The Waxahachie daily light. [volume], September 08, 1905, Image 1

About The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current

Image provided by: University of North Texas; Denton, TX

                
OUR ELLIS COUNTY CITIZENS PROTECT THEIR HOMES
The Negro Ruffian who Crim
inally Assaulted Mrs. S.
P. Norris at Her Home
Last Monday Has
Paid Penalty.
The Guilty Wretch Was Appre
headed By ι Posse of Citi
zens Yesterday Moroinf Near
Naloney Alter Entire Coun
try Had Keen Searched Time
and Time Afain for Him.
Was Stripped of His Clothing
and Finfer Nail Narks Were
Fonnd on His Body Evident
ly Where the Ontrafed Wo
man Had Left Her Note Tes
timony of the Negro's Guilt.
in the pretence of more than thre»·
thousand people the ne*ro who
o« la*i Monday afternoon attacked
an<l < rimlnall) .uutaulted Mr» S Ρ
Norri». the wife of a young farmer
of th·· Howard «omuuuilty. wa* burn
ed U» death at th·1 atake, The acene
of th·· holocaust wax in the corner of
an oi<! Π··1<1 n«ir Twin Thicket Kin
and within ten* than a half mile of
where the terrible crime was com
mitted The name of Mrs. Norrit»'
awtaiUm wa* Hteve Davis a you ax
South Te\a« ne*ro. who had been at
work in thr Howard community sdnce
last October He «hopped cotton five
day» last aprinx for Mi Norrt* and
then went to Maioney where he w
< ttred employment on the Maioney
farm He wan makinx that place
hi· home when he rame to Howard
and made the ftendlah aswauh on
Mr» Norrs* The huminx of l>»vt*
took place last night a few minut··»
p*«t S o'clock after he had lw»n ful
ly identified by hi« victim and after
be had made λ ««tuplete 'onfemtlon
of hi» xullt He ro&featwd to every·
thine that he Had been accueeii of
with th·- exieptioe >»f crimtnalh :»*·
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
♦ The l.euder Sniil the (·χΙΙι<Ήη||
♦ Wiw \«»« a M«d>, hut a Oiillo
♦ niunly (talht-rini; of Hit* foun
♦ « y CHI/fii< Who IMk-vi-rt in th»·
♦ <»f Their Vo
φ M oh spirit There.
smiltlng Mr» Ν or rte. This he dp
nied to the last. 1 η the (statement
that he marie to the citizen* who had
him in charité he *aid that it w t«
his intention to rnvitth Mrs. Norrie
when he went to her home, hut after
beating her up he not wared and ran
away He clatimKl that he went from
ι the Norrie home back to Maloney
J and remained there unfit tie was tak
! en in custody veaterda^ morning hy
two or three ritlïen* of the Howard
community He met hi* fat** un
flinching!} and a« the angry flame*
reached higher and higher and as
they Itegan to «tinge hu feet and
lower limbe and finally to envelop
hl« entire hodv he never groaned but
j one time He never *(>oke after be
ing bound to the stake for the terri
hie execution which awaited him
The whole affair «au> conducted
quietly and in order and not a «hot
j wbh fired during all the time the
preparation» for tb·- e*e« u ι loti «ere
being made and while it v*« in pro
*re<w
ΤΙ»·· Utr>M Iif llntii.
Vftsr ih* riwftfo Tom Wiley. who
*** arr«*»:«*<l at Hiontnine Or*»**·
WtdiMMliy moraine proved that ht»
ha4 no rorin··· item «htttvfi with tte·
ItrrfW» οτιπ>«» eoamtti«<l upon Mrs
.Norrl», th»1 officer· ami rlltefOl· were
atuHwi at m#h With only <1 metier
ei**w to work an it «Mined that the
rkum for brioKtme h*r abattant
to » I·"1 tlMfMl) '■»!· W1 \1H«*Î
«•nth κν«»Γ) effort pomtfbi*- bed b*«»u
mad·· to ipprrbeod th·· guilty party
■ and bring him to a speedy (rial. How
ever, Sheriff Minntck continued hit
hunt for the negro without relaxa
tion. and ihe citizens of Howard wen
equally as determined to rnn th«
rapist to earth and mete out to hln
the puolehment he so justly deserv
ed. The negro Steve Davie had beer
tinder surveillance a day or two anc
! r.t an early hour yesterday uiornin;
I ir was learned that he Intended leav
ing Maloney. Two or three citizen!
of the Howard community went tc
the negro's home and took him ir.
charge. He was taken to a grove
near the Norris home and kept undei
strong guard all day When first tak
en in custodv (he negro was suller
and refused to talk or to give an>
account of his movements during th«
last few days. Earl} in the after·
! noon he made a partial confession oi
ihe crime, but immediately retracted
I his statements saying that he was
mistaken The men who had Davit
in charge were in possession of othei
facts which led them to believe that
yt last the fiend who had so brutally
assaulted Mrs. Norris had been ap
prehended It soon became known
in the community that another negro
whs In custody and with one accord
the citizens of the immediate neigh
borhood quit their work and began
assembling where the negro was
under guard. Those who hail the
negro in charge held a consultation
in the grove and decided that It
would be advisable to have a physi
cian see Mrs. Norris before taking
Davie in her presence. This precau
tion deemed expedient in antici
pation of her identifying the negro
as her assailant. Mrs Norris had
been nervous all day and was almost
prostrated from the terrible ordeal
through which she had passed and
it was thought best that a physician
should be present when Davis was
taken before her A courier was at
once dispatched for a physician and
about t o'clock in the afternoon Drs.
Jenkins and Jenkins responded to
the nil.
I !.. Negro lili'WiriHl.
After the doctor* toad examined
Mr N'orrts puis*· «rid administered
a stimulating opiate a meMenger
wa* sent to notify the iKwse to bring
Davis» befor her Quaking with fear
and almost «peechle** tb»· negro was
>ondui'l*d into the prtMHOe of Mrs.
Norrt* by a guard of men ail of whom
«ere well armed. I1 pou sight of the
WKro Mrn Norri* without hesitation
or reservation said that he wan th<*
right man. She begged them to take
hint away and never j«*t her see him
again Mrs Norriu became very much
agitated and her pulse heats im-rea*
ed from S® to 1 "" Stimulants were
administered and »he »·»* soon rest
tug quietly again.
ry •»|irvit«l of t!i·· \< n>
At 4 o'clock yesterdax afternoon
information rearhed the Light office
that Davi» had made a partial con
fe«sion. but had retracted At 'hat
time he had not been ween by Mr
Xorrls, but the l.ight was told hat
there was every reaaon lo belle»»·
that he wan the guilty party and that
messages were being sent all o\er
he ronntrv for men to arm then
M*lvee and come to Howard in prest
ation for a lynching The new* trav
eled like wild fire and In a short
while the entire community wax
,1 rouaed The reporter for the Light
left Wa>«hm hlf in a bttgg> for 11»*
■ird arriving al the -.en»· of the
trouble thirt> minutes after five
o'rlotk When Howard wan reai bed
'he linle town «hi apparently de*er :
ed. Oniv two tn three men wet··
•een and lhe> w«:e looking aft»
their More* Soon ifter pt.^ ng Hu*
ard the rejioi'ei met two men titling
their horse* at full speed He -to|i
l>e<i 'heiu !onc enough to learn that
the negro* idenlitv had been fttIiν
entabllshed .iad that hi* ·*tecetloe
had l«ee»i *<«( for «tindown The re
porter waa told that 'he negro *»·■
under guard at an old dex-ited ten
ant house about a half mile thin aide
of the M'ftir of ihe " ritn· and that
here the cm* tl wax naeembllng The
old huuw waa situated J*i*> ln«lde
a ft«-id and near the .-ri"Hittii of <«o
pttbllt ruilt*
Sim»·· '41 tin 4·|ΚΜΙΜ|
When the r«(M»rier dro». tu ,sh'
«►f the old ho<iar m here l h» tw-tro wax
confuted a crowd «»f probe bl> fonr or
f!»e hundred a a· · <>ugr»*Mted
around the building I h·· rond* for
womv distance «ere ulntMat b(o> ked
a>ltb irhtrlni of ever» daaerlplMM and
honn were lied In .iltnoal ever*
Iter» (mat rtke I rn»'l i|t|)Mitril lo
I» quiet and orderly .tad no ne» w»iii
ed Ιβ |i* induit etrlted Tile fate
of I he n«(to had l»n .Jeiennlned
upon ana all «era pal ten'ίι and aim
1} waft lag for t It· hum of rtmutM
i faari »ht> had evldaatlv t*»n ··■
, I
'■'■••d a 'he ilonrcat «.» ' h ■ "
Μ<· ailed 'r> · h» . "f
«va» *ad i»l«l for mm»· orne te t-ig
ce*' a n e·» far 'ha · %«·« tii· m
ΪΙβΛϊ· Irtortr*! *»y \
• <nd Kf«» Km ■*»<!
<tt* "tk* Uni* h*» tkMM MN
Ί%<Μ fee lb* It»»I wmmw Ml lt.i«
>r«c]< affalt ν pt»·· rt»r <1·· ne fe«
Wk h·· «4M <«M tl»I i agr·™'·! *1·°·
\Vh*r» ·Η*<Ι it ink*' pi*< »
·«***»»*§ maw** «*rr ·'· 1
'«h»« ·«»'· «Id «hat m <%*t<:v*a*cti *
*feo?- iltMaar* hwiIi af il·· Korrt»
htinv «imiM tM> >n i-uollriîi lotmtto*
far »*»» tmrwM*. ΜΜΡΜΜχβ
ilii H i»a· din* ι· * KMMtuw )·><
«' ·χ—ι» Ik* r>*»1 f"itn « ftt-r»· ' *«rr«
w** Iiaé»r T%m m&mk*r a*fc
all »h« ww*· m faro* at ih*
mimée* ?® koM ip iMr itcfii hmwi*
it looked like every hand In the
ι crowd went upward and hats were
waved in the air amid yells from
hundreds of throats.
"Is there a crowbar in this com
munity?" asked the leader.
"A thousand of them." yelled the
crowd in unison.
"Bring them nere and get some
chains," replied the leader.
There was a hurrying of men in
every direction and almost as if by
magic β half dozen or more crowbars
were produced. The chains were al
so forthcoming.
Hnnr for Kï^rotlon M.
Soon after the negro's identity had
been established the hour for his exe
cution was set for sundown Later
it was suggested that inasmuch as
several citizens of the community
were still out on the hunt that the
hour be postponed to give them an
opportunity to reach the scene and
witness the affair. Some one moved
that the hour be changed to 8 o'clock.
"All who are in favor of the work
Iteing postponed until S o'clock will
please hold up their hands," called
the leader from the doorway of the
building
Again there was a unanimous vote
in the affirmative amid the cheers
of the crowd.
"Now. gentlemen," said the leader,
"we have no time to lose. The pre
parations for the last act will now
be commenced and le' everything be
done in perfect order."
.Men at once proceeded to carry out
the instructions of the leader. Crow -
bars were taken to the meadow just
across the road and placed upright
in the ground To these it was in
tended to bind the negro with chains.
The Wgro Wanted to Pray.
While one crowd was making ar
rangements for the execution an
other had the negro in charge. He
was escorted to the place selecteo
for the last scenes. Standing in the
center of a circle of almost a solid
cordon of stalwart and determined;
citizens the nes;ro asked for permis
sion to pray. Thp leader made known j
the negro's desire and hundreds of j
voices united in giving assent to his]
rwjuesT. "Everybody be quiet and
give ι he negro a time to pray, came
from some one in the crowd The
negro then knelt down between his I
guards and for five or ten minutes !
was engaged in silent prayer. "Pray i
out loud." called a voice, "i^t him I
pray silently if he wants to," came
front another part of the crowd Af
the conclusion of his prayer the negro
was allowed to recline on the «crass
while waiting for the preparations J
for his doom to be completed.
IjoratiiHi for ItumiriK ChangHl.
While preparations for the execti
tion «ere In progress it was announc
ed that the man who had charge of
the meadow was only a renter, and
that it was hi» wish that the location
he moved. In deference to his wishes
if wax decided to return across the
road and arrange the funeral pyre
in the corner of an old field. Here
surrounded hy more than three thous
and people with a few guns g'isten
Ιηκ in the moonlight the nemo went
>iuflin< hlngly to his death.
The I'reparat ton» Deliberate.
After a finai decision upon a loca
tion had i*»en made deliberate prepar
j étions began for the *wift aud speed*
punishment of the negro Young
ί ruen and old men. men who had years
• wo fought under the Star» and Hars.
{a» well as those w ho fought under
iihe Htars and Stripes, were determ
ined to mete out justice to the vile
culprit who had violated the -.anctl·
tv of a home There was no thought
that the milltar> would interfere
There was no feai of special trains
from Dallas. Waco .itid other itolnta
I hearing the uniformed guardians of
I the pearv of the country Had the ν
tome. It would have Iteen all the
After He Had Been Fully Iden
tified by His Victim He
M&de Complete Confes
sion of His Guilt and
Deserved to Die
I
♦ Tin· \cgro Said He Was Ilt'a<1y
♦ »o ISe Hangt-d or ίο Ι$«· Burned
♦ and «hat He Was (ioing to Heav
| ♦ en. He Said That His I at»·
■ ♦ Should 15»* a Warning to tin*
!♦ Members if His Race.
same. The people of thai enterpris
ing and thrifty section of Ellis county
were aroused and no power on earth
could have prevented or stayed the
execution of Steve Davis. There was
no disorder of any character in the
crowd. Those who had the matter
In charge worked quietly and de
terminedly in making the final prep
arations for the burning. Two large
iron pipes, each probably ten feet
j long, were secured and were placed ,
I uprightly and driven deep in the J
! ground. There was just space enough
between them for a human body j
At the top they were connected by j
chains and wires which were made I
fast and secured. A small barri j
which had been discarded was torn !
down and from the debris the funer- I
al pyre was built. .Men went to work I
with axes and in less time than it j
takes to w rite it. the lumber of this j
oid building had been cut into thous- j
ands of pieces Other men began the
task of piling the kindling around .
the stake and in a few minutes an- '
nouncement was made that every- j
thing was in readiness.
Vgro Talk* to the Crowd.
While the final preparations were
being made the negro was kept under
guard in the meadow V few minutes
before the hour for his execution he
said that he wanted to make a state
ment. Strongly guarded be stood
on a spring seat on a wagon and ad
dressed the crowd. Calmly and .seem
ingly not disturbed over his fast ap
proaching fate he gave a detailed ac- :
count of his movements leading up
to the commission of his diabolical !
crime. He said he reac hed the Nor- (
ris hooic about. 1:30 Monday after
noon He did not know Mr Norris t
was away from home He approach
ed the house from a ravine which he
used a> a shelter, and wph' around
to the back door Enteritis the house
he found Mrs. Norris sitting on the
side of th»* bed and with a well di
rected blow struck her on ι in- side
of the head with his fist Me then
administered several heavv Sows !n
the woman's face He said he Then
got seated and ran awa* . and that he,
was not gu lt> of < rimmalh assault
ing the woman He admi"ed thai
it wus his Intention to an- · Mi
Norris when he went to he hous·
He said he first thought ·ί "he crime
a week before he attempted to eve
cute it In describing the In-.taî a
sault upon Mrs Norn- he - in■riej
to choaking her and î^tîïîiï··; lier
tongue out with his ban * \s he
cool I > and deliberated detued his
crime the blood of hi >'i* u -■·■■■ ''an
cold, and 'here weie r.iurniurs
throueh the crowd that the u«· d<
termlned for the negro wa» '·,·■ too
severe
Wantitl t«> "w» lb
When it had t>t*en de< i ι-I <- the
crowd to postpone rhe burning of the
negro he expressed a des:r» to μη»
a brother and *t*ter who he «»ld II*
ed at Palmer Kver> |iowil>l·' effort
vu made το reach them hj telephone
hut they could ·ould not he found
In the mean time telephone me-utag*» i
were going all iw»r the count r*. car
rying the Information 'hat 'he ae
tnilani of Mr* Norm ha»! *» la»*
been run to earth and that he would .
he burned at ■> o'elork
t Ί"*ιΙ Iti γι·λ»μ1 flapMt!}
When th«* reporter r**th»«l the.
h>"i«e where 'he negro *u ■·«!>»—d
the crowd dtd not atimiwr more than
four or five hundred, twine <u»pnw-,
ni f oid ipe· · in* men u ι t»> «
Tfie (telI telephone people ditteg the
afternoon taatali*d a telephone it ·h»
old taMee and after the negro had (
Iwr Identified 'hi* phot»· va* Wept
bne> Mhxu·· were »nt Ό all the
nent t»» town* baetle>» «nd Ullage·
Τfeerr ween petiple mi the ground
from w a «ah m hi* Rmi· It ai» and '
Mttford and th>*e npt Iftnd t hntf
friend* at ho*t?e of "he nv^imrailitMM .
he^kf read* far tie ptintabtnent of
tike rn»t— ft ten! hat the |m>
l>n-. ν intv ι * tft of I be ψλt't< tike
« fo* d ; nr ^>*4kaed in aft&e nn * * ptd i *
and w ' *■« the · wrmiat! *mek î*îa»»
It ei1 eattftftnted that mmr *h*ia tbteai
tlMMMand wen <m tbe grt*nn4 Alt
tine 'ftwb ne κ 1 itnauf h * «h * 'le* )
N« gw «τΗΐ to
Η<Μτιη after t he ra0flVQMf"n axtltvl i
! oft 'le efwaed be for ;<efW)n
«»n te i*»er*fe* the η·*?*» * trmii
cMii h ad île nnar*> tn ι haine >>β tfc*
i uwtli - )de <t 'be old mna«
'lire# ;Λ Λ repwr*» t,* ulri one of
s t .*>' t *1 ι « te * »· ..«■
t 'be "·.■ m tb>v η .ni
When (he Fact Had Been Estab
lished Beyond all Reasonable
Doubt that Mrs. S. P. Norris'
Assailant Had at Last Been
Run to Earth His Fate Was
Soon Determined. It Was
Agreed tnat He Be Burned
and Preparations for Carry
ing this Plan Into Effect
Were at Once Commenced by
Willing Hands. All Details
Were Carefully Arranged.
get through the crowd." At this
command the-crowd opened a way
and the reporter found himself face
to face with a negro who knew that
within less than two hours his body
would be a smouldering heap of
ashes. The negro appeared to be
perfectly collected and answered the
reporter's questions without the
slightest hesitation. _ j,\ heu asked as
to his age he said twen
ty-one years old aii0 msT^al^as born
at Navaaota. Hi« pa rents, W saTa
were dead, and that he had one
brother and five sixers, some of
whom lived near Palmer He said
that he came from Mexia to Howarii
in October. 1904, and picked cotton
there during the fall and winter. At
the close of the cotton picking sea
son he found other employment in
thai community. During the spring
he chopped cotton five days for Mr.
Norris. the husband of the woman he
so brutally assaulted lie said that,
later in the spring he went to Malon
?y and secured employment on Mr.
Maloney's farm, where he was mak
ing his home at the time of the com
mission of the crime
"Where were you last Sunday and
Sunday night "" asked 'h»· reporter.
Continued on Page
Good Things to Eat j
You are ai way» «.tire· of th«* b«' a th«> m:«> ►.»*! · *h« > >u ♦
ι ΊΐΜ to thia aUtr*. χ
These for Saturday:—Celery. Let- %
tuce. Tomatck'S, Beans. Sweet Potatoes ♦
Cabbage. Green Peppers Black Prince I
ijr ιρ· >, i\>kav'irapes, Peaches. Pear Plums ♦
J. B. HINES I
Telephone No. J. 110 Ko^ers Street £
An order from this store will convince you
that we ire giving you better goods tor your
money than vou can net elsewhere. Our ser
vice is tirst-class and we can ^how vou bet
ter than we ;ιη tell you
J. P. WAKELAND,
llrortrm >nd Knxh Meet* Hoth PNno··
Canned Goods
It's the vjualifc- of the
noods inside the can that
tells when once they net
into the kitchen and up
to the cook. Try the
brands we handle. The ν
have the quality. ....
R. J. 'Joe! MOORE<SON
CA&M SAi.fc
Yn« «·· h**'# ι h·** C.«ff tmtrrhM· »<U m m a uft »<m*. *m U njan·
ilrai "«* «ibM fmitwaM *· kwy ■» It <· u v««t
iMr'wl ma MM <«» '*0 mvmy 9» «Ék»" *» *MM* Wr tifc< tfinMlk»
•w d*T| stnérr n* mètMi «Β «» M|r frtun «ι
peettw* . .
ONK PRICK f» AU IK-"'» m· .· <« Uit «· j»»if dmiMim .n«M
■« "I, two, M tk* <mk U> («·>. Λ *«nl to th* «to κ Mâktrat
• *11 tmt'y tf >■**» «ui tfc· ♦*·« .
I Y. B. Early Grocery Co
* North west Corner Square, Both Phones No. 70
Sundry
School Sup«
plies Here
As usual, we expect to
mike this headquarter*»
tor .ill kinvl"» of school
net»vis thi*· year. School
only date* IJ davs iht uî.
We «t* ready with il! the
books. tablets, pencils,
sehoot baskets, school
bags, pencil boxes nd
such things as you net*d
at school·
HERRING
DRUG COMPANY
00
TaRes Choice
ο f
any
Straw Hat
in the house
33 1-3
Per Cent Discount
on all
Summer Suits
and Odd Pants
Why not tike idvantage
of this? You have time
enough to wear α -utt
vet. then you have one
to start the ^ρτιηκ season
next Vf»
I Matthews Bros
Γ* '-r -fnith Clothiers
"McManus"
For
Buggies
jI cwflrse