The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, July 29, 1909, Image 1
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Established 1891 BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 29,1909. One Dollar a Year
i COUNTRY NEWS LETTERS
SOME INTERESTING HAPPENINGS
IN VARIOUS SECTIONS.
News Items Gathered All Around the
County and Elsewhere,
v Hearse News.
Kearse, July 26.?Miss Evelyn
Brabham entertained her friends last
Friday evening with a lawn party
given in honor of Miss Annie Halford,
* of Blackville. All spent a pleasant
Avpninc- nlavin? eames and eating
ices. Good music added much to the
pleasure of the crowd. Those present
"out of town" were: Miss Antley, of
Cordova, and Messrs. Hazelden and
Richardson, of Ulmer. *
Fish-fries, fox-hunts, and base-ball
are the chief amusements of the day.
Colston and Kearse base-ball teams
^ played an interesting game on Saturday
afternoon on Colston grounds.
A crowd of our young folks went to
root for the home team. The game
> was a tie?thie score being 9 to 9.
Mr. Williams, of Bayard, Fla., is
vialfinc in the neighborhood.
? Miss Sarah Brabham spent Sunday
at home.
Mr. David E. Pifer, of Olar, was in
our midst Sunday afternoon.
On account of the absence of sev\
eral of the members, the public meeting
of the Timrod Literary Society,
which was to be held next Friday
evening, July 30th, is indefinitely
postponed.
We are glad to see such great interest
shown in our Sunday-school.
Quite a crowd were present Sunday
* afternoon, and two members were
added to our roll. These we hope will
V be regular attendants, though living
some distance from our place of meetIf
tos
UNION LAD A SUICIDE.
H ;v;' '
Louis Vanderford, Son of WeilKnown
Farmer, Shoots Himself.
'
TTninn Tniv ?T.oiiis Vander
* ford, a white boy 16 years of age,
and a son of Ashmore Vanderford, a
well-known farmer, shot and killed
himself near his father's house, in
* the Lockhart section of this county
at an early hour this morning. Coroner
Haines has just returned from
holding an inquest over the body of
the unfortunate lad, the verdict being
that he came to his death from a
i gunshot wound in a manner unknown
to the jury.
T* onnooT-a that VftHTl? man was
*% v-v ^ ? ??o
' in good spirits yesterday, and free
from trouble. This morning he wish- (
ed to go to work on the public road, ,
y but his father refused to allow this (
and ordered him to go to school. At
this the boy took a Winchester rifle
from the house and went to some
- woods two or three hundred yards
> distant. The noise of a shot was (
soon heard from that direction, and
on investigation, the body of the rash (
youth was found, death having been
instantaneous. The ball entered the (
left breast, penetrating the heart and
lungs, and going through the body,
the gun against the stump of a tree, (
the muzzle against his own heart,
and to have fired the rifle by means ;
i of a stick. The occurrence is greatly
depolred by all. 1
Flames Destroy Eddy Lake Mill.
* Conway, July 26.?Yesterday
morning about 7 o'clock Jire broke
out in the sawmill of the Eddy Lake 1
Cypress Company, at Eddy Lake, and
in a very short time the sawmill 1
proper, including engine room, lathe
room and filing room, was swept
> away. But for the course of the
wind and very hard work on the part
of the people of the village, the 1
whole plant would doubtless have
i -.been swept away.
The loss is said to be between $50,000
and $60,000. Just what insurance
was carried on the property has
not been learned.
The fire is thought to have originated
from the boiler room nearby.
The contents of this room, however,
> were saved. A large force of workmen
is now busy clearing away the
debris, preparatory to rebuilding the
plant. Just what will be done in the
? way of rebuilding cannot yet be
stated. Mr. W. M. Burgan, the prin- :
cipal stockholder, lives in Baltimore.
He will be down as soon as possible
w and work will be held up pending his
arrival.
This is one of the largest and best 1
V equipped mills in this section. The
company owns some of the finest
bodies of timber in the county, and
only recently made marked improve- >
ments on their plant. This company
is also the chief promoter of the
Eddy Lake & Northern Railroad
Company, which serves as a feeder
for the mill.
Messrs. Geo. Officer and J. W. Little,
two of the best mill men of the
State, are in charge of the large
mills, which are the outgrowth of the
onetime Geo. Officer Company.
Child Poisoned at Greer.
Greenville, July 26.?The young
son of Dr. James, a prominent phyi
% sician of Greer, died early this morn
* ing in most excruciating agony, me
father hurriedly leaving home yesterday
afternoon accidentally dropped
a bottle of morphine on the
porch floor and the little fellow picked
it up and, when discovered by his
mother, had eaten the greater part of
the contents of the bottle. A physi'
* clan was quickly summoned and a
stomach pump applied. The poisoning
had advanced too far to be overcome.
*
C. S. MAY ARRESTED.
Shortage of Rock Hill Treasurer More
Than $14,000.
Rock Hill, July 23.?Mr. C. S. May,
former city treasurer, was arrested
at noon Wednesday and taken before
Magistrate Beckham, where he
waived preliminary and gave bond in
the sum of $5,000 for his appearance
at next term of court. This action
was taken by council after several
?1. Amar.
silUllgd WUCU tuc VI bUU
ican Audit Company was received and
digested.
The amount named by Mr. May
when he confessed his shortage to his
bondsmen several weeks ago was $6,000.
He persists in the statement that
this is correct. The amount given by
the audit company is $14,670.04. It
is stated by council that this amount
might be lessened to a small amount
if there were any receipts for the disbursements
of the present year. The
receipts and vouchers of this year
having been destroyed it was found
impossible to check these later than
December 31, 1908. It is understood
that Mr. May admits that the shortage
has been accumulating for five or
six years. At the council meeting
held Tuesday morning Mr. May's
counsel was allowed until noon to
aay m wmcn 10 arrange 10 xuaae guuu
the shortage. This not being done,
the arrest followed. It is also stated
that Mr. May declared emphatically,
prior to any movement to arrest him,
that he would stajr right here, face
the charges and take his punishment
like a man.
Judge Hudson Dead.
Greenville, July 22.?Joshua Hilary
Hudson, 77 years of age, statesman,
soldier, jurist and citizen of
whom all Soyth Carolina was proud,
died this afternoon at the home of
his daughter, Mrs. William A. Williams,
after an illness lasting for several
weeks. None was prepared for
the sudden ending of the life of the
distinguished jurist whose name has
for two decades or more been a synonym
for all that stood for the right
and the just.
Judge Hudson was born in Chester
on January 29, 1832.
Besides Mrs. Williams, the daughter,
at whose home he died, he leaves
three other daughters, Mrs. A. A.
Bristow, of this city; Mrs. J. L. Jordan
and Mrs. W. R. Crosland, of Bennettsville.
The body will be taken
to Bennettsville to-morrow afternoon
at 12:30 o'clock and the interment,
will be made there.
WONDERFUL RESCUE.
Little Girl More Than Two Hours in
Narrow Well.
Fort Mill, July 26.?Word reached
Fort Mill this morning of a harrowing
accident, and a most remarkable
escape from death, which Sunday afternoon
befell the 8-year-old daughter
- ? / * 1- - ?t-jx. .r
or u. *jook, a wnue laruier ui mc
Belair neighborhood, seven miles
from this place. The child was playing
about the yard and in some way
fell into the well, which is 30 feet
deep, contains about eight feet of water,
and is walled with 18-inch terracotta
piping. The child screamed
while falling and her parents discovered
at once that she was in the well.
Intelligent effort was immediately
directed toward the rescue of the
child, who displayed the remarkable
presence of mind, after sinking the
depth of the eight feet of water and
rising to the surface, of bracing her
body with knees and back on opposite
sides of the piping to avoid
drowning.
A rope was quickly lowered and
the child told to grasp it. This she
did, but when drawn to within a few
feet of the mouth of the well the
child's strength failed and she fell to
the bottom of the well a second time,
but again rose to the surface of the
water and grasped the rope. After
the lapse of an hour or more the
child was again persuaded to swing
to the rope while her parents for the
second time attempted to draw her
from the well. Again, when almost
within arm's reach of the parents,
the child let go the rope and for the
third time sank to the bottom, but
fortunately rose to the surface of the
water as formerly. The rope was
again quickly lowered and once more
was in the hands of the child.
This time, however, the child could
not, for the third time, be induced to
undertake the ascent?she was all
but exhausted, but had sufficient
strength left to hold to the rope and
thereby save herself from drowning.
Another hour passed and little
hope of rescuing the child was left.
Finally a pair of steelyards was secured
and tied to the end of a second
rope. This was lowered and the
child told to fasten one of the hooks
to her clothing. In this way she was
at last rescued, after facing death for
more than two hours. Monday morning
the little girl was at play as
usual, apparently little the worse for
the harrowing experience of the afternoon
before.
BACKED INTO SALUDA RIVER.
Mr. and Mrs. Wessinger Had Narrow
Escape from Drowning.
Chapman, July 23.?On returning
from Lexington yesterday Mr. and
Mrs. Banks Wessinger had a narrow
escape from being drowned. While in
the flat, crossing at Uysis ferry, the
mule backed the buggy out of the flat,
Mr. and Mrs. Wessinger, together
with the mule and buggy, all going
into the river. It was fortunate that
they were near the bank of the river,
and Mr. Wessinger swam out with his
wife in one arm, and with the aid of
Mr. Wyse was able to get the mule
and buggy out without any damage
at all.
IN THE PALMETTO STATE
SOME OCCURRENCES OF VARIOUS
KINDS IX SOUTH CAROLINA.
State News Boiled Down for Quick
Reading?Paragraphs About
Men and Happenings.
C. W. McCravy, auditor of Laurens
county, has resigned. The reason
given is business cares of a private
nature.
A party of Orangeburg people left
that city last week in a motor boat.
It is their intention to go down the
Edisto river to Charleston.
The automobile route from Atlanta
to New York has been decided on.
In this State it is to go through Anderson,
Greenville, Spartanburg, and
Gaffney on to Charlotte.
J. Chester Kennedy is being tried
again in Barnwell this week for complicity
in the murder of W. Perry
Ussery. It is charged that Kennedy
hired two men to kill a man named
Holland and they killed Ussery by
mistake. Kennedy was tried last
week and the jury failed to agree.
George Myers, a State constable,
was accidentally shot at 11 Society
street, in Charleston, Sunday morning.
He dropped his pistol to the
floor, and it was discharged, the bullet
entering his stomach. Myers was
carried to the Roper hospital. It is
feared the wound will prove fatal.
Six negroes have been arrested and
lodged in jail at Bishopville, charged
with being implicated in the murder
of a negro woman, who was
found dead in her house with her
skull crushed. The whole affair is
shrouded in mystery, but the husband
of the woman was one of the
negroes arrested.
A special from Lexington says
crops in that county are burning up
for the want of rain. Cotton is suffering
most and the crop will be a
great deal shorter than last year.
Everything has been put in excellent
nnmlition. and with rain in the next
day or two there might be a considerable
come-out in the younger crops.
The cotton mill known as the
Reedy River Manufacturing Co., sit-:
uated about seven miles from Greenville,
on the Reedy river, was sold
at public auction last Friday. It
was bought by W. E. Beattie, of
Greenville, and associates, the price
paid being $149,400. The property
is said to be worth $200,000. The
concern will be reorganized.
It is stated that the cocaine habit
is prevailing to an alarming extent
among the negroes in Lexington
county, and that many farm hands
are being made utterly worthless
through its use. The negroes carry
it around with them in their pockets,
one negro being found with $12
worth of the drug on him. Dealers
are making a good thing out of the
sale.
Deputy Sheriff H. H. Lockhart, of
Cherokee, arrested a negro named
Alonzo Lockhart, who is charged
with enticing laborers to leave the
State in violation of the statute covering
such cases, and took him before
Magistrate Camp, who committed
him to jail for trial one day this week
in default of bond. Lockhart has retained
counsel to represent him, and
claims that he is not guilty of the
offense charged against him.
The Southern Power Company is
about ready to begin work on its big
plant at Getty's Shoals, twelve miles
above Camden, twenty-four miles below
Great Falls, and twenty-one
miles below the Rocky Creek works.
The dam will be 110 feet in height
and will back water to the Rocky
creek dam, making a continuous lake
of twenty-one miles in length. The
Getty's Shoals plant is expected to
furnish 100,000 power when completed.
Harry Ellis, a black negro boy, of
about seventeen or eighteen years of
age, was brought to Greenville Sat
UIUO.V UlgUl UClltCCU inviTv uuu vuv
o'clock by Deputy Maddox, of Groye
township, near Piedmont, about ten
miles from the city. Ellis is charged
with an attempt to ravish a young
white girl of good family in that
neighborhood. There was some talk
of lynching the negro after the deed
was committed, but the officers managed
to get him to Greenville before
the mob could get up courage to perform
the deed.
Attorney General Lyon has rendered
an opinion that dispensaries may
not open up for business immediately
after the election, in case the voters
decide in favor of the sale of whiskey.
He states that the dispensaries
must be kept closed until the result
is finally determined, and this cannot
be done until the State board of
canvassers meets and declares the result.
We presume in case of a contest,
the dispensaries would remain
closed until the contest was settled,
and in case there was an appeal to
the courts this would take several
months.
TEX CENTS REWARD.
What a Rich Banker Gave a Lad for
Finding $25,000.
31. iUUIHtJUUIUCK, ilittjui KJL \jauj.ybell
Hill, 111., mill owner, banker and
real estate man, was at Murphysboro,
111., a few nights ago and dropped
his wallet, containing $25,000 in
money and negotiable papers. Frank
Will, a youth employed by the Mobile
and Ohio railroad as coach cleaner,
found the wallet and restored it to
Mohlenbrock, who rewarded the boy's
honesty by handing him a dime. Mohelenbrock
had walked from the train
to a hotel, nearly a mile distant, and
had not missed the wallet when Will
called him up by telephone and notified
him of finding it in a car.
SHORTAGE IX GEORGETOWX.
County Treasurer Claims it is a Mistake,
However.
There is a shortage of nearly $7,000
in the accounts of the treasurer
of Georgetown county. This has been
suspected for some time by the comptroller
general's office and a close
checking up of the books has been going
on. However, the treasurer insists
that he is not short and that the
checking up is at fault.
The Georgetown Times gave publicity
to the following statement:
"Our whole community is terribly
shaken over the condition of the
county treasurer's office, caused, as
we have no doubt, by bad bookkeeping
on the part of Mr. Detyens, the
incumbent. The report has it that he
is about $6,000 short; and, from
what we can gather, there seems to
be no doubt about it. Where has the
money gone? Not into his two
houses; not into his farm, certainly,
because all this property is under
mortgage, all is incumbered. He
never lived a fast life; he never
gambled, or wasted his money on fast
women. If he ever did these things,
his friends and constituents would
know of it, for this is a small community,
and every one knows each
other's business to a greater or less
^AWUVt
"It is but justice to say Mr. Deytens
disputes the correctness of the figures
put down by Gen. Jones and Mr. Wilson,
and claims that he has more
vouchers in his office, which, when
deducted from the balance found
against him, will materially decrease
the amount of the apparent shortage.
We hope so from our heart. We understand
that it is the intention of
the treasurer to have an expert go
over his accounts.
"The expert officers checked up the
vouchers and accounts of the superintendent
of education as to schools and
the same as to the supervisor.
Postmaster in Trouble, Too?
"And as if all this was not enough
to shock the people there are rumors
of all kinds affecting the postoffice,
but as we have no official information
on the subject, we care not to
dilate on it for the present; neither
can we write intelligently about the
fines collected by the magistrates, although
Comptroller Jones says there
is a big discrepancy between the
amount collected and actually turned
in to the treasurer."
Pnstofflfia Inspector Greeorv. who
was in Columbia, expressed surprise
that the Georgetown postmaster, Mr.
A. L. King, was thought to be in
financial trouble. Mr. Gregory knows
Mr. King well and thinks well of him.
However, he could give no information
about the supposed trouble in the
Georgetown office, as this office is not
in Mr. Gregory's territory. It is looked
after from the Charleston office.
Representatives J. Walter Doar
and Olin Sawyer, of Georgetown, who
were in Columbia yesterday, confirmed
the rumors of the shortage of
Treasurer J. F. Detyens, of Georgetown
county. The shortage ampunts
to about $6,800.
Several days ago Comptroller General
Jones made an investigation of
ithe affairs of the office and it is un
Sdrstood will submit a report to Gov.
! Ansel asking for the removal of Mr.
jDetyens. Mr. Jones was out of the
I city yesterday and, therefore, the exact
figures could not be obtained from
him.
Mr. W. H. Darrill, who has been
auditor for Georgetown county for a
number of years, was in Columbia,
and it is understood has submitted
his resignation to the delegation. His
action, however, has nothing to do
with the shortage, but^was because
of bad health and the fact that he is
about 80 years of age.
Detyens, according to the statement
of Dr. Sawyer, was to have made a
number of speeches in the cause of
prohibition, being interested in the
fight now going on in Georgetown
county. He is still in office, although
when a full report of the comptroller
general is submitted, a request will
be made for his removal.
Among other items of shortage is
said to be $1,000 at one clip, this in
the form of a check for dispensary
money, which was indorsed and paid,
but of which there is said to be no
record in the treasurer's office. The
treasurer is also said to have receipted
for money to a number of
road overseers and made no record of
the transaction.
To Try John Jenkins.
Georgetown, July 26.?Judge John
S. Wilson, Solicitor Wells and Ste
nographer Covington arrived nere
to-day to officiate at the special term
of court which convenes here tomorrow
for the trial of John Jenkins,
who is now here in jail, charged
with assault with criminal intent.
Jenkins has been in the penitentiary
for several weeks for safe keeping,
but was brought back here for trial
last Friday night.
A large crowd is expected to be in
I the city to-morrow; in fact, a large
crowd arrived here to-day on the
steamer Mitchell C, from Conway,
and it is understood that there will
be a special excursion boat from
Conway here to-morrow. Sheriff C.
W. Scurry does not anticipate any
trouble during the trial. However,
the Georgetown Rifle Guards are now
on duty by order of the governor, and
will remain in readiness until Wednesday
night.
Jenkins, when asked if he had
anything to say for publication, replied:
"Not much, sir, except when
the trouble happened above Friendfield
I was down at Aldery plantation,
about two and one-half miles
from the place where it occured, and
when I went back to Friendfleld, the
place where I live at, I was arrested
as the man. But I am not the man,
and if I am found guilty I want to
be hung right away. All that can be
done is to hang me and I am satisfied
all is well with me."
WALL SAVES GALVESTON
MAX-BUILT BULWARK PROVES
IMPREGNABLE TO WATERS.
Storm Reaps its Toll of Dead on Fishing
Pier Beyond Protecting
Walls of the Town.
Galveston, Tex., July 21.?Ten
dead is the total number of lives lost,
so far as is known, in the hurricane
which swept over the Gulf of Mexico
and struck Galveston this morning
and continued until after mid-day.
While the city of Galveston was held
safe against the fury of the storm
by the new sea wall, far out in the
gulf, on Tarpon fishing pier, seven
miles from the city, where the storm
whipped over the jetty into the bay,
10 persons were washed from the
rocky promontories into the gulf.
Boats to-night are searching the bay
for bodies, but so far have been unsuccessful.
Those drowned were members of
a fishing party and employes of the
Tarpon pier, marooned from the jetties.
Boats were sent to their assistance
late to-day and it was learned
that the house in which they had
taken refuge had been washed away.
While it is impossible to get an accurate
list of the dead owing to the
fact that the register has always been
kept at the pier, the best information
obtainable is as follows:
Capt. Bettison and wife, Edward
Lewis, C. H. Dailey, circulation manager
of the Galveston Tribune, formerly
of Chicago, Ray Teetshorn, of
Houston, and iour negroes. The others
are unknown.
Man's strength and skill were pitted
against the fury of the elements
tn-dav and man won when the city
of Galveston, entrenched behind her
impregnable 17-foot seawall, withstood,
with comparatively trifling
loss, a tidal wave and hurricane
equal in intensity and destructive
force to the one which destroyed the
city on September 8, 1900.
With wires down and railroad communication
destroyed, the exact loss
is impossible to estimate. The hurricane
struck Galveston about 11
o'clock this morning, the wind attaining
a velocity of 70 miles an
hour, which whipped the treacherous
waters of the Mexican gulf into
a fury of destruction. With the pent
up anger of 10 years of hate, the
waves blindly assaulted the grim parapets
of stone which man had builded
to restrain its attacks. In vain
it hurled its thousands of tons of water
upon the splendid breastworks.
Only a feeble burst of spray and a
little water reached its objective and
the beleaguered city lay calm and
safe behind the wall.
Waters Vainly Vent Wrath.
Outside the limits of the city,
where the wall had not been reared
and the city had not been elevated,
the waters had their way, but they
wrecked only deserted huts and abandoned
territory. In this section of
the city, which is low and sparsely
settled, the water rose to a height of
seven feet, but the warnings of the
weather bureau had been heeded and
| the inhabitants had removed their
j possessions out of the danger zone.
I From other cities in the affected
I area come tales of narrow escapes
and much destruction to property.
What damage and loss of life will be
reported from the many resorts along
other sections of the low-lying gulf
coast is not known yet.
There is no communication by wire
with the island city of Galveston tonight.
A schooner, torn from her
anchor, smashed the one bridge
which connects Gaiveston with the
mainland and severed the telegraph
and telephone cables as well as rendered
the bridge unsafe. To-night all
communication with the world is by
tugs.
Sweeping westward, the tropical
storm which had been central over
the Gulf of Mexico for 24 hours,
struck Galveston shortly after 11
o'clock. The wind attained a velocity
of 68 miles an hour and shifted to
the northeast, heaving the waters
of Galveston bay up against the island
and flooding that quarter which
had not been raised.
The water backed up into the main
streets of the city, but the principal
damage was confined to the beach
front, where bath houses and pleas
? ~ <"rrant anrav Shinning
UTtf piCi o wcic oncpw UTTW,J.
was undisturbed.
Hurricane Foretold.
A hurricane for east Texas was
forecast at the district weather bureau
in New Orleans early this morning
and warnings were sent out.
When wind and rain arrived several
hours later, they found Galveston
prepared. The inhabitants of the
few scattered houses in the low part
of the island had already sought safety
and the vessels that had cleared
and prepared to sail were riding .at
anchor in the bay.
The fury of the storm soon abated
and the anxiety or tnose wno entertained
fears of another tidal wave
were soon relieved. Small boys paddling
around in the flooded streets,
even before the heavy wind had died
down, presented a scene which dispelled
alarm felt by the timid.
So short was the duration of the
storm that the Mallory line* steamer,
which was booked to sail for New
York shortly after noon, left on
schedule time.
It is impossible to-night to make
an accurate estimate of the monetary
damage. Few buildings were
blown down, but it is believed many
warehouses were flooded and goods
ruined.
The storm covered a wide area
along the gulf coast. Some damage
is reported as far south as Matagorda
bay and as far east as the parish of
Cameron, La.
A fishing pier, seven miles from
[Continued on fourth page.]
NO SHORTAGE.
Georgetown Postmaster Praised by
Inspector.
Georgetown, July 25.?Reports to .
the effect that Postmaster A. L. King
is in trouble of a financial nature
with the postal authorities are without
foundation. In fact Postofflce Inspector
Smith is now in the city, and
has given the office a rigid examination,
and, it is learned, has commended
the manner* in which the office is
being conducted in the highest terms.
This information was secured from
vlnrr Vt 1 ?vi nrtl I tttV* a amll
rusiuiasici xviug uiuiocn, nuu suiu*
ingly asserted that his statement
would be fully sustained by the inspector's
official reports. The people
of Georgetown have been given excellent
mail service, and there are no
complaints heard in that respect even
among Mr. King's enemies, political
and otherwise.
Rumors of irregularities in the
postofflce were no sooner abroad in
the city than ofT to Washington hurried
J. A. Baxter, the negro Republic
can leader here, hoping, it is said,
for a chance to supplant the incumbent,
Mr. King. Mr. J. E. McQuade
is out with a largely signed petition,
praying for appointment to the place
in case there is a vacancy. In view
of the fact that Mr. King has but recently
been appointed for another
term and the inspector has given him
a clean sheet as to alleged irregularities,,
it is likely that the agitation in
the matter will be ignored at Washington.
Verdict Found in Three Minutes.
Georgetown, July 27.?Pursuant
to the proclamation of the governor
issued several days ago in response
to a petition submitted to him by Solicitor
Walter H. Wells, the spring
term of court for the trial of John
Jenkins, alias "Slippery Jim Joint,"
for an assault with criminal intent
upon a woman was convened here
to-day at 10 o'clock, Judge John S.
Wilson, Solicitor Wells and Stenog- /
rapher Covington officiating.
The grand Jury was immediately
assembled at the opening of the
court and after a short but instructive
charge by Judge Wilson the
grand jury retired to their room to
investigate whether or not a prima
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the accused. After remaining oat
about 15 minutes the grand jury re- 1
turned and published the result of j&gB
their investigation in court, which was
a true bill against John Jenkins
for assault with criminal intent as
charged. Accordingly a petit jury
was drawn for the regular trial. Jenkins
did not have counsel for his defense
and the court assigned Messrs.
Walter Hazard and M. W. Pyatt for
the defense, while Solicitor Wells and
James Wingate represented the State.
The testimony began about eleven
o'clock. The prosecutrix was the
first to be sworn. At the request of
the solicitor and under the act of the
last legislature, so providing, every
one was requested by the judge to 4 'Z&jM
leave the court room, excepting the
near relatives of the prosecutrix, the
attorneys and other necessary officials
during the testimony of the
young lady.
The prosecutrix while on the stand,
embarrassed and in a faltering tone,
told the story clearly and distinctly,
positively identifying the accused,
who stood before her. Her startling
story brought tears to the eyes of
many wno were present nuu ?? sun
left the court room, passing the
prisoner in the box, she said: "I
hope I will never see that brute alive i
again." g
Several other witnesses testified,
among whom were Deputy Sheriff
Ward, F. L. Siair, Jr., and several colored
witnesses. ; >4
At the conclusion of the testimony
the judge charged the jury, as neither
side, cared to make a speech. The
judge's charge was short, clear and V;
instructive.
The jury retired about 2:15 o'clock
and returned in less than three minutes
with a verdict of guilty with an **
assault with criminal intent, aa
charged in the indictment, for which,
under the new act of the legislature,
the only punishment that may be inflicted
was death.
At 2:25 p. m. Judge Wilson solemnly
pronounced the sentence of
the court, which was to the effect
that John Jenkins, alias "Slippery
Joint," must pay the penalty for his
crime on the gallows on August 13;
next.
Jenkins appears to be about 17
years of age, perfectly illiterate and
nf a v*>rv stolid nature. While the
sentence of death was being pronounced
upon him he smiled almost
incessantly and seemed to have
thought that it was smart to be the
centre of attraction of so large a
crowd, which almost bulged the
walls of the court house.
Jenkins was quietly carried back
to the jail house and during the
whole trial there was perfect order.
Judge Wilson highly commended the
people for their action in the matter,
their orderly conduct, and while it
was a case of a nature to excite the
highest anger, the law was allowed
to take its full course and everything
will continue orderly until the execution
is consummated.
*
Shot Himself Accidentally.
Saluda, July 26.?Mr. R. A. Coleman,
of the Denny section of this
county, accidentally shot himself Friday
morning, while out shooting
squirrels. He had just fired his gun
and afterward threw it across his
shoulder with the muzzle pointing
forward. In some way he lost his
grip on the gun and it fell backward
from his shoulder, with the muzzle
pointing toward him and as it struck
the ground it was discharged, the
load of *hot entering the left foot and
ankle. The wound is a very painful
one, the ankle bones being shattered.
1