Negro’s Body Full of Lead

• Cleveland Hardin

LYNCHERS FILL NEGRO’S BODY FULL OF LEAd. Thousand Shots Are Fired At Cleveland Hardin Near Florence Ala. IS FIRST TAKEN TO INTENDED VICTIM. Woman Faints at Sight of the Culprit But Rallies and Identifies Him. FULL CONFESSION FOLLOWS. Doomed Man Then Marches Stolidly to His Fate-Corpse Left Tied to Execution Post. FLORENCE Ala March 24-(Special) At 4 o’clock this afternoon a crowd estimated at between 200 and 300 dealt summary justice to the negro Cleveland Hardin who attempted to outrage Mrs. B. F. Rice Friday The negro was captured a mile below Florence on the Tennessee River bank at 2 o’clock sitting under a walnut tree by half a dozen men out for a stroll He did not deny his identity and offered no resistance.His captors started at once for the Rice home. with incredible rapidity the news spread and before they got two miles from town, the crowd had crown to 150. When the negro was brought before her, Mrs. Rice fainted and was revived with difficulty. Asked what should be done with the Negro, she told them to do anything they wanted and fainted again. The negro was perfectly stolid, and beyond confessing his guilt, never opened his mouth from the time of his capture. He was made to walk all the way from Florence. A large part of the crowd was for burning him, but the husband of Mrs. Rice said shoot him. He was taken a mile from the rice home, tied to a tree with his arms up and the crowd stood back while Mr. Rice, with a 44 Winchester rifle, fired the first shot. This was instantly followed by a fusillade, every man in the crowd emptying his pistol. It is estimated that a thousand bullets were fired into his body. The mob was orderly and no attempt was made to conceal anyone’s identity. The body was left tied to the tree. The Sheriff overtook the crowd on the road and tried to persuade them to surrender th regro but they refused to do so.

“Lynchers Fill Negro’s Body Full of Lead.” The Tennessean (Nashville, TN), March 25, 1907.