| Show I THE BURNING I I OF A FIND Texas Fegro Assaults and Then Mangles a White Woman BURNED AT THE STAKE Host Horrible Crime of Its Kind 1 on Record I Xo Sympathy Expressed For the I I Devil Even By Ills Kacc All Efforts Ef-forts of OHIciuIs to Restrain the People Useless llorc Thau 7OOO Witness the Execution TlLlDR Texas Oct 2Irs LTGti ard Bell a 13yearold wife of a farmer who has been visiting her mother started to walk to her home half a mile distant last evening On The way she passed a gin where men were working work-ing Soon afterwards her mutilated body was foun da quarter of a mile from home at the side of the road There was evidence of a terrible struggle the body I being almost nude The fiends after assaulting i as-saulting her cut her throat from ear to ear and completely disemboweled her Superintendent Edson of the Cotton Belt railway sent a special train to the Rusk penitentiary 45 miles distant for bloodhounds The farmers began the search immediately and have been joined I by a large posse from this city I I I Hunted at the Stake TYLER Tex Oct 2The negro whoso who-so brutally murdered Mrs Befil was captured this morning about 4 oclock three miles from Kilgore Soon after the officers had him handcuffed a mob of some 200 men heavily armed arrived on the scene and demanded the immediate immedi-ate surrender of the prisoner which was reluctantly given The mob started for the scene of the murder where they I arrived this afternoon at 3 oclock The crowd continued to gather nit the scene of the horrible crime until nearly 2000 citizens of Tyler and vicinity were mere A tew moments nerore me nenu I was brought to the place a meeting i was held and a committee appointed to investigate his identity Witnesses were summoned and closely questioned The result was a thorough identification I identifica-tion In few minutes officer ton a an ofcer appeared ap-peared from over the hill followed by 200 determined and well armed men When near the scene the officers were I overpowered and disarmed and the negro ne-gro Henry Hilliard brought before the committee He made a full confession in substance as follows I was coming down the road and saw Mrs Bell in the road She was scared of me and I knew that i I passed her she would say I tried to i rape her and I concluded that I would Rape Her and Then Kill Her I I cut her throat and cut her in another place and then left i i He wrote a note to his wife and gave I it to the sheriff It reads as folows i I am arrested by Wig Smith You know what they will do with me I I I dont see you any more good bye I Signed HENRY I After his confession and true identification fication a vote was taken as to the mode of punishment I was unanimously unan-imously agreed to burn him alive and that he should suffer the penalty on the public square The line of march was taken up toward Tyler and at 4 oclock the head of the line entered the main street whence no less than 7000 people were assembled Large crowds of ladies and children were congregated congre-gated on the awnings surrounding the public plaza Wagons carriages trees and public buildings were converted Into grand stands and were thronged at 430 A scaffold was erected in the center of the square Wagons laden with kindling wood coal oil and straw were driven to the scene and placed in position po-sition The negro was then given an opportunity to speak but his words were inaudible but when lie offered up his last prayer his words could be heard for several blocks He was then Lashed to the Iron Hull that extends through the platform and Mr Bell the husband of the murdered mur-dered woman applied the match The flames shot upward enveloping the negro in sheets of fire He begged for mercy and it was meted out to him just as he was merciful to the woman whose soul he had sent to her maker I was determined to burn him tat once but the fire was quenched after the last piece of wood was burned In a i few minutes the fire was started again From the time the snatch was applied until his death it was exactly fifty I minutes The I G N train was crowded with people from towns north Hundreds of negroes witnessed the execution and representative negroes expressed their endorsement of the punishment The officers were powerless and the sheriff wired the governor but his message was too late All business houses were closed and the big Cotton deserted Belt shops were |
