of the way or die with this man, either way he's going to die today." Gunn was marched south down Main Street through the Maryville streets, avoiding the National Guard. After an hour and a half, Gunn and the crowd reached at the Garrett schoolhouse. Gunn's ears and nose were bleeding from being beaten on the way. The schoolhouse was emptied and all furniture placed on the lawn. The mob was estimated to have grown to between 2,000 and 4,000. Gunn was taken inside the schoolhouse, where he is reported to have confessed his guilt again, claiming he had an accomplice named "Shike" Smith. Gunn was moved to the roof and tied to a ridge pole. Gunn and the building were then doused with gasoline. The mob leader, identified only as the "man in a red coat", threw a lighted piece of paper into the building. Gunn screamed but once and appeared lifeless in 11 minutes. A reporter for the St. Joseph Gazette gave the following gruesome description: He twisted and revealed a huge blister ballooning on his left upper arm. Pieces of his skin blew away to the wind as the blistering heat became more intense and soon his torso was splotched with white patches of exposed flesh. His hair burned like a torch for moment then his head sagged. His body writhed. It took the appearance of a mummy. The building's roof collapsed within 16 minutes. Burnt fragments of the schoolhouse were taken by the crowd as souvenirs. Aftermath No charges were ever filed in the lynching. Attempts to identify the "man in the red coat" have been answered by the claim he was an outsider. However, newspapers said all the others were local. Gunn's lynching was universally condemned by newspapers across the United States. The Atlanta Constitution published an editorial cartoon with the caption of "The Torch of Civilization in Missouri." After the brutal incident, Maryville residents heard rumors that African Americans from Kansas City were coming to attack the city in retaliation. Townsmen reportedly set up machine gun nests on Main Street. The Gunn family's home was also burned. The 1930 census showed 90 African Americans living in Maryville, with 35 enrolled in the town's school. By 1931, the number of African Americans had dropped to six, and eventually almost all left the town in fear. Franklin Roosevelt campaigned in 1932, saying he was going to