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Show Lynching Is Followed by the Burning of Body ELLISVILLE. Miss.. June 26 Trailed for ten days through southern Mississippi by posses which included several hundred members of his own race. John Hartfield, negro, conf d assailant of an Blllsvllle young woman, was captured desperately wounded In a canebrake this morning, rushed by automobile to the scene of his crime. I hanged to a gum tree and burned to iashes. His victim identified him and witnessed his execution. Governor Bilbo, petitioned during I the day to intervene, in a statement I issued at Jackson shortly before the ilynching. declared himself "utterly .powerless" and said that interference would only lead to the deaths of hun-i hun-i dreds of persons and that "nobody can 'keep the inevitable from happening." The lynching was conducted in a manner which the authorities characterized charac-terized as "orderly " Guarded by a committee of citizens of Ellisvilie, Hartfield was taken first to the office of Dr. A. J. Carter, who, after examination exami-nation of gunshot wounds received when the fugitive made his fight I against capture, declared the negro l could not live more than twenty-four ! hours. In the meantime a group of silent men were piling cross ties and brush in a depressiqn in the ground near the railroad trestle. There was no shouting Arrangements apparently apparent-ly had been made days ago. After Hartfield had been identified 'upon being brought here, there were I quiet conferences. Members of the I 'committee circulated In the crowd. Reports Re-ports that there would be a "burning" at 5 o'clock gave -way to statements that there would be a hanging' at the big gum tree. Hartfield was told what the crowd Intended doing with him but only repeated, "You have tne right man " From the doclor's office Hartfield I was taken to the street and faced the .crowd. "You have the right man," he reiterated. Then a noose found its way 'around his neck and the trip to the big ! gum tree w as started, the crowd still ominously silent Under the big gum tree Hartfield forcibly detained his victim all of the 1 night of Sunday, June 15. It was un- I der a limb of the same gum tree that Hartfield was hanged as soon as the rope could be pulled up by hundreds of hands. Then occurred the first demonstration. demon-stration. While the body was in its death struggles, pistols were produced by men in the crowd and fired point blank at the swinging form. Before the rope had been cut by bullets, burning faggots were thrown under the body and an hour later there was only a pile of ashes. No arrests were made after th lynching and tonight the little tow was quiet. oo |