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Show I NEGROES LYNCHED P" IN NOWATA, OKLA. I Minister Had Saved One of Men, But Second Mob Completes Work. Nowata, Okla Sept 29. Two negroes, ne-groes, accused of being implicated in the killing of Deputy Sheriff James Gibson, during a jail delivory here today, were taken from the jail by a mob tonight and lynched in front of the courthouse. The first attempt to ljnich one of eho negroes, immediately after their capture, was frustrated by the Rev. Perry Pierce, a Methodist minister, who pleaded with the mob until the suspended negro was cut down, un- ( conscious but alive. The mob dispersed dis-persed but public feeling was not allayed al-layed and the mob returned later with the announced intention of lynching ithe two men who had been returned to jail. When the prisoners had been taken from the jail short work was f , made of putting them to death. . Deputy Killed. I J Events culminating in the double MiM - lynching moved with dramatic swift-pRMr' swift-pRMr' ness. The three negro prisoners cf-jj cf-jj fected an escape from the county jail V late today. They were discovered in tho act by Sheriff James May, who was knocked down and robbed of his pistol. Gibson went to his aid and 1 was shot to death. It was only a few minutes after the negroes had gained their freedom, that a mob bent on vengeance, was in cIobo pursuit. Two of the negroes took refuge in a house in the out- skirts of Nowata, where they were surrounded and re-arrested. The third negro apparently made good his escape. es-cape. One of the arrested negroes, John Foreman, alleged to have been the man who killed Gibson, was wounded when taken into custody and was not molested, but tho unwounded negro was seized by the mob which had grown to large proportions and a parade through the principal streets began with the negro screaming for mercy, at a rope's end. When the mob reached the Methodist Metho-dist church a large tree with outspreading out-spreading branches, offered the opportunity op-portunity which the rope around the necro's neck suggested. I "Let's lynch the negro on holj ground," shouted someone in the crowd. The prisoner was swung clear oi the ground and was being choked tc death when Mr. Pierce appeared, attracted at-tracted from his study in tho parson age by the negro's screams. H rushed from the house into the midst of the crowd and began his pleadings for the seemingly doomed man's life. The mob paused in its work to hear what the minister had to say. "Men, I beseech you in the name of God, not to desecrate this holy ground," pleaded Mr. Pierce. "Do not stain the name of our city by go-ing go-ing into this terrible affair." With voice quivering with emotion and earnestness he demanded that the law be allowed to take its course. Five minutes the pastor spoke along these lines, until one of the mob leaders, lead-ers, turning to his fellows said: "Men, Mr. Pierce is right. Take the negro back to jail and let the law take its course." Tho mob, so moved by the impassioned impas-sioned words of the pastor and the assumption of tho leadership taken by one of its members, led the negro back to jail. Nowata was quiet following the episode, epi-sode, but quiet was only the lull before be-fore the storm. Two Hanged by Mob. Shortly after the dinner hour Foreman Fore-man and the negro who had been rescued res-cued from the mob in the afternoon, and who had given the name of "Sunny" "Sun-ny" Powell to the jail authorities, were taken from the jail by another and larger mob of citizens. Foreman was strung up to a lampost near tho courthouse and Powell was hanged from a tree a few feet distant. The sheriff was not at the jail when the mob sought entrance. Tho deputies left to guard the negroes were pushed nsido and fnrcod Into Hiihmli?1nn Within 200 feet of where the negroes ne-groes were lynched a prayer meeting was in progress within the Methodist church. The leader waB Mr. Pierce, who but a few hours before had saved one of the now dead negroes by his eloquence. The meeting was undisturbed undis-turbed by the workings of the mob, which was quiet and businesslike throughout No arrests have been made. |