Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BRAINED STEPFATHER. CUitizer' of Warrenville, Meets Cruel Death at Hands of his Stepson, Ben Turner, 19 Years Old. Aiken. July 9.-Last night about 9 o'clock Riley L. Johnson. a h11hly respected citizen of Warrenville. met a horrible death at the hands of his -stepson. Ben Turner. a lad of nine -teen. The dead man's body lay on the ground at his home, about one -ile from Warrenville. last night. and this morning- the coroner went down to the scene of the tragedy and held the inquest. The body was found in the yard just as it had fallen when he was struck on the head and brain ed with an axe. Early this morning Turner came to Aiken and surrender ed to the scheriff. and he is now in jail to await trial on the charge of murdering his stepfather. The News and Courier correspond ent went to the scene of the sad tra gedy this morning. In the front yard there was q great.pool of blood, with particles of the dead man's brains sseattered on the ground and spatter ced on the edge of the porch. On a istretcher under a tree lay the body. On the head were the imprints of four fearful blows, either of which would have caused death, as the skull was bro&en each time. At the inquest the following facts -were brought out: For some time there ha.. not been good feeling be tween the boy and his stepfather. Last Frid,y they had a nuarrel, and .on Sunday afternoon Mr. John Mur reil testified that Johnson told him that if he had to whip Ben he would do it or kill him. Monday night as the family were about to retire Johnson was seated on the front porch. Turner went into the bouse to retire and it was then that Johnson asked him about the ploughing of some land, and a quar -rel arose in which Johnson told Tur -ner that he must leave at once. Tur mer replied that he would leave as soon as he finished his crop, or some thino similar to that. Mrs. Johnson, wife of t.he deceased and mother of Turner. testified .that Johnson drew bis pistol on Turner, whereupon 'Turner picked up an axe that was in th room and struck him on the hiead. Johnson fell under the piazza railine an I on to the ground. At this * stage Mrs. Johnson turned from the seene and did not see what happened afted that. As his head bore four ter aifie blorws it is supposed that Turner ~went out when Johnson .fell and dealt ~he other blows, and fhere is no goubt ~ut that it was the intention to5 kill the manI. From two of the wounds the tralns were knoeksd out, and in the 'others the skull was broken. On the -ground about two feet from his lay the pistol. and in his ' pocket this -morning were found a pair of knticks. The jury found that death had re sulted from bl"ws from an axe in the Ianads of Ben Turner. John~son is prominently connected. being the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dave L.' Johnsetn. of this city. He is sutrviv ed by five brothers-Wells, Fitzhugh, Malcolm. Wilbur and Olin Johnson. Ttzhush Johnson is a promiinet young man of Augusta, while all of the family stand well. Ben Turner Sa young man. who has always been looked upon as an exceptionally good boy. He is a nephew of Ex-Sheriff 'Turner. and a nephew of Mr. James L Quinby, of Granireville. The af fair is greatly deplored by the friends oef the deceased and the Turners. Un til recently .Johnson resided in Au gusta, but is an Aiken man. D~UEL OF SOUTBIERN GENERALS.! Xlfing of Walker by Marmaduke * and its Effect on Confederate I Fortunes. "A duel between two Confederate -generals. almost in the midst of an ~important engazement, in the early1 stages of the civil war, had something -to do wi.th the final collapse of the ~Southern cause,'' said an Ex-Confed 'erate after his return from the Davis -and J. E. B. Stuart~ memorial celebra -tions in Richmond. "We were not as united as the new generation would have ion 'believe,'' he is quoted as saying by the Washington Post. "There was. always a misunder 'siaading between the Richmond Gov 'ernment and the Trans-Mississippi .aepartment. Early in the conflict I -was sent to Arkansas to learn the cause of the trouble in the leadership. ''Five men whose names later be came a part of the history of the cause were at variance at a time when unity was essential. These men were Sterlin, 'Piee. Marmaduke, Walker, Holmes -and Fagan. Price was the idol of the 'Missouri troops. Marmaduke was a born soldier. Walker was a manti net. Holmes was uncertain in judg ment. Fagan was a good fighter when he was discretely directed. 'When I reached Arkansas these e man were before Helena for the parl"oUse Of wvrestlin.-_- it -01omi tile ene my. It wa< a strate-ie position at tIle time. It is not necessary to go in to the details of the story. The point is that the attack failed. "It. wtas a blow to the Richmond -novernnent early in the cause. The failure lay not with the soldiers, but with the leader. Holmes had plann ed the iIht. Events showed tha:t he had'no conception of the strength of the fortifications or the enemy's num bers. "After the failure dissensions amonz the leaders increased. This was noticeably the case between Wal ker Marm:aduke. "If I remember correetly Walker ranked Marmaduke. In one of the movements Walker had ordered the troops under his command to retreat. To Marmaduke was given the post of danger-covering the retreat. He was assured that at a certain point he would be re-enforced by Walker.' "It was important that he should have this aid. When he arrived at the point not a man, save his own division, was to be seen. Not only thast, but: Walker had failed to com municate with him. Marmaduke ex tricated himself from the situation by a miracle. "In several engagements that fol lowed Walker, though still in com mand, held himself aloof from Mar maduke. The two.men hated each oth er personally, but Marmaduke was eiough cf a soldier to let that pass at the time. Walker was sullen and sulky. "Marmaduke sent an aide to ask Walker for orders. Walker refused to answer because, as he said, it was un military for a superior officer :to re ceive a verbal message from an in ferior. Marmaduke reduced his re quest to writing and -sent it. Walker never replied. "After the troops had been resca ed from the situation, for that is what it amounted to, Marmaduke, smarting under the conduct of Walk er, informed Walker's superior of ex isting conditions and demanded that his troops be withdrawn from Walk er's command. Failing in this Mar- 4 maduke said his resignation was ready. "This was an interesting condition, atsuch a time. I don 't think it had its counterpart during the remainder of the war. "Marmaduke 's atti-tude widened the breach. Walker remained obdu-: rate. Then came 'the climax.U "Marmaduke challenged 'Walker. The latter accepted. The affair was known only to a few. The meeting took place almost within sight of the sold ieYs. "Mannaduk -as an expert marks man. He killed Jis adversary the first' shot. Think of mch a thing at such a time! "Marmaduke and his seconds were ~pomYptly arrested. Only fo Walk er's unp)opularity Marmiaduke would have been Court-maritaled. Through the influence, of officials high in au-' thority the affair was dropped. But it took tie to restore the army to dis ipline. And when the time came the enemy had secured advantages which! were maintai.ned throughout the war. 'The Richmond Government was charged with indifference to the sit uation beyond the Mississippi. It' was due very largely to the la-ek of unity among the leaders of the West. "EPs the time they had come to their senses the damage )had been done. Many crimes have been as ribed to -the south's defeat. One of, them. not generally known. I have! stated.. ''All the p)articip)ants in the Walk er-Marnmadutke duel are dead with the exception of Marmaduke 's chief second, Col. John C. Moore. He is.~ or w:3. a year' ag~o. still living in Kansas City.'' Any man who is able to dodge un hapiness is just about as halpy as it is possible to be. Fourth of July is getting to be al most as much of an institution in London and Paris as it is in this contry. ~%eGrCe e p a te9 - !ricto. co0es f .wear 0 e1 rong2O he o a 1iea eg oetig yleGrease0!4C INTO OUR 1 -: 11 MAIN S Better fixed to than Fresh Meats, Groceries Cann Ci Give us your ord do the rest. Prii Booze HARTS Wood Mouf HARTSVI Manufacturers of Door 3ash, Doors, Blinds, TL )rnamental Wood Wor Flooring, Ceiling, Sidil he Building Material L We want your inqui ~rading and workman >rices are right. HarIsviIIe Wood N HA RTS VII *0 50c. ir For100 :2 Coupons in Coupons glso A VJaluable Premium Dept., AME) Jersey City, N. J. We Want o come and see the land, In looking over rood many things that t sacrifice. Everyone ( Come and judg Mrs. S. Vl EW SIORE TREET, serve our trad< ever. ed Goods, gars and Tobacco ers and we wil es always right r Bros VILL E acturing Co. LLE, S. C. and Window Scr. ens irned and Scrol1 Work k, MantelS, Mouldings ng, and everytHng it ine, ries and orders,. .Ou ship is good, and ou laufacturing Co., .LE, S. C. Cash Coupons The Cigarette of Quality each Package edeemable for Presents UCAN-TOBACCO CO. St. Louis, No. Ever yone Bargain we have cr our stock we find a we are going to sell a' >f them good values. for yourself. rapital $25,000. Surplus $14,000 The Bank of P csperitU. Prosperity, S. C. This Bank was established to assist ycu in building a for tune. It will so care for your money that it is absolutely se cure, and you can have it whenever you want it. And if y join the financial family it will prove your good friend in time of need. It insures you the best service and convenience. Make a deposit today. Every forture has grown-from a bank account. 4 per cent on money in the Savings Department. Geo. Y. Hunter, President. J. S. Wheeler, V. Pres. J. F. Browne, Cashier. *77 :7r0. eed& The People's National Ban Prosperity, S. C. Paid Up Capital - - - - $25,000 00 Surplus and Individual Profits $5,000 00 Stockholders' Liabilities $25,000 00,_ For protection of depositors. H. C. MoSELEY, President. M. A. CARuSLE, Vice-President W. W. WHEELER, Cashier. GEO.. JOHNSTONE, Attotney. Better a conservative interest on your deposit with its safe;. return when wanted, than a high rate and a feeling of doybt-: about the principal. A National. Bank is a safe Deposit. Government supervision makes it so. Likewise our Board of Directors is a guarantee-4 of prudent conservative management DIRECTORS: G. W. Bowers. W. P. Pugh. J. A. C. Kibler. Jho. B. Fellers, R. L. Luther. W. A. Moseley. M. A. Carlisle. Geo. Johnstone. J. H. Hunter. H. C. Moseley. 1 J. P. Bowers. We allow 4 per cent. per annum in our Sav Departrnent, interest payable semi-an nua1y r Pianos ADOrgansOfPmbrg At Factory Prices. D n n Write us at once for our special plan of payments on a Pi.ano or Organ If you buy either inistrument through us, you gta standard .mnake, one that wifl last a life-time. Write Malone .Music Houseor.N tce COLUMBIA, S. C., '4" For Catalogues, Terms, Etc. J.W THEECHANGEBANK( Main 'Street, Newberry, S. C. We submit the comparative figures as evidence of confidence and esteem on the part of a patronizing public. June 14, 1906. .June .14, 1907. Loans $137,193.84 Loans $195144L 13 De;osits 52,566.79 Deposits 105,268.18 A GAIN OF OVER 100 PER CENT. We, too, pay 4 per cent. in our Savings Department. J. D. DAVENPOR T, Prest. E. R. H IPP, Vice Prest. M. L. SPEA R MA N, Cashier. - GEO. B. CR OME R, Atty. YOUR BANKING! THE NEWBERRY SAVINGS DANK R Capital $50,000 - ,- - Surplus $30,000 No Matter H-ow Small, No Matter How Large, The Newberry Savings Bank will give it careful attention. This message applies to the men and the women alike. JAS. McINTOSH, J. E. NORWOOD President. Cashier.