Jennie Steer Lynched Body of the Negress Riddled with Bullets

Title

Source Type

Newspaper

Publisher

The Billings Gazette

Publication Place

Billings, Montana

Publication Date

07/28/1903

Transcript

JENNIE STEER LYNCHED.
Body of the Negress Riddled with
Bullets.
Sheriff, La., July 27.-News reached
here Sunday that the negress, Jennie
Steer, who administered poison in a
glass of lemonade to Lizzie Dolan, the
sixteen-year-old daughter of John Do
lan, from the effects of which she
died, was lynched by a mob at sun
down Saturday night. The lynching
occurred on the Beard plantation, near
this place. where the crime. was com
mitted. Jennie Steer was stubborn to
the last in denying her crime.
It is claimed the negress fled from
the Dolan household as soon as she
discovered that her crime was known.
She was pursued by a posse, who
found her crouching in a hay loft. She
refused to come out and had to be
dragged from the place. When asked
why she poisoned Miss Dolan, the ne
gress indignantly denied the commis
sion of the crime. She was taken to
the Dolan homestead and fully identi
fled as the woman who had placed the
poison in the lemonade.
The mob then took her to a near-by
tree, placed a rope around her neck
and asked her to confess. She was
stubborn to the last, however, and was
strung up without making any admis
sion. While the body was dangling in
midair several bullets were fired into
it by the enraged citizens.
The poisoning of Miss Dolan created
Intense excitement in the neighbor
hcod of the crime. The victim was a
beautiful young white girl who was
known not to have an enemy in the
world. She died in terrible agony.

Sources for

Jennie Steer