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Title
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Two Colored Girls Hung by a Mo
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Source Type
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Newspapers
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Publisher
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The Times-Tribune
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Publication Place
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Scranton, PA
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Publication Date
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5/13/1897
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Transcript
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TWO COLORED GIRLS, HUNG BY A MOB, heir Piteous Appeals for Mercy, I, Were Not Heeded., One of the Girls Confessed That They Had, Poisoned a Family, Causing Two Deaths., Every Man Composing the Mob Took a, Pull at the Rope, That Each Might be, Equally Responsible., red girls were hanged in the woods, Montgomery, Ala., May 13.-Two col-, hear Jeff, six miles from here, last, night., Their crime was repeated attempts The, head of the household, Joshua Kelley,, to poison an entire household., vant well-to-do poisoned died, others, recovered. who, a farmer, and a negro ser-, but twenty, were with them,, The girls were given a form of trial,, but one of them had confessed, and on of, the neighbors gathered, hurried, learning of the confession a crowd the, women to the woods, and their bodies, were found hanging there yesterday, morning., The victims of the lynchers were, Amanda ley home, above servant the, White, the cook at the Kel-, and Nellie Smith, a, girl. Both of them were, no sign that they were capable of such, average in intelligence and had given, a crime., Only half a dozen citizens of the, neighborhood of Jeff knew what the, process of the improvised court was., Sometimes the voices of the prisoners, reached girl, Nellie, and The denying young-, the crowd outside., er was crying, her guilt, the cook seemed more com-, posed, and presently the judges came, out and announced that she had con-, fessed. They pushed the terrified, forward, and ordered Amanda, negress White chattering to hardly teeth make were, tell her story. Her, so she could, herself understood., "Don't hurt me and I'll tell you all, about it." she cried, "I didn't go for to, hurt all them people. But the Josh, folks, that come to. sit up with Mas', they went and eat the lunch.", The cook stammered on with the, story. She said she and Nellie bought, mixed it in the biscuits she had baked, rat poison at the store and she had, for the family., The only reason she gave for the that at-, tempt at wholesale murder was, the Kelleys had "been mean" to them. their, The wretched women rolled, eyes but their terror did them, and their teeth chattered with no, more fright, good than their tears and plead- the, had done. At the edge of, sheriff's posse posted to head, of people. These were thought to them be a, wood ings the crowd discovered a number, off. 'Help! Murder!" yelled the women at, sight of these figures., "Boys," there must no interference, with us, said the leader., Arrived at the execution place two, were thrown over a projecting and, limb. ropes The girl's hands were tied their, the nooses were looped about, necks. "It's all up with you now," said any- the, spokesman. "Do you want to say, thing before you die., "Jesus! Jesus! I'm comin'," was all, one of the women could say., It is probable that the two girls were that, beside themselves with fright happen-, so did not know what was looked, they to them. They certainly, like ing mad creatures as they waited for, the end., The word was given and they were of, jerked committee was compelled to pull, into the air. Every member, the the rope,so that all should be equally, reluctance on the part of any, on concerned. There did 'not seem, be any the lynchers. Among there neighbors, of nearly all the farmers of the raised, boyhood, and not one of them wretched, his women from the time they were, voice in behalf of the taken, into custody