ATTEMPTED ASSAULT !
BY A NEGRO FIEND,
Populace Stirred to Ven
geance-Several Arrests,
No Convincing Proof.
’ A IHh IviOBSTORMS JAIL
Brave Sheriff Pleads for Life
of Prisoner Pending More
Satisfactory Proof.
SUSPECT CAPTURED SUNDAY.
Saloons Are Closed By Request of the
Mayor to Subdue Excitement
— New Clue Offered.
Newport was shocked Saturday
night to learn that a black fiend
had attempted to assault one of
the city’s most popular and lova
ble young ladies, and as the story
sped from mouth to mouth upon
the fleeted wings by which bad
news always travels, a realization
of the awfulness of the crime
brought indignation welling up
in the hearts of an outraged peo
ple, who swore vengeance against
the guilty brute. j
and in case the guilty one were
found, to mete out summary
punishment.
The streets were soon deserted |
of negroes, who feared that the
vengeance of an inflamed people
might be visited upon all alike.
Their homes were searched by
the sheriff and his assistants
wherever it was suspected the
guilty one might be in hiding.
Louis Skates was brought before
the crowd and questioned in re
gard to his whereabouts, but
soon released.
Sumner Johnson, the negro
porter who has long been in the
employ of Charles Meyer, was
questioned closely, but the crowd
was inclined to the view that he
was withholding information that
would throw light upon the iden
tity of the guilty negro. He had
little to tell. Dr. M. M. Erwin
had seen him talking to a negro
several times who had hung
about the store suspiciously for:
the past week. He described the;
different negroes with whom he
had talked, but denied that he
knew of any suspicious circum
stances pointing to the -guilt of*
any of these parties. Sumner is '
being held in jail, not because
• r. J.TJtZUkJ JJVUiUj U. U1U WJ. Wi
C. W. Beard, manager of the St.
| Louis compress, and a clerk in
the store of Charles Meyer, was
returning home alone from her
work Saturday evening about j
9:30 o’clock, when she noticed ai
man following her, but thinking
it might only be some one who j
lived in that direction, she paid
no particular attention to him.
She followed Hazel street as ;
far as the residence of Capt. J.
H. McHugh at the corner of
Fourth and Hazel streets, when
she turned on Fourth across to
Walnut and had almost reached
the south gate at George Hays’;
yard when the man following her
ran up from behind and sought
to drag her away to the alley,
but fighting bravely and alarming
the neighborhood by screams she
managed to escape his vile
clutches and flee.
Defeated in his lustful designs,
the black criminal ran north
through the alley between Hazel
and Walnut streets and did not
emerge until reaching Second
street almost opposite the jail,
1 1 _ i. rk vn rl
he is thought to be connected
with the crime, but because some j
think he has not not shown a
proper disposition to tell all he
knows.
CAPTURE SUSPECT NEAR MINTURN.
A report reached here Satur
day night that a negro answering
the description of the one wanted
had been' locked up in a refriger
ator car on a north bound freight
by a crew who suspicioned him,
but had escaped through the top
ventilator between Alicia and
Minturn while the train was run
ning at a high rate of speed. He
was reported to have stood the
crew off with a gun, though this
has never been verified.
A party of armed citizens with
blood hounds accompanied the
sheriff to Minturn on No. 2 early |
Sunday morning, from which
point they walked back to Alicia.
The whole country turned out en
masse and the fugitive negro was
captured five miles north of Min
turn making toward the home of j
the only negro resident of that
section of the country, in which
they are warned never to let the
Wliere Iiu was seen 1001110150 «'***'•*
walk toward Hazel street by
Flannigan, the carpenter, w h o
lives at the corner of the alley.
1 Blood hounds were immediately
IBp»^ pl-ac^J upon the trail and followed
" the tracks to this point, but there
lost the scent.
The villain is described by the
young lady as a yellow negro of
medium height and build, rather
sportily dressed, wearing a square
cut coat, dark in color, white
standing collar, felt crusher hat
and tooth pick shoes. The tracks
in the alley show the shoes worn
to be have been No. 7 1-2 and
were of the pointed toe style. The
print of a shoe heel was plainly
discernable.
SEARCH FOR FIEND.
In a half hour after the awful
crime had been attempted, sev
eral hundred men had assembled
to aid the sheriff in his work of
I investigating every possible clue
sun go ciown upon mem mere.
The negro, who proved to be |
Bush Duggitt, was minus coat
and shoes and dressed in a suit
of bib overalls. Another crowd
from Newport went up to join
the party on No. 4 Sunday
afternoon and all returned on
No. 7, which did not reach New- j
port until after 4 o’clock. There
must have been a thousand peo
ple awaiting the arrival of the
sheriff and his prisoner at the
depot, and when he was brought
in handcuffed and closely guard
ed, the crowd surged about him,
anxious to catch a glimpse of his
features and threatening venge
ance upon his head.
The fact that the day was Sun
day and that the saloons were
closed is perhaps all that saved
the suspected negro’s life then
and there, for the leaders of
mobs are nearly always embol
dened by drink, and this part was'
lacking upon this Sabbath day.
The prisoner was safely lodged
in jail, where he was closely;
questioned by Gustave Jones and ;
other leading citizens who found!
that the negro’s story corrobo
rated with what are known to be j
facts and throws grave doubt i
upon the case as to his guilt,!
pending further investigation.
Mr. Jones addressed the crowd
assembled as to his finding, stat-1
ing that Trainmaster Hobbs had I
promised to send the crew upon !
whose train Duggitt claims to
have left Newport here Monday
morning and advising them to;
disperse and await a fuller inves
tigation.
MOB FORMS IN EVENING.
As night came on it became
evident from the murmurs of the
crowd that the sheriff might look j
for trouble. Gathering about
him a few deputies he calmly
awaited the inevitable. About
II o ciocK tne moo, wmcn naa
congregated on the Wilmans cot
ton platform, began its advance
upon the jail, but was apparently
without a commanding leader.
Armed with pick and sledge and
carrying a rope they rushed into
the outer apartment of the jail
and demanded entrance to the
interior.
Sheriff Bandy threw himself
against the door and facing the
threatening mob implored them
to await better proof before
avenging this awful crime. Elo
quently and with great force did
he fulfill his full duty as sheriff
in defense of his prisoner, ex
horting his hearers to disband
and await ,the _developments of.
the morrow, promising to keep
in close custody and within the
confines of the Newport jail the
sought-for prisoner.
One-armed though he was and
necessary as was the remaining
member to him, he said he would
rather lose it than see the mob
wreak vengeance upon a negro,
whose guilt was not established.
With tears in his eyes and his
voice trembling with emotion, he
finally broke down, but he had
conquered the spirit of the mob.
Snell Simmons and C. W.
Beard came to his support, ad
vising the crowd that they be
sure of the negro’s guilt before
committing the crime of lynch
ing an innocent man, and a vote
was taken upon whether they
should go ahead with their plans
or desist. Probably two-thirds
declared by raising their hands
that they should a 7 ait the evi-!
dence of the freight crew.
FACTS ABOUT DUGGITT.
There is a grave doubt that,
Duggitt is the guilty negro, and |
Continued cn Page Four.
7. VOTE FOR . . |
J. U. ARD
FOR REPRESENTATIVE
The Farmer Candidate and
'Poor Man's Friend.
.-.- ■ -- ■■■■■ —■ ... |
■
I
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TRY THE
Weems Laundry
When you want good
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specialty of Dyeing and”.
Cleaning Clothes. Let
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Leave orders with
T. P. Umsted&Co.
Local Agents.
DR. CHAS. E. CARROLL
Dentist
Successor to Black Bros.
Office: Watson Building
Rooms 1, ^ and 3.
TELEPHONE NO. 31.
Newport, - Arkansas>
I FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Newport, Arkansas>
<■ ■ ■ .
Under the 'supervision of the United States Government.
PAID IN CAPITAL $50,000.00
SURPLUS - - - 8,000.00
.
Deposits in sums of one dollar and upwards will be re
ceived—the same careful attention is extended both small
and large depositors.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: §
T. J. Graham W. A. Joyce Sigmond Wolff
Jos. S. Harvey J. W. Ferrill
T. J. Watson, J. 0. Taylor G. W. Hurley,
President. Vice-Pres.
W. A. Billingsley, F. A. Jones,
Cashier. Ass’t Cashier. j I
^ The Administrator of Your Estate $
should have good judgment, financial responsibility, integrity and %^
should live a long time. W
^ i min w n n mm»—m—iiwiii w-wwimum
Cjj) THE LAST LEGISLATURE . ®
fjN passed a law permitting TRUST COMPANIES to act as administrator, jwj
executor, or receiver of any estate, guardian or curator of any infant or pR
ppj insane person, agent for any corporation or indiviual, agent for fcfcj
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kn to execute any trust placed in their hands by the courts, Ms
jjQ We have complied with the provisions of this law and with our large capital
1^4 ot $tOU,UUU and conservative ooara oi directors we are Better equip
f£! ped to handle this class of business than any individual. The \ j
fe business career of any individual is short, besides by neglect or few
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| ARKANSAS BANK AND TRUST CO.
| Capital, $100,000. W
K OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS. X|
JX J. W. Grubbs, President. Nathan Graham, V.-Pres. 1 jsa
Q, Chas. G. Henry, Cashier. ^ Xj
B. B. Bond, R. F. Drummond, C. J. Saenger, *
M. D. Campbell, F. D. Fulkerson, 0. D. Watson. 1 ¥|
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