The Lancaster ledger. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, April 19, 1905, Image 1
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* ?il>WEtKLY L A N O A 8 T E li. 8. 0.. A V K I L 19, 1905 ESl ABL18?ED *kV2 ~
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lUanun ran* nanged in t
Colombia.
i
Said Whiskey Had Brought Him u
Down und.Made Plea for Prohi- *
*
oition. v
Columbia Record, 14th inst.
Marion Purr paid the doath pen?
nlty this morning for the murder ^
of Clarence Sbealy lual August. (
The condemned man snowed re- ^
I, oKl.* ??...? ?u?.-I??i !
IUUI nuwiu uui T V lUI UU^UUUL nUU
seemed to feel certain that ho bad
made peace with theAlmighty. In ^
his talk on the gallows he inado j
a pathetic appeal to those present (
to help in tho cause of temperance
and laid his crime at the door of
whiskey. The drop fell at 11:12
and at 11:16 be was pronounced
dead by County Physician Fishburn.
rho crowd present were 1
affected at tho pathetic scene on 1
the gallows and many of them 1
joined iu the singing of the two
hymns after Parr had concluded
the religious exercises.
THE PREPARATIONS.
:
Eariy this morning Sheriff Cole- j
man was at the jail preparing for
the execution, which seemed to
.. <T?_i I.: e ai 1.1 * i?
nucvL u'ui iur nuiio iiiuu 11 (11(1 lll?
prisoner. I'hcro wua a morbid
crowd at the jail and muny fair 1 j
fought to get in. Passes had been
issued to those who wero entitled
to admission, however, and the
rest of the crowd contented themselves
with listening to a street
preacher who had opened services
on the streets in front of the jail
and who created considerable ex
citement. Parr had been attended
to by it while prisoner named
Teague, who ha* listened with a
great deal of interest to tho roligious
exercises conducted every
day. This morning the condemned
man said that ho was feeling
well and waa reidy to die. He
ate a hearty hreukfust and then
took a hath and changed his
clothe. When Rev Vern >n 1'Anson,
who has been instrumental in
interesting the man in religion,
ai rived, there whs r wait of a few
minutes and the sh- riff then read
the death warrant. Through all
of this he displayed no emotion
and only appeared slightly nervous
when iu walking through the
corridor he shook hands with the
other prisoners and told them to
trust in God A little cell iu the
..f iL. i :i i i 1 i
uoniui (it luo ouwuiiig unci neen
reserved for tho services arid in
this Rev. l'Ansnn and Rev. W. J
Snyder waited for the condemned
man.
RELIGIOUS SERVICES.
I Id the ceil there was a short
I prayer and Purr then handed his
I pastor a Bible which he had road
I while in jail. Many of the pass
I sages were marked and it is evident
I that the man made as close stndy
I ol the book as his intelligence
I would permit. Then there was
I a wait of a half hour while Parr
L sang and prayed and was prayed
K tor. Tho servicos over he anI
nounced himself ready. The
aUrvMi on/1 iloriiit n oil ami if aamia ?m
I out: i in ami auui in Laiuu lUj
and just before the march to the
gallows commonced i'arr handed
Mr. I'Anson a Htter to his moth*
er.
A LETTER TO MOTHER
Tho letter was written on fine
linen paper which f contained a
note from some lady ' who had
interested herself in the case and
had sent some flowers to the prisoner.
The note from the unknown
writer was as follows:
0
"l send you tnene nowciH wiin
lie infinite prayor that you havo
bund tho intinito love of the
feuvenly Father precious to you
ind that your soul has been made
vbite in the precious blood of our
Saviour."
On tho back of this Parr had
vritten a letter to his mother as
'ollows:
44Dear Mother: .Just as soon
is you pot tho corpso opeu it and
10 not close it until you get ready
,o carry it away from the house.
\lways as long as you and my
wife live he loving and kind lo
ier and my aiatora and brothers,
is this is the last writing you will
receive from your loving son
Hoping we will moet in heavtn,
W F M Parr."
ON THE GALLOWS
Parr walked down I ho steps
steadily and the officers on each
sido did not huve to assist hin. in
any way. Out in the yard the
nlack hearse hud been thought
lessly left whore ho hud to pass,
but at the sight of this ho rovei
flinched and mounted the gallowj
unassisted There the minister!
sang, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
and there were a number in tin
crowd of spectators who joiner
in.
It was now a few minutes aftei
11 o'clock and the gallows hue
been enclosed in canvas to keei
the hundreds who were on top ol
the surrounding ^buildings fron
seeing the grewsonie ceremony
Inside it was intensely hot uud tin
spectators wore beginning to wisl
the affair over with. After Hit
hymn and prayers, Parr was ask
ed the customary question as to n
statement. He said without >>
tremor of fear that he wished t(
speak.
<%I want to tell you all thai
whiskey has been my ruin. J
feel that you are ull my brother!
and you can see what whiskey hat
done for me. I want you to dt
all you can to make this a dry
country and deliver it from the
r?n PCQ f\ f u'hiul/nv V/?I1 crw
v?at v? f? mgnvj A Wi? OV*
what it has done. Whiskey tirei
the brain and makes a man go
off down the street and (ill himself
up and the first thing yoi
know he is shot or cut up. 1 did
the murder. It would be foolisl
to say that 1 did not."
Parr then turned to the minis
ters and asked them to sins
'Rock of Ages." He then shook
hands with ull of those on tin
gallows und stepped upDn the
trap. The black cap was adjusted,
his hands and feet tied, and
as the sheriff came down the stepe
the body shot down through th<
opening with a crash.
DON'T BORKO >V TROUBLE
ll ij u Kail hnliil In Imi-i-nin nnv
? " "w""" ""J
thing, but the worst thing yoi
can possibly borrow, is trouble
When sick, sore, heavy, wearj
and worn-out by the pains ant
poisons of dyspepsia, biliousness,
Bright's disease, any similar internal
disordors, don't sit dowr
and brood over your symptoms,
but fly for relief to Elec
trie Bitters. Here you will finf
sure and permanont forgetfulnesi
of all your troubles, and youi
body will not he burdened by t
load of debt disease At Crawford
Bros , J. F. Mackey & Co.,
Funderburk Pharmacy. Dru^
stores Prices 50c. Guaranteed
i no cerenr.ony ot laying tno cor
ner htono of the new Cour
House at Catndon will he held or
Wednesday, May 3, under au
spices ot the Masonic order o
South Carolina. The grand Mas
ter John R. Bellinger, of Barn
berg, S C., will attend.
! Safe Robber Tells
methods of Operation
Carefully Investigate lieforo Doing
.lobs?Generally Opcrato
Between Midnight
and 2 O'clock.
Charleston Post.
"Sou h Carolina's tho easiest
Slate to operate in," said John
McCarthy, ulias .lolin O Dandrell,
the reformed yegjpnan, who hat
been given a short respite from
tho Vermont Statu penitentiary
to come to Charleston as a State'*
witness, to testify in tho safe
i.i....,;..? ?^.i ... .. .i.t
uiu u 111^ nuu i/rriuAUW ni?u?cij
cases this week ii< the Unitet
Stalos circuit court, the rem art
being made in prefacing a do1
scripliou of tho manner in whirl
1 yegg men do their work.
1 The statement that South Care
' lina is an easy mirk?"It's jus!
" li :e finding money," as McCur
1 thy went on to explain? is no
through any lack of efficiency it
' tho caro of poHtoffices and bunl
1 vaults in this State, but becuusi
of the spurcely nettled conditioi
5 comparatively speaking, and th<
' "open character of tho countiy,'
which enables tho y egg men t(
: oasily make their escape, after
' "job," as the operation of break
' ing and robbing a safe is termed
^ In tho more thickly settlod coin
1 munities of tho North and West
* tho robbers run great chances o
3 arrests, and when they find a
1 eitsy" mark thoy naturally work it
* and this is why tnero have been s
tunny safes blown aud robbed ii
1 South Carolina during the pas
1 few years.
3 "The first thing vo do whoi
we roach our base of operations,'
^ said McCarthy, "is to secure i
^ Cram's map, giving tho name
* and locution of banks in our vi
' ciuity, for we always try to pro
3 ceed intelligently in our work
and the banks uro more invitin;
1 than postofiices. A job is usualh
3 done by four men, although souk
* times there may be three, bu
1 four at least is utmost necossai"
' for a successful operation. Whei
i -
we secure me map, wo siuuy in<
' railroad time tables nnrl the gen
' eral topographical features of th
immediate section Wo selec
f the bank and one or more of th*
; gang will go 'scouting' to seo tha
' the job can bo safely polled off
5 The police protection of the towi
I is investigated, and attention i
, given to the movements of train
) and general avenues of escape, a
well as a place where we ma;
safely meet ' before beginninj
work. A man will go iuto th
- bank or postotfice to have a bil
1 thanged that he might survey th*
location of things and as th
i I . r*f\ 1111 n rv ia " 1
I cwuviu^ to n inuai imporian
( part of the job, it is always carc
fully attended to, vome tiineH tw<
* or three days being devoted t<
this work. The scout returns t<
I the base, and acquaints the part;
3 of his investigation, and if his re
: port is favorable, a time is thei
1 fixed for the job and arrangement
made accordingly.
4'The preparation of the nitro
glycerine is a matter of the firs
concern, of course. On acooun
of its dangerous nature, we can'
1 buy it, and wo are forced to ex
1 tract it from dynamito, which w
we usually steal from a quarr
f ?... -
w? uiu^uauiu, iiu'ii i no on.su o
operations Wo novor start on
* on a job withless than a pint o
the explosive, for wo need at leas
ft qtiiirlor or r linlf pint for r I
job. Wo take about ten sticks,
nix inches long and u hulf inch in |
diameter, ctumble it in a piece of
cloth, and then placo it suspended
in ft can of warm water. Wo
keep constantly reuowlng the
warm water, whicn gives tho oper
ntion the name of cooking the
soup '
. </\ * -
limn will carry the bottle
of glycerine and the tools, which
consist of a few cakes of soap,
( drills and implements, but goner- '
( ally speaking, wo do not laden our i
t solv^.s with tools, for wo always \
. find a blacksmith's shop, cr a
? railroad soclion house at some
, point convonient to the job, which
j we break open and get the brace,
c sledge hammer and a few chisels
or crowbars to prizo tbo outside
i door of the bank or postoffice and
thon to operate with on the bank
or van 11.
?
L "In going to the place we ull
do not go together. One or two
t will make some other point noar,
by, that the suspicions of the con
{ ductnr and train crow may not he
3 excited. Wo drop off the
a train as noar together, however,
Q as we can and then wo make the
i point of rendezvous, generally in
0 the woods at some point already
a agreed upon.
"The 11mo of oporating is be.
tween midnight and 2 o'clock in
. tbo morning. Wo time ourselves
1 to begin work about 12 o'clock,
f The first thing we do, upon comq
ing f?pm under cover, is to take a
stroll through the streets about
%
r, the bank or postoffice. We look
t, carefully. It may ho necessary to
t catch a watchman, gag him and
tie him up, but watchmen liko to
sleep when every thing gets quiet,
? and tnings aro quiet in the aver^
n ago country town ut midnight.
9 Wo got the tools, and if our koys
_ do not fit the locks wo then break
. open the door and reach the safe
j or vault. Two men stay on the
. ntltfti.ln t.f* W.lfr'h whiln fitlinp
?
y two, with on electric flush light,
a or (lurk lantern, get to work on
t the safe. The importance of the
y men on the outside is shown by
a tho breakers waiting on their
e signal for tho flowing of the safe.
. When tho holes have been drilled
q and prepared for blowing it is
I the men on the outside who give
0 the signal for the act, on tho prmt
ciplo that if any suspicious movement
of an officer or neighbor has
a been noted, the noise of the ex8
plosion may be deferred until
8 things again become quiet. The
H report of glycerine is a sharpiand
y quick noise which especially com_
mends its use, for hardly does it
0 take pluco than it is all ovor and
11 if it should be heard by any oody
b in Lho neighborhood, thoy soon
e turn over in their bqds and go
1 back to sleep, believing that they
( dreumpt of the report.
C) "A safe is a 'pete' in the parf)
lance of yeggmen. The two men
[} on the inside get down on their
y knees before it and begin work.
They thoroughly soap the crevices
of the outside door, and then bes
gin te drill the hole for the cotton
saturated with the glycerine. The
hole is drilled between the com,t
binatipn and the handle, close to
t the combination, first with a
onu idol* in/iK rl i*il) f U nn nr'f k a
| V|\mi ;iuvu va?sii| viicij n (iu a
five-eight and next with a half
0 inch drill. lato this hole, is
y placed the saturated ootf
ton, connected with a cap
t and fns?o, which are held in place
f with soup which also deadens the
>t sound. Then, ovorjthing is ready
1
%
fur tho signal from tho outside. i
It is given and the explosion takes i
placo in the lock box on tho inside, j i
breaking tlie lock and sometimes!'
forcing olf tho binges. The operation
of blowing tho safe requires
just a certain umoiint, for too
heavier a charge ot glycerine
might knock oil the handle and
jam the door and give trouble.
Ouco tho outside door is off then
theyeggmcn turn their attention
to tho inside sheet door, which
is called tho 'keiater' in the hin*
guage of tho safe blowers. This
is the hardest door to open, and
the blowers are sometimes at their
wits ends to getou tho inside. A
hole is drilled an 1 the explosive is
inserted. Another explosion
takes place, and probably only
ono sncot of metal cunu'fi olT. A
bolt is loo^ned or knocked out
of place, and into this opening
another charge or glycerina is illsorted,
and tho operation is continued,
until the door is finally
down and the cash drawer is ri
fled.
"The work of blowing a safo
requires about an hour and a half,
and immediately at its conclusion
the gang makes o(T as soon as
possible. We strike across country'
unless, a convenient freight
train pusses, never, however,
dividing the booty until day light
on the next morning. Some
times we have to bury tho treasure,
or a part of it, and the tools
havo to he hidden some times,
too. When we tako the train we
never rule more than about twen
ty.five mdes, when we then strike
across country, putting further
distance between us and our pursuers.
In burying tho tool hag
or treasure, wo always carefully
select tho place, making it easy
of finding upon our return.
"Dodging bloodhounds is done
by attaching a sirall piece of cloth,
saturated with the oil of mustard
to the heels of our shoes. We
used to use vaseline with iodoform
but the trouble about this drug is
that we could not get the smell off
our clothes when we wanted to do
so. The oil of mustard is now used
r\ urltrnnf nrvn f r? /ln/lnrinr*
we have a merry time of it some
times being often forced to face
the music. It all depends upon
the character of the man or men
at the head of the posse."
McCarthy could not help but
smile as he thought of some town
marshals who have stood in door ways
when fired upon, and upon
the yeggmen getting out of the
way of harm, thon firing their
guns in tho air, making great
profession of earnestness and
vigilanco to hold their jobs. McCarthy
can tell some interesting
things of what town officers have
failed to do, but this is not his
business, or inclination at this
time.
Thore are many other inteiest
ing things that McCarthy can tell
aad did tell to a reporter of The
Evening Post, which would make
good newspaper stories, but ho is
Chronic Bronchitis Cured.
4'For ten years 1 had chronic
bronchitis ho hftd thiit. iif timna I
could not speak ftbove a whisper^"
writes Mr. Joseph ColTman, of
Montmoronci, Ind. 1 tried all
remedies available, but with no
success. Fortunately my employer
suggested that 1 try Foley's
Honey and Tar. Its effect was
almost miraculous, and 1 am now
cured of the disease. On my recommendation
many people have
used Foley's Honey and Tar and
always with satisfaction." Sold
by Funderburk Pharmacy.
now trying to live down bis past
ar.d the story of his adventures in
many States, with their thrilliug
episodes and such sidelights as ho
.'un cust upon them, nre left unreported
at this timo. McCarthy
has reformed. Ho has hopes of
making a useful citizen out of
himself one of tbeso days lie
has boon assigned to the shoe
manufactory department of his
prison, u trade which ho may follow
when Lo bids farewell to ths
prison walls.
McCarthy will spend a part of
his timo in prison writing a story
of his adventures, which will bo
printed in book form, and from
tho public interest which attachos
to the business of blowing and
robbing safes, tho book ought to
take well in South Carolina. The
term of soven years is a good long
while to spend behind walls of
or I'll n 11IV but Mi'l'iiitli*' ?/??.
O 1 V..J "WV...O |'ul"
fectly resigned to his fate.
PLAN^ TOGA'i RICH
are often frustrated by sudden
breakdown, due to dyspepsia or
constipation. Brace up and take
Dr King's Now Life Pills. They
takeout the materials which are
clogging your energies, and give
you a new start. Cures headaches
and dizziness too. At
Crawford Bros', J F Mackey&
Co's and Funderburk Pharmacy.
25c, guaranteed.
Served on The Jury and Now Under
Arrest.
Birmingham, Ala., April 15.?
John A. Turnei, mayor, and Joseph
M. Crowloy, marshal of Adamsville,
a mining town 13 miles
west of Birmingham, and Julian
Linton, a negro, were arrested tonight
on coroner's warrants
charging them with complicity in
the murder of Isaac Weaver, a
negro, two weeks ago. All three
of the men wero placed in the
county jail without bond. At the
time Weaver was assassinated
Mayor Turner served on the coroner's
jury which held an inquest
over the remains and Marshal
Crowley served all the warrants
on witnesses who testified before
the jury.
| Pneumonia is ltobbort of its Terrors
oy roiey's tioney ana lar. It
stops the racking cough and and
heals and strengthens the lungs.
If taken in time it will prevent an
attack of pneumonia. Refuse
substitutes. Sold by Funderburk
Pharmacy.
To Tunnel Lookout Mountain
Knoxville, Tenn., April 11.?
W. ,1. Oliver & Co., railroad contractors
of this city received advices
today from President Samuel
Spenoer, of the Southern Railway
awarding to that firm the contract
to build the tunnel under
Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga,
Tenn.,on the Southern's
extension ;rom Chattanooga to
Stevenson, Ala. The price involved
in the contract in not mentioned,
hut it is supposed to he between
two million and ihroo mil
lion'dollars. Work is to be begun
at once.
Foley's Honey and Tar is best
or croup and whooping cough,
ontains no opiates,and cures
quickly Careful mothers keep it
the house. Sold by Funderburk
Pharmacy.
? The Ledger, Tho Atlanta
Journal, Sem! weekly, and The
Southorn Cultivator, ill throe
one year for $2., but must bo
paid for inadvanco.