Negro Burned at Stake

Title: Negro Burned at Stake
Source Type: Newspapers
Publisher: The Weekly Advertiser
Publication Place: Montgomery, AL
Publication Date: 10/05/1900
Transcript: NEGRO BURNED AT THE STAKE Elmore County Citizens Avenge a Terrible Crime. MRS. HARRINGTON ASSAULTED In Dying Confession Wallace Townsend Impacts Others. Believed That the Crime Was the Result of a Conspiracy—Three of the Negroes in Montgomery Jail. As a result of the attempted assault upon Mrs. Louise Harrington near Eclectic, Elmore County, Monday morning, her assailant, Wallace Townsend, a negro boy was burned at a stake at 9 o’clock yesterday morning, a mile from the scene of the crime. Meagre details of the outrage were published in The Advertiser yesterday morning. The crime of Townsend, his terrible death at the hands of the frenzied citizens of Elmore County and subsequent developments, make a startling story of thrilling interest. The citizens of Elmore County have good reason to believe that a conspiracy was formed among a number of negro boys living near Eclectric to assault respectable white women of the neighborhood. The crime of Townsend following so closely upon the attempted assault on Miss Kate Pearson, September 3d, and the lynching of Zeb Floyd, her assaliant, September 9, and the dying confession of Wallace Townsend yesterday morning, give color to this belief. Townsend confessed that several other negro boys were implicated in the two assaults. Arrested in Montgomery. Three of these negro boys, Virgil Miller, Frank Floyd and Jake Floyd, are in the Montgomery County jail for safe-keeping. The last two named negroes are brothers of Zeb Floyd who was hanged by a mob for assaulting Miss Kate Pearson at Eclectic September 3. The Floyd boys were arrested in Montgomery at 9 o’clock last night by Deputy Sheriff Williams of Elmore County who had just eluded a mob of his fellow citizens of Elmore County, and succeeded in landed Virgil Miller in the jail here. Another interesting development in the situation is the fact that Mrs. Harrington, who was assaulted Monday morning, is a kinswoman of Miss Pearson, who was assaulted early, in September. This fact leads to the opinion that the conspiracy of the negroes was directed against the members of a particular family fo Elmore County, all of whom are highly respected and well-known citizens. The actual perpetrators of these two brutal crimes are dead—Zeb Floyd was lynched September 9, and Wallace Townsend was burned at the stake one mile from Eclectic yesterday morning. Three others—Virgil Miller, Frank Floyd and Jake Floyd—are in the Montgomery County jail, and three more negroes, whose names are known are still at large. The sheriff of Elmore County hopes to apprehend them today. The citizens of Elmore County are naturally very much wrought up over the crimes and subsequent developments, and every precaution will be taken at the Montgomery jail to protect the prisoners. Sheriff Waller slept there last night, and the men were guarded. Assault on Mrs. Harrington Mrs. Louise Harrington is the wife of Mr. G. S. Harrington, a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Eclectic, which place is about thirteen miles from Wetumpka. At 10 o’clock Monday morning, Mrs. Harrington was alone in her home, which is in the edge of the little village. While passing through the house a negro boy sprang from behind a door and attacked her. It is believed that he had been secreted behind the door for some time. The negro seized her by the throat and choked her. She fell to the floor. The negro then, with his fingers tore the mouth of Mrs. harrington in the most brutal manner, and threatened her with death if she ever told of his assault upon her. The negro was in the act og leaving the house when a neighbor said to have been a Mr. Nichols, approached the house and saw him leaving. Mrs. Harrington ran to meet Mr. Nichols and handed him a shot gun. Mrs. harrington was hysterical and begged Mr. Nichols not leave her alone. He wanted to follow the negro, but the woman pleaded with him to remain with her until the arrival of her husband. There could be no doubt as to the identity of the negro, as he plainly seen by Mr. Nichols as well as by Mrs. Harrington. Pursuit of the Friend As soon as the terrible crime became known there was an uprising of the men of the community, and a posse was hastily organized. They knew whom they were hunting and about one hundred men joined in the pursuit. They followed the negro about eight miles southeast of Eclectic and at the residence of a Mr. Loyd they were informed that the negro had been seen in Wetumpka. Here the posse dispersed and started for Wetumpka. Arriving in Wetumpka it was learned that they negro had not been there. The men were determined that the blood of the negro should explate his diabolical crime and that bloodhounds kept at the State Penitentiary at Wetumpka were secured to better enable them to continue the chase. When the dogs had been secured the party returned to the residence of Mr. Lloyd where they had left the trail. They reached the Lloyd residence about 11 o’clock Monday night and the dogs soon scented the trail of the hunted negro. A member of the pursuing posse said that from the manoeuvring of the negro it appeared that he seemed to want of his crime. He seemed to be running in a circle. Around and about through wood and field the posse continued its hunt, following closely upon the baying hounds, the men eager for vengeance. The Negro Treed. Shortly after midnight in the edge of Wetumpka, directly across the road from Odiorne’s store and one-half mile from the State Penitentiary, the deep baying of the blood hounds under a huge oak tree told of the end of the chase. The dogs had followed the negro about six miles and had him up a tree. When the members of the posse reached the baying hounds at the foot of the tree one of the eager men fired a pistol at the negro who was crouched on a limb of the tree. The negro quickly slid down the trunk of the tree and was seized by the men. He was greatly excited and readily admitted his crime. It was all that cooler heads could do to keep others from doing him violence at once. The negro was taken back to Electic and at early daylight he was taken into the presence of Mrs. Harrington and Mr. Nichols, who readily recognized and identified him. Voted for Death at Stake. By daylight the original posse was swelled to several hundred persons and it is said that a vote was taken as to the method of punishment to be meted out to the negro. A reliable man said that he had learned that sixteen of the men voted to punish the negro by hanging him to a tree while about three hundred men voted to burn him at a stake. Townsend, who was about 16 years old, was taken by the men into the woods about one mile from Eclectic and prepared for death. After being tied to a stake driven in the ground, pitch pine was placed about him. The negro was then asked to make a statement. He admitted that he assaulted Mrs. Harrington and said that he was presented and outside of the window the night of September 3, when zeb Floyd entered the room of Miss Kate Pearson in Eclectic. He also said that Virgil Miller, a negro boy, was on the outside of the house with him and knew of the intended criminal assault. After the negro had made these statements a torch was applied to the pine surrounding him and several of the large crowd of men stood and watched the crackling flames as they devoured the body of the brute. Others turned their heads away from the sickening spectacle. As the flames began to lick his body the negro cried out, but he was soon dead. The crowd did not leave the scene until the flames had done their work completely and nothing was left of the body but charred bones and bits of scorched flesh. Townsend Reported Hanged. It was reported in Wetumpka that Townsend had been hanged Monday night and the sheriff of Elmore County had abandoned all effort to apprehend the negro when the news reached him about noon yesterday of the terrible punishment of the crime. It was also reported to him that the dying negro had implicated Virgil Miller. It was then learned that Miller was a prisoner in the Elmore County jail at Wetumpka. He had been arrested since the assault upon Miss Pearson on a charge of burglary and was in jail awaiting trial. The Sheriff at once saw the probability the Miller would be taken from the jail if left in Wetumpka and he immediately set about devising a plan to spirit Miller away from Wetumpka and get him landed in the Montgomery County jail. Already there were mutterings under breath in Wetumpka, and the Sheriff arranged for Deputy Sheriff Williams to bring the prisoner to Montgomery on a buggy, a distance of fourteen miles. Williams left Wetumpka at twilight yesterday evening, and he showed excellent judgment, for he came to Montgomery in a hurry, reaching here shortly before 8 o’clock. Had he been thirty minutes later he no doubt would have been intercepted on the road and the prisoner taken from him by a crowd of determined men who came to Montgomery from Elmore on the Louisville and Nashville train which arrived here at 7:25 o’clock. Williams Beat Them Here. These men left Eclectic and Wetumpka about the same time as the Deputy Sheriff and went by train to Elmore Station where they took the regular passenger train. They had made arrangements with a Montgomery delivery man to provide them with teams with which the expected to drive out on the Wetumpka road, intercept Williams, take the prisoner from him and deliver him to a crowd of citizens of Elmore County who were said to be anxiously awaiting their return. On the way to Montgomery, and during his hasty drive Deputy Sheriff Williams succeeded in obtaining important information from Miller. The deputy sheriff says that Miller told him that Zeb Floyd, who was lynched for attempting to assault Miss Pearson, undertook to induce him (Miller) to become a party to the crime, telling him that Wallace Townsend would be with him at the time and that if they could not accomplish their purpose at Mr. Pearson’s, they would go to the residence of Mr. Johnston, in Eclectic and if they failed there they would go until daybreak until the found an opportunity to accomplish such a crime. Mr. Williams asked Miller what he said to the proposition, Mr. Williams says the negro replied that he told Zeb Floyd that he and Townsend were fixed to have the white folks break their necks, and that he would not be a party to it. He said he went to bed the night the crime against Miss Pearson was committed. He was sleeping with Zeb Floyd and after he had been asleep some time he was awakened by Floyd being up, in the room and asked him what he was going to do. He said he was going to eat something. Shortly afterward Miller said he heard Zeb Floyd outside the house and heard him say “Here’s the— thing I was looking for”. A Damaging Admission. The deputy sheriff asked the negro what he supposed Zeb Floyd found when he made the remark outside of the house, and the deputy says the negro replied: “You know there was a stick that held up the window of Miss Pearson;s room, and I think possibly it was the stick he found when he spoke”. Mr. Williams asked the negro why it was that after hos knowledge of the intention of these boys to commit such a terrible crime, that he did not report the fact to the facilities. He says the fact to the authorities. He says the negro the replied that he was told by Frank Floyd, Jake Floyd and four other negro boys, who are still at large, that if he did so he would be killed. The miller negro made a prediction that has been verfied when he told Zeb Floyd his neck and the neck of Wallace Townsend would be broken by the white people if they perpetrated the contemplated crimes. Wehn Williams arrived in Montgomery with his prisoner he drove straight.
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