University of South Carolina Libraries
!jt ' 1* 'N * A.FIEND HANGED "Cdot" Li?er, a Black Boy, Executed For Attempt to Commit Rape. . CONFESSED THE CRIME v Assailant of Dutch Fork Farmer's Wife Pays the Death Penalty on the SealTold?Admitted His Guilt, but Claimed he was Influenced to j i Do it by a Negro Doctor. Declaring that the Juuge, Jury aud solicitor that tried his case will see their mistake in the day of judg merit Coot Lever, wbo was convicted of attempted rape upon the per- . eon of the pretty wife of a prominent farmer of the Dutch Fork, on the first day of last November, went i to his death on the gallows at Lexington Friday. Friday morning when the corres- ! pondent of the News and Courier called to Bee Lever he acknowledged his guilt and repeated the same story he told on the witness stand at the trial. He said that a negro doctor, Lem Judge, was responsible for his crime, and that he, Judge, would have to Bhare in the punishment. He said that if it had not been for Deputy Sheriff Miller he would never ( have been permitted to get right with God. i On the gallows he made the fol- i lowing statement: "Of course, I was In the fault, but I want all to take . notice. The Judge, Jury and solcitor did me wrong, and they will see 1 their mistake on the day of judg- 1 ment. Tell everybody to meet me In Heaven. Mr. Miller and his family and Sheriff Coriey have shore been nice to me and have treated me , right. I hope God will bless them all." ' Just after Sheriff Coriey had placed the black cap over his forehead Lever asked for some preacher to 1 pray for him, and at Sheriff Corley's i request, the Rev. W. W. Keel, of the ' Baptist church, came upon the scaf- < fold and offered a fervent prayer for ( the condemned man. Then the knol | was thrown. Being tied Lever ex- t claimed: "It's too tight, boss." Just as the sheriff was about to < announce mat everytning was ready t Lever asked to be allowed to say i Just one word. He said: "Tell our 1 race for God's sake to keep out of 1 trouble. Tell everybody to let this ] be a warning. Everybody pray for I me. May God bless Sheriff Corley, i Mr. Miller and all." t Lever was bidden good-by by the I Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Miller and i a second later his body was dangling in the air. He died without a move, 1 his neck being broken by the fall. ! The body was cut down and turned i ' over to the coroner. t The husband of the victim of Levers brutal attack witnessed the hanging. He said that he was satisfled, and was glad that the law had been allowed to take its course. A day or two ago I^ever made a will in which he requested that the amount of $550, which he claimed that he would get from the Society of Sons i and Daughters, of which he was a , member, be equally divided between his stepmother and his wife. Story of the Crime. The crime for which Lever paid the death penalty on the gallows was one of the mast revolting in the annals of the county. On the first day of last November, while the husband of the victim was ploughing In a field near his home. Lever slipped up to tho house and entered the yard, where the woman was hanging up clothes, with her .n..Mecr>t little two year old %child playing by her aide. Lever, without any warning of his Intentions, grabbed her around the neck in an effort to choke her Into Insensibility, at the same time vurowing ner to the ground. So tightly did he grasp her throat the the blood flowed freely frotu the wounds inflicted by the finger nails of the brute. Nearly every garment was torn from her body, and it was only by the most seemingly superhuman effort that Dever was prevented from accomplshing his purpose, the cries of the woman bringing her husband to her rescue. The news of the attack spread like wildfire before a sweeping wind, and within a very few hours the usual quietness of the neighborhood was In a roar of excitement. Men who had not shouldered a gun in many years?some of them probably not since the war?scoured the country in an effort to get a shot at tho fiendish culprit. Deputy Sheriff Miller was rushed to the scene In an automobile and W.U1. .1 i ? wini me am 01 two or throe men, ho succeeded in capturing Lever and landing him safely in jail before the mob that had gathered knew what had happened. The officer arrived at the Jail during the early hours of morning, but before ho could get his man in Jail several men rode up i on horseback, and the deputy had j to hide his man for several hours, before placing him behind the bars, j So wrought up were the people] of the neighborhood that a second , efTort was made to get Lever. On the 2d of November a posse of from t 0 ' WALKED OUT ASLEEP IiKFT PULLMAN AT WAY STATION IN HIS PAJAMAS. When Roused Ho Said He Was a New Yorker?Sine? Retiring He Remembers Nothing. When the telegraph operator in the St. Lotfts and San Francisco railroad station at Tulsa, Okla., stepped from his office to the platform at 4:30 o'clock Tuesday morning he was greeted with the sight of a pajamaclad figure pacing back and forth. The night was bitter cold and when the operator had recovered his composure he inquired whether the walker was taking a constitutional walk. Receiving no answer the operator approached closer and closer and found that the eyes of the thinly clad person were closed and that the stranger was to all appearances asleep. * When awakened the somnambulist, his teetli chattering so he could barely talk, explained that ho was T. E. Jamison, a business man of, New York, and that he had been a passenger on the St. Louis train en route to Oklahoma City. The last he remembered was retiring to his berth in a Pullman sleeper. Explanations concluded, Jamison began to collect a wardrobe. From one station employe he obtained the loan of ca pair of overalls. Other railroad men furnished him with the rest of a serviceable outfit. Somewhat picturesquely attired, Jamison took the next train for Sapulpa, where his clothing and additional belongings had been taken off the train. ? CHILD'S BITE KILLS DOCTOR. ? The Germs of Diphtheria Aids Blood Poisoning. Dr. Charles C. Burhenn, a leading physician of Jeanette, is dead front most peculiar blood poisoning. Several days ago, while attending a thlld, about ten years old, wao liad :ontractcd diphteria, the physician placed his finger In the lad's mouth o aid the child to free his stomach. The little patient brough his * eth iown on the doctor's finger, cutting :he flesh and causing blood to (low and in a few hours symptoms of ulood poisoning developed and the physician became very ill. Sp vial physicians were hurried front p;,,.sPurg to the sick man's side, but tne poison from the first seemed to bate aken hold of the entire system, and but little hope was given the physician's family. In his weakened mndltlon pneumonia seized him. The blood poisoning from the unusual source seems to greatly puzzle the medical fraternity of the locality ana those who attended the physician. * NEGltO I/OSES A LEG. A Iaiborer Is liorrihly MnnghNl by a Pile Driver. Wednesday afternoon Chaclet G!l?Bon, colored of Eastover, one of the crew cn the Atlantic Coast Lias pi 1 driver, which is now at work n the Thompson creek trestle, attempted to cross underneath the machine, when the negineer, not knowing that he was there, gave the signa. and Gibson was caught. II*1 had his left ieg horrably mang.v? ft-, n fo e t.? thigh. Dr. Hull, the to^ai Coast Line surgeon, assist-.d by 'in otner local doctors, amputated the leg, and on Friday afternoon the n< g.- j was taken to the Coast LIo-b Hospital at Kocky Mount, N. C. * Keep IIiin Humble. Just as a means of keeping her nusnanu nunible, Mrs. Anna Ulrich of Chicago, has received the authority of the court to make him do the family washing and do the washing of the dishes. Ulrich was paroled in the custody of his wife, when he was arrained for drunkenness. * Killed in Car Accident. Two persons were killed, one was seriously injured and several were slightly hurt in a street car accident caused by the blowing out uf a fuse at 1?1 Paso, Texas Tuesday. Flames broke out and the people became panic stricken. A number jumped from the swiftly moving car. Dies of Earthkiinke. Injuries received in the earthquake at Messsina have just resulted i? v,? i- - ? ... ...c uc-uni ui Vjnaries narara. an 18 y ar old boy in New York City. fifty to seventy-five men drove up to the jail with the intention of taklns I^ever out at any and ail hazards, but the officers having heard of the probntde attack, rushed the prisoner to the Penitentiary, where he was kept until the day before he was tried. That the majesty of the law has been upheld is gratifying to the people of the county, and the husband of the pretty victim Is being commended on all sides for the part he has played throughout the whole proceedings. * BITTER FIGHT Is On in South Dakota Between the Be publican Factions and LEADERS ARE WORRIED The Progressives and Stalwarts Are Kngaxed in the Hot and Hitter 8triiiri?l??- WtilnH Will It i? Kuiil . I^ast Until the Primary Takes Place in June. A dispatch from Huron says the political atmosphere of South Dakota threatens the most serious storm that has swept the State In years. Unlike Iowa and other States the fight here between the "progressives" and "stalwart" Republicans is not confined to representatives in congress, but officers from the governor down. Early In the month the "stalwart" Republicans came out with the announcement that they intended to put a complete ticket in the field, made up sorely of their own faction. Friday the leaders of the "progressive" faction met 4n conference at Huron to take similar action. This is taken to mean that between now and June 7. when the State primary will be held, there will be a battle to the death between tli? rival Republican factions of South Dakota. Former' Governor S. H. Elrod is slated for the gubernatorial nomination on the "stalwart" ticket. In the formal announcement of his candidacy he Indorsed the principles enunciated at the "stalwart" conference held at the beginning of February. It is not anticipated that he will have any opposition in securing the nomination of his faction. In addition to the governorship the "stalwarts" have alBO picked their candidates for congress and for nearly all the State offices. The "progressives" so far have not been able to present so united a front as the "stalwarts," but it is expected that Friday's conference >,-< 11 .. 1 I ... m.i uvcuiuiiiisu iiiucn lowaru bringing al)out the deslrt<l harmony and unification. Governor Vessey is slated for renomination on the "progressive" ticket. Much is believed to depend upon the attitude of It. O. Richards, one of the prominent leaders of the State. 9 Mr. Richards, after having supported the "progressive" Republicans for five years, broke with them over a year ago in a letter repudiating Governor Vessey and Senators Crawford and Gamble. Ever Bince the break occurred, politicians have been wondering what ticket Richards would put forward this year. Recently it has been reported that a truce would be arranged between Richards and the Vessey factions, whereby Richards would be allowed to frame the platform and the Vessey people name the ticket. These reports have been denied and from all indications it will not be definitely known just where Roliards stands until after the present conference of the "progressives" is over. There is also some curosity as to the course that will he taken in the coming campaign by former United States Senator Petlgrew. He is quoted as having said privately, that there is no longer any Democratic DOnttr ?? 1? - 4 1 " .....iv. ?.ii??i ?> u?i was len or it was destroyed during the consideration of the tarifT bill, and that there ought to be a new party. Alleced extravagencp on the part of the present "progressive" Ropubijoan administration will he the principal slogan of the "stalwarts" in the impending battle for supremacy at the June primaries, while anti Cannon will be one of the main issues upon which the "progressive" Republicans will wage their fight for continued control. The "progressives" confidently declare that Vassey has made so creditable a record as governor that no one can beat him. Some of the more hopeful Democrats profess to believe that the fight between the Republican factions will bo so hitter that thousands of members of the faction which Is defeated in the June primaries will at the election next November cast their votes for the Democratic ticket. " * ] Figlit About llooze. A disnafch frrvm Mrtin T ?... ...? ! 311.1., says William Terry, a mechanic, is lead, and Henry Spencer, a cleik, is held on the charge of murder as a result of a pistol duel. Spencer declared that Terry fired the first shot when he refused him a drinK t't.d that he shot in self defense. * Fight Fatal Duel. A dispatch from Vienna, Austria, says a duel with pistbls was fought there Saturday by two Austrian government officials, I)r. Oscar Mayar and Baron Hermann Widerhofer, Mayar shot Wlderhorfer dead. Buried by Avalanche. A telephone message from Wallace. Idaho, last Sunday night said twenty-five families, probably 75 people in all, were buried under an avalanche. SOME IDLE TALK I ABOUT SENATOR TILLMAN'S RF,SIGNING HIS SEAT. ? . And Who the Governor Would Appoint us HLs Successor Should III Do So. A Columbia dispatch says the feeling that Senator Tillman may resign on account of the condition of h's health is causing a deal of political to llr horn oo /* ?? **? ...til 1*i 1-- * usic an iu n uu will I1KOIV gel his tbga. It is known that Senator Tillman has been forbidd-m to Co any more work at the present session of congress but the likelihood of his resigning has no additional foundation other than that of a sort of vague feeling. The politicians, however, seem to be placing some faith in the report. In case he does resign It will be Governor Ansel's privilege and duty to appoint his successor for the short term, so talk is centering on whom i the governor is likely to appoint. Had the vacancy occurred daring the sitting of the legislature that body would have made the choice, and it is likely that Speaker of the House Whaley, of Charleston, would i have gotten the place, as he is about the most popular man in the legislature as well as perhaps the ablest. i But is is an easy bet that Governor Ansel would not appoint any man from Charleston, which has been fighting him so hard for many years on account of his attitude in regard to Injunctions and the way no went about the tiger Injunction busiae.?s. Lewis W. Parker, the cotton mill i man, whose home is in Grennillo, i and J. A. McCullough , another of the Governor's fellow townsmen, aro regarded as among the strong probabilities if Governor Ansel has the appointing to do. Ex-Governor D. C. Heyward and J. Eraser Lyon are also i spoken of in this connection. 1 MADE A LUCKY GUESS. < Woman Stenographer Wins $5,000 ' Concrete House. I Miss Lillian M. Williamson attend- j ed the cement show at the Coliseum , and heard her name called off as | the winner of the $5,000 concrete , house offered to the woman guessing , ciuscsi to me total paid admissions ' at the cement show on Washington's t birthday and tlie following day. She is stenographer in a bank and , is nineteen years old. She guessed the attendance for the two days would be 15,960. The total paid at- 1 tendance was 15,965. Other guesses ranged from 3,600 to 80,000. Miss Williamson recently made the last payment on a thirtyfoot corner J lot and has $300 saved on a building fund. "I think part of this good fortune came from my fortunate pos- ' ession of a lot." said Miss Williamson. "What should I have done with 1 material for a $5,000 home if 1 , had spent all my spare money for 1 millinery or chocolate creams." COATS A\l) SHEEP. Herds Will lie Shipped from This 1 Country to Japan. Herds of goats and sheep are soon to be sent from the United State? to ' Japan for the use of the Japanese ' government in developing stock raising, according to Dr. loda Tani- ' mura, dean of animal industry of the [ university of Tokio. He came to Chicago from the East 1 where he has visited several uni- ' versities, and after a day )r two 1 In Chicago he will continuo his jour- ! nev to San Francisco and Jan m. "We raise a fow sheep in Japan, ' he said, "but no goats, and our pur- ( pose now is to go into the industry to a large extent, providing it w'll prove profitable and feasible in our ! climate. 1 STHEXIOUS imiDEGItOOM. , 1 Walked Ffteon .Miles for License and 1 Five With Wife. ! Rather than delay his wedding by | waiting Frlady night for a train | that was late, John M. Miller, a farm- ! I er living five miles from Duquoin, , 111., walked five miles to Pineltneyville to get the license and ten miles ( to the city with the temperoturc near zero. Ills marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Terry took place on schedule time, but to get back to his home, where a reception awaited them, the bride and groom were compelled to walk the five miles, through the lack of any conveyance. I Sensations Are Probable. The arrest of Mrs. Alma Proctor Vaughn at Kingsville, Mo., on the charge of murdering her husband, marks another step In what promises to be one of the most sensational cases in the history of Missouri. Both the murdered man and his widow are prominent in society and rich. Slashed I.ady Willi Knife. A negro entered the bed room of Miss Luella C. Ilancey at Fort Myers. Fla., Friday morning and attempted to assault her. When she resisted desperately he slashed her on the arm and wrist with a knife and then escaped. 1 I f KILLED A DEPUTY BUT IS SLAIX IN TURN BV OTHER DEPUTIES. A I>esperate Battle Between Outlaw SOME HOT STUFF Pinchot Scores Ballinger, Who, He Says, Deceived the People. BETRAYED THE PEOPLE Declares That There is no Such Decision as the One Cited by Mr. Taft?Pinchot Insets that Glavis . .Told the Truth Al>out the Case * When Testifying on the Stand. With GifTord Pinchot on the wit- ] nesa stand, the Ballinger-Pinchot inquiry entered its second phase on Saturday. The dismissed chief of the forest service, before being sworn, systematically declared that when his story had been told the country would demand a verdict "In harmony with the general conviction that the secretary of the interior has been unfaithful, both to the public whose property he has endangered, and to the president, whem he has deceived." Mr. Pinchot aecused Secretary Pallinger of having made an explanation of his conduct to the president that was "essentially false." He charged him with being a "dangerous enemy to conservation." He charged him with having made a statement that whb shown by undispted documentary evidence "to ho absolutely false in three essential particulars." He also charged him with having "willfully deceived the president," and of being disloyal to the president. Mr. Pinchot's first hour on the witness stand was as replete of sensations as had been promised and the suffocated crowd in the hearing room hung intently upon every word that fell from his lips. A triile nervous at first, Mr. Pinchot soon became accustomed to his surrouutlings aid maintained a conficdnl poise thereafter. His recital had not progressed very far, however, when there came an jbjection from Mr. Ilallinger's attorney as to the witness repeating conversations had with Presdient Taft. It was contended that the relation of these conversations would put the president in an attitude where he , would either have to remain silent or ?lse appear before the committee as 1 i witness, which it was declared 1 would be undesirable. i The conservation movement begun 1 inder the administration of Presi- 1 lent Roosevelt was progressing ' splendidly up to the time that Pros- ] dent Taft and Secretary Ballinger i lame into oftip?? (loplorn/l \1 V ..t iiiu authorizing tne removal of GlavIs from the servico of the United States. The president had contended that Mr. Balllnger hail acted upon a decision of the comptroller which permitted of no appeal when he had abrogated a co-operative agreement with the agricultural department, whereby the forest service *.vas given control of the forest reserves of Indian lands. Mr. Pinchot admitted that there was an opinion by the comptroller which forbade the detail a' a clei k from the forest service to the Indian oflice, but contended that it had nothing whatever to do with t.he work of the forest, arrvio'-* in the h-*i I Mr. IMn*-hot's intiim b ? the! President Taft had either been misled or utterly mistaken brought a rapid fire of questions from Senators Itoot, Sutherland and other members of the comrnitte*. They read into the record the v i.ious dtei> oim of the comptroller, which tlicy contended had a hearing on the matte-, out. Mr. Pinchot wou d not withdraw front his position th-t them was absolutely nothing in the decision* which the president had referred to. which In any way warranted ;h? abrogation of the cooperative agreement by Secretary Balllnger. He declared In fact that a previous opinion speclfica'ly held that the agreement | ' was lawful. ~ , Mvvmjcu ai i i intuui. \ de charged that in less than a month 1 hereafter, Secretary Ballinger had J iractically broken the backbone of < he central idea of the conservation i movement by restoring previously vithdrawn water-power sites to the 1 mbllc domain and laying them open i 0 private appropriation and mouopo- i istic control. ] Mr. -Pinchot charged that when 1 he restorations were made Mr. Hal- 1 inger gavo no hint that he would < vithdraw the power sites and that as i 1 matter of fact he did not rewith- i Iraw any of them until after Mr. I Pinchot had gone to the president < ind had made a vigorous protest. The restorations by Mr. Hallinger ivere made without any investigation of the object whatever, said Mr. Pinchot and he charged the s *cretary with having deliberately orIberately ordered the oilicers of the reclamation service against their will to recommend that some of the relocations should be made. One of the most dramatic inciients of the day was left for the last half hour of the session, when Mr. Pinchot declared that there was no such decision by the comptroller of the treasury as had been cited by President Tuft in his letter of September 13, 1909, to Secretary Hallinger, dismissed the GMvl.; charges All Hound Had Xogro and Officers of the Ij?w. In a desperate battle early Friday between negroes and the deputy sheriffs ten miles east of Memphis, Tenu., Deputy Sheriff \V. H. Lucy of Germantown, was killed by Aaron Norlleet, a negro, who then attacked Deputies Hay and O'Neill and was killed by them. The affray was the result of an effort on the pnrt of officers to arrest Norlleet on a charge of larceny. After having had the warrant read to him by Deputy Lucy, Nortleet agreed to accompany the officers and asked permission to go into the cabin to get his hat. Not suspecting trouble, the officers consented to this move. Norfleet entered the house and reappeared in a nvlnute with a single barrel shotgun in his hand. Before Lucy could move, the negro raised tho gun and fired upon him at close range, literally blowing the officer's head from his shoulder. Swln p-f n cr Mo omnt.. ? - - -* * ? "*o KU1& US a CI U Dt the black leaped upon Deputes Ray and O'Neill, knocking the former down and leaping over his prostrate body, lloth the olhcers had drawn their revolvers as soon as they saw Norfleet appear with the gun. As Norflect passed over the form of Ray, O'Neill fired at him with his revolver, but his aim was poor. Deputy Ray began firing before he had regained his feet and both officers continued to pour bullets after the fugitive, who was disappearing in the darkness. Aften ten revolver shots had been fired at him, Norfleet fell to the ground, pierced by three bullets, dying within a few minutes. t DIED ON THE TRAIN, * i While on Her Way to Visit ller Parents in Rranftiville. The Augusta Chronicle says Mrs. Julia Jones died very suddenly on Thursday morning of heart failure on the Southern train just as it was pulling out of the Union station, it 7.30 o'clock, ller husband, Mr. W. K. Jones and her little daughter were with her at the time, and she was carried as far as the City Hospital on tlie outgoing train; but nothing could he done for her, as Jeath was instantaneous. She had lieen in ill health for several months, ind it is thought that the rush and oxcitement of catching tho early tnornng train was too much for her. She, her husband, and little girl tiad started on a visit to Mrs. Jones* motherland father in Branchvllle; ind the body was sent* on to that ;ilacc Thursday afternoon?the same ticket that had been purchased by the daughter earlier in the day jarrying her dead body to her sorrowing parents. She was 23 years aid, and besides her mother and rather, leaves her husband and laughter. KILLED HY UNKNOWN PARTY While Searching for llis Wife Man Is Shot from Ambush. A dispatch from Adrian, Ga., says John Swain was killed Thursday night by an unknown person near the bouse of W. E. Moore. Swain and his wife had s perated. Swain, supposing that a man by the name of Uutcherson was in company with her, went to Moore's home searching for the couple, and finding Uutcherson, severely beat him, and as Hut ?? ' viiciouu i mi, ureu tuiir hiiois at mm. Swain then returned to the house In search of his wife and was shot down from out of the darkness by an unknown person. The coroner's inquest failed to reveal anything definite as to the guilty person. They Deserve Death. At Kurac, Russia, a timber merchant named Levkin and two peasants were condemned to death by the military court for arson, committed merely to make a market for Levkin's building timber. Levkin's terms were $1 for every house tired. The peasants had applied the torch to about ten houses filled with sleeping peasants. Ilad a llig Fire. Fire early Sunday morning destroyed seven business bulKlings at McCormick, the total loss being $85,000. The buildings destroyed were the banking house of the Farmers Hank, and the postotliee and the stores of .1. S. Deacon, Harmon and Co., Fuller and Company and X. Q. Itrown and Son, anil two owned by M. L. D. Sturkey Company. Mad Dog liites Four. At Mobile, Ala., four persons were severely bitten by a mad dog, which up to noon Saturday had not been killed. Patrolmen all over Mobile are on the lookout for the dog. \