Burned at Stake

Title

Burned at Stake

Source Type

Newspapers

Publisher

The South Alabamian

Publication Place

Jackson, AL

Publication Date

10/13/1900

Transcript

BURNED AT STAKE For Assault Upon White Woman Negro Is Tortured to Death. ENRANGED AVENGERS SHOWED NO MERCY Fearful Scene Was Enacted In the Little Town of Eclectic, In Elmore County, Alabama. A special from Wetumpka, Ala., says: Winfiels Townsend, alias Floyd, a negro, was burned at the stake at Eclectic, a small town in Elmore county, about 12:30 o’clock Tuesday morning for an attempted criminal assault on Mrs. Lonnie Harrington. Monday about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, a negro named Winfield Townsend, who is a nephew of the Floyd who was hanged in the Wetumpka jail week before last for attempted assault, attempted to outrage Mrs. Harrington, the wife of Lonnie Harrington, whose home is situated about one mile east of Eclectic. Mr. Harrington was engaged at a gin in Eclectic. The negro came to the house and told Mrs. Harrington that her husband had sent him to get 20 cents from her. She told him that she had no change. Then the negro left, but returned in about ten minutes. According to her story, he told her his purpose and grabbed her by the throat, at the same time throwing her violently to the floor. She gave one scream, which was heard by Bob Nichols, who was passing along the road at the moment. He rushed to the house just in time to save Mrs. Harrington from assault. The negro saw him coming and rushed out the house and away. Mr. Nichols found Mrs. Harrington unconscious with the blood streaming out of her mouth and nose from the clutch of the negro, and instead of pursuing the negro at once gave his attention toward restoring Mrs. Harrington to consciousness. As soon as she recovered he gave the alarm. The news spread rapidly. All the dozen stores at Eclectic were closed; the ginneries and sawmills stopped; the people left their wagons in the road, their plows in the field and joined in the pursuit. The crowd divided, some scouring the woods near the scene of the crime, while others went to the penitentiary for the bloodhounds. The dogs were taken to where the negro’s tracks disappeared and a most exciting chase ensued. The dogs stopped at a tree in front of Odion’s store on the north outskirts of Wetumpka and the crowd coming ip discovered the negro sitting on a limb. He was brought down at once and carried to the scene of his crime. There he was confronted by his victim, who positively identified him as the guilty man. The preparations for death were quickly made. A rope was flung over the limb of a big oak and a hundred men stood ready and anxious to snatch the brute into eternity. Then a vote was taken as to how he should die and by an almost unanimous vote of the hundreds on the ground it was decided to burn him. The stake was prepared and the negro was bound to it with chains. Pine knots were piled about him and the flames, started by the husband of the negro’s victim, quickly leaped to the feast of flesh and blood, and with wild cries upon God for mercy and help the brute paid the penalty of his crime. The crowd looked on deaf to his cries. The burned negro, begore being bound, confessed to the crime and said that he was also implicated with Alex Floyd, who was hanged a couple of weeks ago for an attempted assault on Miss Kate Pearson in the attempt at the time. He said that he and Floyd had planned for other crimes of like character, but that Floyd being hanged put a stop to them. OTHER NEGROES IMPLICATED A dispatch from Montgomery says: The negro Townsend in Elmore county made a confession implicating seven other negroes in his crime. One of them, Virgil Miller, was in jail at Wetumpka charged with burglary, and as threats of lynching were made Miller was removed to the Montgomery jail for safe keeping. The deputy sheriff had a wild drive of fourteen miles through the county and had he been thirty minutes later in reaching Montgomery a crowd of men who came by train would have intercepted him. After reaching the city two other negroes alleged to be implicated in the crime were arrested by the deputy. They were Frank Floyd and Jake Floyd, brothers of the negro Zeb Floyd, who was lynched near Wetumpka on September 9th. A singular coincidence is that Mrs. Harrington, who was assaulted Monday, is kinswoman of Miss Pearson, who was assaulted on September 3rd, for which Zeb Floyd was lynched. It is believed the conspiracy is directed against the members of a white family. Three negroes are now in jail in Montgomery and some trouble may rise.

Sources for

See all items with this value Jake Floyd