Another stranger was close behind. He drew a revolver and shot out the electric light bulbs one by one. In the darkness occasional shots were fired by both sides. It is known that several persons were slightly wounded, but they have succeeded in concealing their identity.
The steel door could not long withstand the determined blows of the mob, and within half an hour after the attack had begun the crowd was charging noisily into the corridor.
The leaders carried out their plans with perfect coolness. Calling Chief Black and Warden Meserve to one side, they told the officials resistance would avail nothing, and that it would save expense and trouble if the warden would tell them in which cell White was imprisoned.
Slayer Was in Cell No. 13
The Warden told them White could be found in cell No. 13, in the front row of cells on the third floor. The mob charged up the stairways to the iron door, which opened into a corridor. On both sides of these corridors were cells in which White and other prisoners were locked. The lynching party had provided cold chisels and sledges, and a few men went to work systematically to remove the rivet heads and open the way to the inner cells.
The crowd at their back became impatient and crushed forward in such numbers that the work was delayed. The leaders appealed to the others to fall back.
Twenty-two minutes before midnight the door was open. White was seized. He fought off his assailants, knocking the first man down, but his arms were gripped by a dozen hands and he was soon overpowered.
The crowd became almost unmanageable at the first glimpse of the negro. They sought to tear him limb from limb, but again were held back by the handful of men who directed the whole affair.
