Negro Lynched in Alabama

• Cleveland Hardin

NEGRO LYNCHED IN ALABAMA. Mob Fired About 1,000 Bullets Into His Body Florence, Ala., March 24.– Clevelad Harding, a negro, who attempted to assault Mrs. Ben. F. Rice near here, Friday, and who was driven off by Mrs. Rice’s shepherd dog, was lynched today by a mob of two hundred or three hundred persons. After being tied to a tree with his arms up, the negro was riddled with bullets. The first shot, it is said, was fired by Rice, following which every man in the crowd emptied his revolver into the prisoner’s body. Over a thousand shots were fired. The negro was captured roday near town, and was taken before Mrs. Rice, who fainted at sight of him. Upon recovering she fully identified him. On being asked what should be done with him, she told the negro’s captors to do what they thought best. Harding was taken a short distance from the Rice home, where a conference of the mob leaders was held. Some favored burning him, but shooting was decided upon. Beyond confessing his guilt, the negro had nothing to say, and was seemed indifferent to his fate. His body was left tied to the tree by the mob, of which made no attempt to shield their identity. The sheriff overtook the crowd before the lynching, but his appeals were unavailing.

“Negro Lynched in Alabama.” The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), March 25, 1907.