Abstracts from <I>The Weekly Empire</I>, pub. Peirce City, Mo., September 1901

The Weekly Empire, September 1901
published Thursdays Pierce City, Mo.
Alex. T. Boothe, Editor and Proprietor

[Most articles are reprinted from the Daily Empire;
day of original publication in the Daily is not always noted in the Weekly.]

Weekly Empire; Thursday 5 Sep 1901; Page 2

Mr. J. K. SAUNDERS arrived home this morning from his two weeks stay in Oklahoma City after the negro, FAVORS. As we stated in the Empire, he landed his prisoner in the Kansas City jail yesterday, but the job was a hard one, as there are lots of negroes in Oklahoma, and they made a determined effort to get Favors from the hands of the law. We understand Favors has had his mustache shaved off, but not having seen Mr. Saunders we cannot say for certain.

The Joe LARK habeas corpus case came up before Judge NEVILLE this morning. Prosecuting Attorney MCPHERSON of Lawrence county appeared for the state and W. G. ROBERTSON represented the defendant. Owing to the street fair neither side was anxious to go into evidence of the case and Mr. Robertson agreed to let the matter go over till Wednesday, September 10, and substitute a preliminary trial for the habeas corpus proceedings. He said he would take his client to Mt. Vernon on that date and let the state attempt to show that Joe Lark had a part in the murder of Miss Gazella WILD. He was not willing to have the trial at Pierce City. The state accepted this offer and the case went over till Wednesday week. --Leader-Democrat.

Weekly Empire; Thursday 5 Sep 1901; Page 3

From Thursday’s Daily

Lee WEYGRANT and wife departed this morning for Colorado.

[Advertisements for LECOMPTE & LOCKART]

Attorney Tom WHITNEY, of Aurora, was in the city attending to some legal business today.

Miss Florence FRENCH, of Sarcoxie, came in last night to visit her brother, Joe French and family.

Mrs. Fritz KREYER returned last night from Independence, Kansas, where she had been visiting her husband.

[Advertisement for Wm. BUCHNER & Son]

Mrs. HERMAN, mother of Mr. A. M. Herman, who used to reside here, died at Newtonia yesterday and was buried today. She was 86 years of age.

Rev. J. S. JOHNSON went to Verona this morning to preach the funeral of Mrs. ROBINSON, wife of the editor of the Verona Advocate, who died there yesterday.

John REARDON, a Joplin young man, became enamored of a Carthage young lady, and because she would not reciprocate, he procured a revolver and shot himself in the head Tuesday. He just barely escaped the fool-killer.

[Announcement of county convention of Christian churches. -- Dr. C. E. BROWN]

The Galena times contributes the following:
“As the Peirce City man oiled his old shotgun,
He hummed with a ghoulish glee
The strains of his grand old battle hymn
All coons look alike to me.”

Mr. and Mrs. Geo. FLOWERS returned last night from their visit to Mr. and Mrs. R. P. McREYNOLDS at Sabine, Texas.

From Friday’s Daily

We take it all back. There are ten passenger trains passing through this city daily.

Miss Renna FALK, of St. Louis, is visiting her grandfather, Mr. Jos. NEWMAN, and family.

Miss Maud MORRIS departed last night for Cincinnati, Ohio, where she will visit relatives for some time.

Miss Maud GILLEN departed last night for St. Louis, where she will get the latest styles in millinery for “The Racket.”

Mr. R. H. EDWARDS shipped his first carload of apples to Sioux Falls, S. D., yesterday.

Robert ABERNATHY was in today from Purdy and stated he would leave next week for Columbia to attend the State University the coming winter.

Mr. Chas. WEIR, who lived south of Stotts City two miles, was kicked by a mule last Monday, and died from his injuries Thursday at 4 p.m. The funeral took place today.

The excursion to Baxter Springs this morning carried from this city to the reunion Messrs J. B. JONES and wife, C. A FISHER, C. W. GILLEN, M. P. GLASSFORD, R. C. SHOEMAKER, Sam STALER, Wm. BUCHNER and Maj. McKINNEY.

Mr. Curt LEWIS and family arrived from El Reno, Ok., last night, and may again become citizens of this vicinity.

Mr. J. B. BARBER and Mrs. Mary E. MORGAN, of this city, were married at the Mt. Vernon hotel, in Mt. Vernon, August 26^th, Rev. John H. BRIGHT, officiating. Mr. Barber and his bride returned to their home in this city last night, and will soon go to Joplin to live, where Misses Bertha and Persis Barber are employed as teachers in the public schools.

Mr. Arch McCONNELL and Miss Minnie VANCE were married at the Congregational parsonage last night by the pastor, Rev. J. E. PERSHING. Only a few friends of the family were present. After the ceremony the bride and groom and friends repaired to the home of Mr. J. A. McCONNELL, where an excellent supper was partaken of. The newly wedded couple will room with Mrs. LANDRUM for a while.

This morning’s dispatches tell of another crime committed by a negro near a little town called Columbus, in Johnson county. He had been treated as a trusty for ten years on a farm, but when the opportunity offered he assaulted a young woman, shot her in the head, and then fled. When they catch him there will probably be a fire.

From Thursday's Daily
PEIRCE CITY’S SIDE OF THE STORY
..That there are two sides to every story every reasonable grants. The country at large already has one side of the story of the terrible events that began with the murder of Miss Gazella WILD by a negro at high noon, Sunday, August 18, 1901, and ending with the hanging of Will GODLEY, and the shooting of Pete HAMPTON and French GODLEY and the burning of five negro dwellings and the expulsion of the colored population of Peirce City from the town. No one denies these facts. But owing to the fact that the outside world has bitterly criticized and anathemized [sic] the citizens of Peirce City and surrounding community, holding them responsible for the treatment to the negroes and severely and unjustly blaming them, they, the citizens of Peirce City send out this statement which may be depended upon as containing the exact truth in the matter and withholding nothing. All that is asked of the world is that judgment be suspended until all the facts are known.
THE FACTS OF THE CRIME
..Sunday morning, August 18, 1901, Miss Gazella WILD, a highly popular and respected young lady, the daughter of well and favorably known parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard WILD, whose home is one and one-half miles west of Peirce City, close to the Frisco railroad, attended Sabbath school and church at Peirce City, as was her custom. On her way home she was waylaid and murdered, her throat being cut from ear to ear, at a distance of not more than one-half mile from town and in plain view of several homes of respectable white people.
..Remember this hellish crime was committed at high noon and on the Sabbath day. Her brother who had stopped a moment to talk with some young friends and had started to over take his sister found her yet quivering body lying beneath the railroad track in an open culvert, not more than 10 minutes after the murder. The alarm was given by ringing the city fire bell, and in half an hour posses were scouring the country for the perpetrators of the dastardly crime. Excitement ran high and increased in violence when the facts connected with the murder became apparent. It was soon made evident that a negro had committed the crime and that rape was the object. Bloodhounds were brought from a neighboring city and put upon the trail and they led directly to the house of a negro, Joe LARK. By this time the news had spread over the entire country and people began to pour into the town from all sides and neighboring towns.
THE ARREST OF WILL GODLEY AND THE SUBSEQUENT LYNCHING OF HIM.
..In the meantime the authorities had arrested two negroes, Will GODLEY and Eugene CARTER (or BARRETT). While excitement was at its highest, two thoroughly respectable young ladies told the officers and others that some time previous perhaps a month or two this same Will Godley had stopped them one Sunday evening while on their way home from choir practice and had attempted to outrage them, only desisting when other parties also on their way home from church drew near.
..The fact that this attempted assault had been made was well known by the citizens and that it was a colored man that made it was also well known. The young ladies said that Godley threatened them with death if they informed on him. Hence, their silence as to who the man was. However, when they at last told the people that it was Godley, and coming at this time when excitement was already at fever heat, and in addition to this, that Will Godley had already served a term in the state prison for assaulting an old lady, Mrs. FILO, the anger of the people knew no bounds. Godley was taken from the jail and hung, after an opportunity had been given him to confess or declare his innocence. Young Carter with a rope around his neck was made to tell what he knew about the murder of Miss Wild. His confession corroborated the hounds. He said that Lark and another negro named Favors, were the ones that did the deed. Carter was then led back to the city lockup and is now in the county jail at Mt. Vernon.
THE KILLING OF PETE HAMPTON, FRENCH GODLEY AND THE BURNING OF THE NEGRO DWELLINGS
..After the lynching of Godley, there were cries for Pete Hampton. This Hampton was a thoroughly bad man. He had already cost the county a large [illegible], was believed by many to have been the slayer of night watchman Chappell several months ago, and was feared by all, both white and black. A committee was sent by the “mob” after it had lynched Godley, to tell Hampton to vacate the town and under pain of death never again to set foot within Peirce City. He assumed the attitude of the desperado that he was, reviled the messengers, and, first began hostilities by firing on the people, wounding four white men. The result was disastrous to him and the negroes of Peirce city. The “mob” returned the fire, killing Hampton and French Godley at the first volley. Then followed the burning of the negro dwellings. The houses burned were the accustomed harbors for the negro toughs of Peirce city. This is the reason for the “mob’s” action. There were no women or children shot at, neither was any of them harmed bodily. It will be seen that up to this time there was no thought of driving the negroes from the city.
THE EXPULSION OF THE NEGROES FROM THE TOWN
..There is no city in the great state of Missouri that has treated its negro population with higher consideration than Peirce City.
..They were provided with first class educational facilities. They had two churches that were generously supported by the best white people in town. They were given abundant opportunity to be industrious, and many of them were. There was no general ill-feeling against them. Though it was widely suspicion that nearly all the crimes committed in Peirce City, were perpetrated by negroes, it could not be fastened upon them because of the impossibility to get a negro to testify against another negro. Dispite [sic] faithful effort almost always an alibi would be proven. The most law abiding and really good and acceptable Negroes, have since acknowledged that these statements were true. One of them said, “That under the circumstance he could find no fault with the way the people had done.” For these and similar reasons the colored population were warned to leave Peirce City and never come back. The warning was heeded.
THE RESPONSIBILITY
..It would be the act of a coward to shirk responsibility or try to shift it upon other shoulders than those to whom it rightly belongs. Peirce City must and will assume responsibility.
..Bernard Wild is a farmer. His farmer friends came to avenge the crime by the hundreds. Many people from neighboring towns were here to assist. It is safe to say that a larger number of people from outside the city limits were among the mob than from within so widespread was the excitement and the exasperation. The local police force were helpless. What was done was done by a force that nothing on the ground could stop.
..The outside world may shudder and be horrified at the events that have happened at Peirce City within the past few days. They were awful. But the citizens here are infinitely more so. They expect to be criticized, and yet one will travel far and wide before he will find a more highly civilized and intelligent people than at Peirce City. Out of the horror of it all they pray that no other community may be compelled to pass through what we have.
THE LOCAL OFFICERS
..Too much credit cannot be given the local officers of the town for their efforts to quell the riot if such it was, but it was like a cyclone, it burst so suddenly and was so fierce no power could resist it.
..--Citizens Committee

Thursday 5 September 1901; Page 8

Aurora now gets into the game with a negro story. We are going to give it the way we get it. There appears to be only three or four colored people in Aurora, but one of them last night got a white girl in a stable and her screams attracted the attention of some passers, who immediately raided the place, where they captured the negro. Our informant said he did not know any more of the circumstances except there was “intense” excitement, and there would probably be an exodus of the colored population from Aurora.

Thursday 19 September 1901; Page 3

The Monett Times says that Willis DEHONEY, the only Negro resident of Barry county, who lived in Capps creek township has sold his farm and moved to Wichita, Kansas. It was Mr. Dehoney who informed on Ed CLUM when he killed a Mr. WHITE and Ellen BOWE near Peirce City several years ago. This leaves Barry county without a colored resident -- Cassville Republican.

Several colored families from near Jolly, 22 persons in all, passed through Neosho on Monday in several wagons, on their way to Oklahoma, where they will locate. They were engaged in farming, and were well satisfied where they were, but received a “request” from a number of white citizens of that part of the country to vacate, decided that discretion was the better part of valor, sold their property at a sacrifice and started out to hunt another home. At least this is the story they told to a number of the Neosho brothern. -- Neosho M & M.

Thursday 26 September 1901; Page 3

The population was increased one for a few minutes this morning, and decreased one in less time. A negro got off the Oklahoma train and sauntered around town a few minutes, until some small boys spied him and began to yell “Get a rope.” The negro took the hint at once and struck the railroad track and went towards Ritchey as fast as he could without flying. The train had just reached the switch at the lower end of the yards, and it is possible he may have caught it. But the way he did run was a caution.

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