Typed as spelled and written
Lena Stone Criswell
THE MARLIN DEMOCRAT
Thirteenth Year - Number (Missing)
Marlin, Texas, Thursday, May 29, 1902
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(Missing)
HIS FATE.
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This Was the Punishment That Was
Given Dud Morgan.
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He Was Identified by Lady.
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The Excited Men Took the Negro Into a
Fields and Before Hundreds of Per-
sons He was Cremated.
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Hallville, Tex., May 24.--Anvils were fired Thursday to notify the people
surrounding that Dud Morgan, who assaulted Mrs. McKee, had been captured.
The train arrived at Hallville at 11:20 with the negro aborad under heavy guard.
He was taken to Lansing at once. At least a thousand people were on the
ground waiting for his arrival and the crowd was infuriated. When the
negro was taken off the train the crowd had to be held back by the greatest
effort, so he could be taken before Mrs. McKee to be identified. He had
stoically maintained his innocence all the way, while admitting that his name
was Dudley Morgan and that he had been at Lansing switch Friday evening.
When taken before Mrs. McKee she identified him as being her assilant and three
of the negro section hands fully identified him as being the negro wanted.
Mrs. McKee and four other ladies were present in a carriage, and many others
attended the burning.
At this juncture Morgan broke down and
confessed and implicated a notorious negro of this place as being his
accomplice. The crowd was becoming very impatient and at 2:15 he was taken
from the section house, Sheriff Munden and his deputies being overpowered, and
to an old field about 400 yards south of where the crime was committed a
railroad rail had been placed in the ground preparatory to burning him.
He was chained to the post and fence rails piled around him. He signified
his desire to make a statement, and as the torch was being applied he said:
"Tell my wife goodbye and tell her how I
went. Tell her I am guilty of the charge, and it all occurred on account
of -------- ---------(blanks here). He persuaded me to do it and said hw ould do
the same thing to the same lady. We planned it at the sectionhouse (sic)
before Saturday morning."
He stopped talking, as the flames were
beginning to eat at his clothing. The torch was applied at 12:25 and he
lived twenty-five minutes. After the burning his bones were torn out in
pieces by the crowd as relics, as was also every strip of his clothing.
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Copyright permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for printing
by The Democrat, Marlin, Falls Co., Texas
