed by members of the military company that they frequently warned the mob to keep away from the jail, under penalty of being shot. capt. bird told them he was under orders to protect the prisoner whose life the mob so eagerly sought, and come what may he would not allow him to be taken by the mob. to this the crowd replied with hoots and derisive jeers. the rioters appeared to become frenzied at the determined stand taken by the men and captain bird, and finally a crowd of excited men made a rush for the side door of the jail. the captain directed his men to drive the would-be lynchers back.
at this moment the mob opened fire on the soldiers. this appeared for a moment to startle the captain and his men. but it was only for a moment. then he coolly gave the command: "ready! aim! fire!" the company obeyed to the instant, and poured a volley of bullets into that part of the mob which was trying to batter down the side door of the jail.
the rioters fell back before the fire of the militia, leaving one man writhing in the agonies of death at the doorstep. there was a lull for a moment. then the word was quickly passed through the throng in front of the jail and down the street that a man was killed. then there was an awful rush toward the little band of soldiers. excited men were yelling like demons.
the fight became general, and ere it was ended nine men were dead and more than forty wounded.
this stubborn stand on behalf of law and order disconcerted the crowd and it fell back in disorder. it did not long remain inactive but assembled again for a second assault. having only a small band of militia, and knowing they would be absolutely at the mercy of the thousands who were gathering to wreak vengeance upon them, the mayor ordered them to disperse and go to their homes, and he himself, having been wounded, was quietly conveyed out of the city.
the next day the mob grew in numbers and its rage increased in its intensity. there was no longer any doubt that smith, innocent as he was of any crime, would be killed, for with the mayor out of the city and the governor of the state using no effort to control the mob, it was only a question of a few hours when the assault would be repeated and its victim put to death. all this happened as per programme. the description of that morning's carnival appeared in the paper above quoted and reads as follows:
a squad of twenty men took the negro smith from three policemen just before five o'clock this morning and hanged him to a hickory limb on ninth avenue, in the residence section of the city. they riddled his body with bullets and put a placard on it saying: "this is mayor trout's friend." a coroner's jury of bismel was summoned and viewed the body and rendered a verdict of death at the hands of unknown men. thousands of persons visited the scene of the lynching between daylight and eight o'clock when the body was cut down. after the jury had completed its work the body was placed in the hands of officers, who were unable to keep back the mob. three hundred men tried to drag the body through the streets of the town, but the rev. dr. campbell of the first presbyterian church and capt. r.b. moorman, with pleas and by force prevented them.
capt. moorman hired a wagon and the body was put in it. it was then conveyed to the bank of the roanoke, about two miles from the scene of the lynching. here the body was dragged from the wagon by ropes for about 200 yards and burned. piles of dry brushwood were brought, and the body was placed upon it, and more brushwood piled on the body, leaving only the head bare. the whole pile was then saturated with coal oil and a match was applied. the body was consumed within an hour. the cremation was witnessed by several thousand people. at one time the mob threatened to burn the negro in mayor trout's yard.
thus did the people of roanoke, va., add this measure of proof to maintain our contention that it is only necessary to charge a negro with a crime in order to secure his certain death. it was well known in the city before he was killed that he had not assaulted the woman with whom he had had the trouble, but he dared to have an altercation with a white woman, and he must pay the penalty. for an offense which would not in any civilized community have brought upon him a punishment greater than a fine of a few dollars, this unfortunate negro was hung, shot and burned.
suspected, innocent and lynched
five persons, benjamin jackson, his wife, mahala jackson, his mother-in-law, lou carter, rufus bigley, were lynched near quincy, miss., the charge against them being suspicion of well poisoning. it appears from the newspaper dispatches at that time that a family by the name of woodruff was taken ill in september of 1892. as a result of their illness one or more of the family are said to have died, though that matter is not stated definitely. it was suspected that the cause of their illness was the existence of poison in the water, some miscreant having placed poison in the well. suspicion pointed to a colored man named benjamin jackson who was at once arrested. with him also were arrested his wife and mother-in-law and all were held on the same charge.
the matter came up for judicial investigation, but as might have been expected, the white people concluded it was unnecessary to wait the result of the investigation—that it was preferable to hang the accused first and try him afterward. by this method of procedure, the desired result was always obtained—the accused was hanged. accordingly benjamin jackson was taken from the officers by a crowd of about two hundred people, while the inquest was being held, and hanged. after the killing of jackson, the inquest was continued to ascertain the possible connection of the other persons charged with the crime. against the wife and mother-in-law of the unfortunate man there was not the slightest evidence and the coroner's jury was fair enough to give them their liberty. they were declared innocent and returned to their homes. but this did not protect the women from the demands of the christian white people of that section of the country. in any other land and with any other people, the fact that these two accused persons were women would have pleaded in their favor for protection and fair play, but that had no weight with the mississippi christians nor the further fact that a jury of white men had declared them innocent. the hanging of one victim on an unproven charge did not begin to satisfy the mob in its bloodthirsty demands and the result was that even after the women had been discharged, they were at once taken in charge by a mob, which hung them by the neck until they were dead.
still the mob was not satisfied. during the coroner's investigation the name of a fourth person, rufus bigley, was mentioned. he was acquainted with the jacksons and that fact, together with some testimony adduced at the inquest, prompted the mob to decide that he should die also. search was at once made for him and the next day he was apprehended. he was not given over into the hands of the civil authorities for trial nor did the coroner's inquest find that he was guilty, but the mob was quite sufficient in itself. after finding bigley, he was strung up to a tree and his body left hanging, where it was found next day. it may be remarked here in passing that this instance of the moral degradation of the people of mississippi did not excite any interest in the public at large. american christianity heard of this awful affair and read of its details and neither press nor pulpit gave the matter more than a passing comment. had it occurred in the wilds of interior africa, there would have been an outcry from the humane people of this country against the savagery which would so mercilessly put men and women to death. but it was an evidence of american civilization to be passed by unnoticed, to be denied or condoned as the requirements of any future emergency might determine.
lynched for an attempted assault
with only a little more aggravation than that of smith who quarreled at roanoke with the market woman, was the assault which operated as the incentive to a most brutal lynching in memphis, tenn. memphis is one of the queen cities of the south, with a population of about seventy thousand souls—easily one of the twenty largest, most progressive and wealthiest cities of the united states. and yet in its streets there occurred a scene of shocking savagery which would have disgraced the congo. no woman was harmed, no serious indignity suffered. two women driving to town in a wagon, were suddenly accosted by lee walker. he claimed that he demanded something to eat. the women claimed that he attempted to assault them. they gave such an alarm that he ran away. at once the dispatches spread over the entire country that a big, burly negro had brutally assaulted two women. crowds began to search for the alleged fiend. while hunting him they shot another negro dead in his tracks for refusing to stop when ordered to do so. after a few days lee walker was found, and put in jail in memphis until the mob there was ready for him.
the memphis commercial of sunday, july 23, contains a full account of the tragedy from which the following extracts are made:
at 12 o'clock last night, lee walker, who attempted to outrage miss mollie mccadden, last tuesday morning, was taken from the county jail and hanged to a telegraph pole just north of the prison. all day rumors were afloat that with nightfall an attack would be made upon the jail, and as everyone anticipated that a vigorous resistance would be made, a conflict between the mob and the authorities was feared.
at 10 o'clock capt. o'haver, sergt. horan and several patrolmen were on hand, but they could do nothing with the crowd. an attack by the mob was made on the door in the south wall, and it yielded. sheriff mclendon and several of his men threw themselves into the breach, but two or three of the storming party shoved by. they were seized by the police, but were not subdued, the officers refraining from using their clubs. the entire mob might at first have been dispersed by ten policemen who would use their clubs, but the sheriff insisted that no violence be done.
the mob got an iron rail and used it as a battering ram against the lobby doors. sheriff mclendon tried to stop them, and some one of the mob knocked him down with a chair. still he counseled moderation and would not order his deputies and the police to disperse the crowd by force. the pacific policy of the sheriff impressed the mob with the idea that the officers were afraid, or at least would do them no harm, and they redoubled their efforts, urged on by a big switchman. at 12 o'clock the door of the prison was broken in with a rail.
as soon as the rapist was brought out of the door calls were heard for a rope; then someone shouted, "burn him!" but there was no time to make a fire. when walker got into the lobby a dozen of the men began beating and stabbing him. he was half dragged, half carried to the corner of front street and the alley between sycamore and mill, and hung to a telegraph pole.
walker made a desperate resistance. two men entered his cell first and ordered him to come forth. he refused, and they failing to drag him out, others entered. he scratched and bit his assailants, wounding several of them severely with his teeth. the mob retaliated by striking and cutting him with fists and knives. when he reached the steps leading down to the door he made another stand and was stabbed again and again. by the time he reached the lobby his power to resist was gone, and he was shoved along through the mob of yelling, cursing men and boys, who beat, spat upon and slashed the wretch-like demon. one of the leaders of the mob fell, and the crowd walked ruthlessly over him. he was badly hurt—a jawbone fractured and internal injuries inflicted. after the lynching friends took charge of him.
the mob proceeded north on front street with the victim, stopping at sycamore street to get a rope from a grocery. "take him to the iron bridge on main street," yelled several men. the men who had hold of the negro were in a hurry to finish the job, however, and when they reached the telephone pole at the corner of front street and the first alley north of sycamore they stopped. a hastily improvised noose was slipped over the negro's head, and several young men mounted a pile of lumber near the pole and threw the rope over one of the iron stepping pins. the negro was lifted up until his feet were three feet above the ground, the rope was made taut, and a corpse dangled in midair. a big fellow who helped lead the mob pulled the negro's legs until his neck cracked. the wretch's clothes had been torn off, and, as he swung, the man who pulled his legs mutilated the corpse.
one or two knife cuts, more or less, made little difference in the appearance of the dead rapist, however, for before the rope was around his neck his skin was cut almost to ribbons. one pistol shot was fired while the corpse was hanging. a dozen voices protested against the use of firearms, and there was no more shooting. the body was permitted to hang for half an hour, then it was cut down and the rope divided among those who lingered around the scene of the tragedy. then it was suggested that the corpse be burned, and it was done. the entire performance, from the assault on the jail to the burning of the dead negro was witnessed by a score or so of policemen and as many deputy sheriffs, but not a hand was lifted to stop the proceedings after the jail door yielded.
as the body hung to the telegraph pole, blood streaming down from the knife wounds in his neck, his hips and lower part of his legs also slashed with knives, the crowd hurled expletives at him, swung the body so that it was dashed against the pole, and, so far from the ghastly sight proving trying to the nerves, the crowd looked on with complaisance, if not with real pleasure. the negro died hard. the neck was not broken, as the body was drawn up without being given a fall, and death came by strangulation. for fully ten minutes after he was strung up the chest heaved occasionally, and there were convulsive movements of the limbs. finally he was pronounced dead, and a few minutes later detective richardson climbed on a pile of staves and cut the rope. the body fell in a ghastly heap, and the crowd laughed at the sound and crowded around the prostrate body, a few kicking the inanimate carcass.
detective richardson, who is also a deputy coroner, then proceeded to impanel the following jury of inquest: j.s. moody, a.c. waldran, b.j. childs, j.n. house, nelson bills, t.l. smith, and a. newhouse. after viewing the body the inquest was adjourned without any testimony being taken until 9 o'clock this morning. the jury will meet at the coroner's office, 51 beale street, upstairs, and decide on a verdict. if no witnesses are forthcoming, the jury will be able to arrive at a verdict just the same, as all members of it saw the lynching. then someone raised the cry of "burn him!" it was quickly taken up and soon resounded from a hundred throats. detective richardson, for a long time, single-handed, stood the crowd off. he talked and begged the men not to bring disgrace on the city by burning the body, arguing that all the vengeance possible had been wrought.
while this was going on a small crowd was busy starting a fire in the middle of the street. the material was handy. some bundles of staves were taken from the adjoining lumber yard for kindling. heavier wood was obtained from the same source, and coal oil from a neighboring grocery. then the cries of "burn him! burn him!" were redoubled.
half a dozen men seized the naked body. the crowd cheered. they marched to the fire, and giving the body a swing, it was landed in the middle of the fire. there was a cry for more wood, as the fire had begun to die owing to the long delay. willing hands procured the wood, and it was piled up on the negro, almost, for a time, obscuring him from view. the head was in plain view, as also were the limbs, and one arm which stood out high above the body, the elbow crooked, held in that position by a stick of wood. in a few moments the hands began to swell, then came great blisters over all the exposed parts of the body; then in places the flesh was burned away and the bones began to show through. it was a horrible sight, one which, perhaps, none there had ever witnessed before. it proved too much for a large part of the crowd and the majority of the mob left very shortly after the burning began.
but a large number stayed, and were not a bit set back by the sight of a human body being burned to ashes. two or three white women, accompanied by their escorts, pushed to the front to obtain an unobstructed view, and looked on with astonishing coolness and nonchalance. one man and woman brought a little girl, not over twelve years old, apparently their daughter, to view a scene which was calculated to drive sleep from the child's eyes for many nights, if not to produce a permanent injury to her nervous system. the comments of the crowd were varied. some remarked on the efficacy of this style of cure for rapists, others rejoiced that men's wives and daughters were now safe from this wretch. some laughed as the flesh cracked and blistered, and while a large number pronounced the burning of a dead body as a useless episode, not in all that throng was a word of sympathy heard for the wretch himself.
the rope that was used to hang the negro, and also that which was used to lead him from the jail, were eagerly sought by relic hunters. they almost fought for a chance to cut off a piece of rope, and in an incredibly short time both ropes had disappeared and were scattered in the pockets of the crowd in sections of from an inch to six inches long. others of the relic hunters remained until the ashes cooled to obtain such ghastly relics as the teeth, nails, and bits of charred skin of the immolated victim of his own lust. after burning the body the mob tied a rope around the charred trunk and dragged it down main street to the courthouse, where it was hanged to a center pole. the rope broke and the corpse dropped with a thud, but it was again hoisted, the charred legs barely touching the ground. the teeth were knocked out and the fingernails cut off as souvenirs. the crowd made so much noise that the police interfered. undertaker walsh was telephoned for, who took charge of the body and carried it to his establishment, where it will be prepared for burial in the potter's field today.
scene of lynching at clanton, alabama, august 1891.
scene of lynching at clanton, alabama, august 1891.
facsimile of back of photograph.
facsimile of back of photograph. w.r. martin, traveling photographer. (handwritten: this s.o.b. was hung at clanton ala. friday aug 21st/91 for murdering a little boy in cold blood for 35￠ in cash. he is a good specimen of your "black christian hung by white heathens" [illegible] of the committee.)
a prelude to this exhibition of nineteenth-century barbarism was the following telegram received by the chicago inter ocean, at 2 o'clock, saturday afternoon—ten hours before the lynching:
memphis tenn., july 22, to inter-ocean, chicago.
lee walker, colored man, accused of raping white women, in jail here, will be taken out and burned by whites tonight. can you send miss ida wells to write it up? answer. r.m. martin, with public ledger.
the public ledger is one of the oldest evening daily papers in memphis, and this telegram shows that the intentions of the mob were well known long before they were executed. the personnel of the mob is given by the memphis appeal-avalanche. it says, "at first it seemed as if a crowd of roughs were the principals, but as it increased in size, men in all walks of life figured as leaders, although the majority were young men."
this was the punishment meted out to a negro, charged, not with rape, but attempted assault, and without any proof as to his guilt, for the women were not given a chance to identify him. it was only a little less horrible than the burning alive of henry smith, at paris, texas, february 1, 1893, or that of edward coy, in texarkana, texas, february 20, 1892. both were charged with assault on white women, and both were tied to the stake and burned while yet alive, in the presence of ten thousand persons. in the case of coy, the white woman in the case applied the match, even while the victim protested his innocence.
the cut which is here given is the exact reproduction of the photograph taken at the scene of the lynching at clanton, alabama, august, 1891. the cause for which the man was hanged is given in the words of the mob which were written on the back of the photograph, and they are also given. this photograph was sent to judge a.w. tourgee, of mayville, n.y.
in some of these cases the mob affects to believe in the negro's guilt. the world is told that the white woman in the case identifies him, or the prisoner "confesses." but in the lynching which took place in barnwell county, south carolina, april 24, 1893, the mob's victim, john peterson, escaped and placed himself under governor tillman's protection; not only did he declare his innocence, but offered to prove an alibi, by white witnesses. before his witnesses could be brought, the mob arrived at the governor's mansion and demanded the prisoner. he was given up, and although the white woman in the case said he was not the man, he was hanged twenty-four hours after, and over a thousand bullets fired into his body, on the declaration that "a crime had been committed and someone had to hang for it."
