Honey Grove Signal-Citizen (Honey Grove, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, May 23, 1930 Page: 2 of 4
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HONEY GROVE SIGNAL-CITIZEN, May 23, 1930
Forest Fortenberry Shot to Death
by Negro Last Friday Afternoon
Slayer Killed in Two-Hour Gun Battle, Following
Which the Body was Burned in This City.
One of the most deplorable in-
cidents in the history of this
usually quiet and peaceable com-
munity occurred last Friday
afternoon when Forest Forten-
berry, a well known farmer and
splendid citizen, was shot to
death on his farm about two
miles southeast of Honey Grove
by his negro tenant, Sam John-
son. The shooting took place
about 1 o’clock, when Mr. For-
tenberry, upon learning that the
negro was preparing to move
away from his farm, drove out
to see him about making a settle-
ment for money that Mr. Forten-
berry had advanced him.
Upon reaching his farm he
found Johnson, together with
his father, Ben Johnson, seated
upon a wagon, upon which
household goods had been load-
ed. Mr. Fortenberry climbed
upon the wagon to talk to John-
son, whereupon the negro took a
pistol, which he had' lying across
his knees, and drew it upon his
employer. Mr. Fortenberry at-
tempted to grab the gun, but the
negro having the drop on him
fired three shots, all of which
took effect in the body of his
victim. Tom Hennard, who also
lived on the Fortenberry place,
was close by when the shots
were fired, made an attempt to
apprehend the negro, who, in
the meantime, had climbed off
the wagon and made an attempt
to attack Hennard, who, not be-
ing armed, made his escape.
Seeing that he had probably kill-
ed Mr. Fortenberry, Johnson re-
moved’ a pistol from the scab-
bard of Mr. Fortenberry, who
held a commission as a deputy
sheriff, and made an attempt to
escape.
Mr. Hennard immediately gave
the alarm and an ambulance was
.summoned and the wounded' man
was brought to Honey Grove for
medical attention, but his
wounds were of such a nature
that he died within a short time
after arriving at the office of a
local physician. Three bullets
entered his body from the side,
all of them ranging in the vital
organs.
Posse Formed
As soon as the news of the
tragedy reached’ this city a posse
commenced forming, and many
local citizens and others from
the surrounding communities
gathered at the scene of the
shooting, and a search was be-
gun for the assailant. The sher-
iff s force at Bonham arrived as
quickly as possible, and Con-
stable Ridinger and Chief of Po-
nce Dobbs, assisted' by Sheriff
Hughes and two deputies, led
the quickly growing posse in the
search for the negro. It was at
first believed that Johnson was
hiding m the Smith grove, near
the scene where the murder oc-
curred. The thicket was thor-
oughly searched, without a trace,
and within a short time tracks
were discovered which indicated
that the negro had cut across a
field north of the grove, evi-
dently headed for the highway.
This trail was taken up across
fields and ditches, with mud and
water shoe-mouth deep. Others
oi the passe, believing the trail
to be correct, came back to the
oty and drove east in order to
cut off his escape via highwav,
ana when they arrived at what
is known as the old Walcott farm
they observed’ a negro coming
trom a shack about two hundred
yards south of the highway. The
negro was questioned and told
the forerunners of the posse
that a negro had come to the
shack and told him that he was
in trouble and not to let anyone
dead, the body was quickly j Signal-Citizen force to take care
dragged from the bullet-riddled j 0f the calls for information from
cabin and over _ the mud-soaked; 0Ut-0f-town papers and news
field to the highway, where it| d The calls continUed
Tz Lf and dragged into Hone • I ^ into the night, newspapers
ot a cai ana araggea into LLonej | everywhere making prominent
know of his whereabouts. The
negro who gave this information
lived in the house in which
Johnson sought to hide, and had
been back to his home for a tub,
which he was carrying to an-
other residence close by. With
this information, and proof posi-
tive that the slayer of Mr. For-
tenberry was about to be sur-
rounded in the cabin, the posse,
which by this time had grown to
several hundred in number, had
reached the scene, and it was not
long until action was com-
menced. The posse, led by local
officers, attempted to approach
the cabin, but were met by shots
from the negro, his message of
lead being taken to mean that he
would resist being captured, and
the answer was a volley of shots
from the officers and members
of the posse, who were armed
for action. Realizing that the
assassin had the advantage of
the posse, in that he was pro-
tected from sight, precautions
were taken by all to prevent fur-
ther bloodshed. Highpowered
rifles were requisitioned from
the city, and hundreds of rounds
of ammunition were sent from
local dealers to assist in the bat-
tle, which it was evident would
continue until the negro was
killed or surrendered because of
lack of ammunition.
Hundreds Gather to Watch Battle
In the meantime the news of
the trouble had' traveled over the
surrounding country and close-
by cities, and within a short
time hordes of people com-
menced arriving by automobile
and truck, all intent upon seeing
that just punishment was admin-
istered to the slayer. The con-
crete highway east of town was
lined on both sides with auto-
mobiles, the line extending for a
mile or more, and it is esti-
mated that 1500 people watched
the gun battle between the posse
and the negro, who had barri-
caded himself in the cabin. It
was not known how much am-
munition the negro had, but it
was known that he had two
guns, and he returned fire every
few minutes, the smoke of his
guns sending warning that he
was still fighting and' that he
would .send to their death any-
one who should attempt' to ap-
proach within pistol range of
him.
Battle Lasts for Two Hours
It would seem that the scene
of the battle was laid for the ad-
vantage of the thousand or more
spectators who quickly gathered
on the highway, and who were
just out of firing range, but yet
close enough to ,see every move
of the armed' posse and also the
lone slayer, as he repeatedly sent
hot lead from the cracks of the
shack or from the holes made in
the flimsy walls by the high-
powered shells of his pursuers.
In the meantime the local and
county officers were re-inforced
by the sheriff’s department of
Lamar county, and with the add-
ed' reinforcements and a large
amount of ammunition brought
from Honey Grove, the battle
settled down to one almost of
monotony, the muffled roar of
the guns being heard distinctly
in this city.
Determined to End Battle
About four o’clock officers di-
recting the battle determined to
rush the cabin, after the negro’s
gun had been silent for several
minutes, and with a steady vol-
ley of fire the officers and
posse quickly surrounded the
cabin, throwing open the door,
finding Johnson had been killed.
Body Dragged to Highway
Upon seeing that Johnson was
Grove, followed by hundreds of
cars. The car dragging the body
of the negro arrived on the
square by way of East Market
street, circled the square twice,
then headed out East Market
street, turning up Fourteenth
and then back, circling again
and going west out West Market
street. Returning to the square
it turned south on Fifth street
and crossed the Texas & Pacific
stories of the affair.
Floyd Gibbons, nationally
known radio announcer for the
Literary Digest, broadcast the
story within a few hours after
the affair, the news having been
carried to New York by the As-
sociated' Press and broadcast out
of that city.
Every incident, no matter how
tracks into the colored section, t icaf always has some inci-
stopping a short distance from w J
a colored church. The body was
released from the car and the
chain thrown over a low-hanging j \cu Y1
limb of a bois d’arc tree. The
huge crowd had quickly followed
the car to the scene, and within a
very short time probably 2500
people had gathered to witness
what they expected—the burn-
ing of the body. Gasoline was
quickly drawn from cars and
thrown on the mutilated body
and a match applied; the flames
quickly enveloped the body, the
scene being made more hideous
by the low-hanging clouds and
the quickly falling shadows of
night.
Crowd Quickly Disperses
Quickened by a heavy down-
pour of rain, almost before the
flames that had enveloped the
body had subsided, the mob dis-
persed as quickly as it had gath-
ered, and the city was as quiet
it possibly could' have been
as
under existing conditions. By 7
o’clock only a normal crowd was
seen on the streets, although of
course the topic of conversation
was only on the incidents of the
afternoon. Shortly after dark
scores of automobiles from sur-
rounding towns and cities com-
menced to arrive, their occu-
pants being attracted by the re-
ports of the trouble.
Crowd a Most Orderly One
The crowd that gathered dur-
ing the afternoon and which
burned the body of the negro
followng his death was perhaps
the most orderly one ever con- uot desired. None of
even border
dent which causes one momen-
tarily to forget the sad side and
let his vein of humor become evi-
While the battle was in
progress Friday afternoon, a
lone milk cow, which was peace-
fully grazing in the pasture sur-
rounding the shack in which the
fugitive had hidden, meandered
slowly and unconcerned to the
the building, giving no heed to
the volley of shots, which stop-
ped only to let the animal pass
uninjured. Having reached he>
destination, which was in front
of the window at which the fir-
ing was directed, she stopped,
and complacently chewed her
cud, as if nothing unusual were
happenng. Resting there for
several minutes, she sighted
some tender grass elsewhere and
continued to amble slowly along
until out of the range of the rain
of lead.
Newspapers over Texas and
the entire nation have given
Honey Grove much unsavory
publicity over the affair, a great
deal of which was wholly un-
founded and a part of which was
imagination on their part. It
seems that Honey Grove has
been given credit for a lynching,
when such is not a fact. Re-
ports have gained circulation
that much property was destroy-
ed here, and that the fury of the
mob continued far into the night.
Further information seems to
have gained momentum that the
colored' race in Honey Grove is
gregated, and at no time during
the afternoon or night were
they rowdy, noisy or uncontrol-
able. No attempt whatever was
made to do injury to members
of the colored race or to prop-
erty belonging to that race.
No Trouble Follows
Although the local and county
officials have been alert for any
sign of trouble, nothing has
given them the slightest indicti-
statements
truth.
on
these
the
Camouflaged Cigars.
Just because a cheeroot is
wrapped in a pretty piece of
tinfoil is no sign it’s a good
nickle cigar. In fact, they wrap
these nickle seegars in tinfoil so
you can’t tell what you are buy-
ing. The only chance one has to
! got a good five-cent smoke is to
tion of another uprising, and the jLV some new brand while it is
city has settled back to nor-
malcy. In fact by nightfall Fri-
day there were no indications cf
the event which had during the
afternoon thrown the entire
country into turmoil.
Many Sightseers Visit Scene
All day Saturday and’ Sunday
the scene of the gun battle was
visited by many men, women
and children, and on Sunday
afternoon the highway east of
town was lined with people, who,
out of curiosity, wanted to see
the shack where the only battle
of this character had ever oc-
curred in this section. The cab-
in, which was a two-room affair,
with a shed' room on the east,
was riddled with thousands of
bullet holes, it having been esti-
mated that 2000 shots were fired
into it during the two-hour bat-
tle. The furniture was also bul-
let riddled, as well as a small
cook stove, which the fugitive
had dragged into the corner and.
had attempted to hide behind.
SIDE LIGHTS
Just What You Have Been
Wanting To Hear
Young man and young woman wanted. The financial depression in
business has created a demand among the better business firms for
bright young men and women thoroughly trained in a business school.
The half-baked product does not meet the demand in times like this,
they must have the best, those thoroughly trained in a practical school
of business. We in order to meet this demand have arranged to af-
ford some relief to ambitious boys and girls who realize the import-
ance of getting this business training but have not the ready cash.
We are offering a special financial service. For full particulars, fill
in your name and address and mail to Byrne Commercial College,
either Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or Oklahoma City.
Name ------------------------£&---------------------------------
Address _
The news of the shooting of
Mr. Fortenberry spread over the
city and the entire state within
an amazingly short period of
time. Within a few minutes
after it occurred, the Signal-
Citizen learned of the affair,
and within less than ten minutes
calls commenced' pouring into
this office from outlying cities
and news agencies. The Sher-
man Democrat was the first to
call in regard to the affair, and
following them, calls came thick
and fast from every direction, it
requiring practically the entire
Every Woman Knows
Every woman knows how easy it is
to burn or scald herself while working
in her home. Every woman knows that
these bums and scalds are painful and
sometimes very slow to heal. Every
woman should know that the pain at
bums and scalds will be quickly re-
lieved, infection positively prevented
and speedy healing assured if liquid
Borosone is instantly applied. Get a
bottle of liquid Borosone and keep it
handy in your medicine cabinet. Sola by
The Pbamucy
being advertised. Just as soon
as it becomes popular, they dump
all the trimmings into its make-
up and disguise it in a pretty
wrapper. There ought to be a
law against making bum see-
gars, anyway. Darn it—we are
now trying to smoke one of
these travesties on justice—a
bunch of cabbage sold in the
guise of tobacco—and it takes a
half-soled tongue, a sticking
plaster on the back of the neck
and a blacksmith’s bellows for
lungs to make a good job of it.
Wa t till we get to Congress—
We ll show these tobacco trusts
DRINK
!
Every
Bottle
Sterilized
- — ---- —
—----—
—............
.....-................
Ford Specials
SEAT COVERS, Models T and A
RADIATOR ORNAMENTS, Mod’s T and A
SHOCK ABSORBERS, Model T
BATTERIES, 13-Plate, All Cars
GREASING, Ail Cars
WASHING AND POLISHING
DUCO PAINT SHOP
BODY POLISH—A Special Price
Prompt and Clean Service
Homey Grove Motor ۩.
that they can’t monkey with
buzz-saw without getting cut to
pieces. There’s a law protecting
everybody but the nickle cigar-
smoker—and he catches the
devil every day. He jumps from
one sorry brand' to another in a
wild chase after a good, cheap
smoke—he reads all the nickle
cigar ads in the paper and
promptly swallows all the dope
about what a fine smoke he can
get for his jitney—but alack and
alas—all is not gold that glit-
ters, and all is not truth that
one reads in cigar ads—for it’s
always the same old' bunch of
cuttings you get in the nickle
cigar. Dam! Double - darn!
Dad-gum the luck!—Farmers-
ville Times.
Renshaw Suit is Decided in
Favor of Former Official.
. Information has been received
here which is to the effect that
the suit for fees for delinquent
taxes, which he paid into the
county while tax collector from
1920 to 1925 is affirmed. The
first called session of the 41st
Legislature passed a special
statute, removing the bar of lim-
itation and giving the collectors
the right to recover such fees.
Mr. Renshaw will receive, ac-
cording to the decision, about
$2,300. The case was sustained
by the court of appeals at Texar-
kana. F. A. Dale of this city
was Mr. Renshaw’s attorney.—
Bonham Favorite.
Mellovome
YOUR WALLS
tor Listing (Beauh/
TVTAILS painted with
W lowe Brothers
MELLOTONE will
retain their beauty for a
long time, for Mellotone
is an oil paint and is not
harmed by repeated
cleaning. In beautiful
pastel shades without
lustre, Mellotone, used
in plain or fancy effects,
forms an ideal back-
ground for furniture
and hangings.
Ask to see
the beauti-
ful colors.
LYON-GRAY
LUMBER OO.
|j
.
Insuring Quiet.
Doctor—Your husband' must
have absolute quiet. Here is a
sleeping draught.
“When do I give it to him ?”
Doctor—You don’t; you take
it yourself.
“The Lpvre Bros. Mellotone ©*bkegt?rsw>
Station WBAP, tD p. hu
Fans cleaned, house wiring*,
radio repair work. All work
must please. — Radio Electric
Shop. Telephone No. 94.—H«.
V. Brotherton. tf
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Lowry, J. H. & Moyer, H. B. Honey Grove Signal-Citizen (Honey Grove, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, May 23, 1930, newspaper, May 23, 1930; Honey Grove, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth647850/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Honey Grove Preservation League.