The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, April 01, 1920, Image 1
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QJlir Hamburg ifrralb
$2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1920. Established in 1891
WILLIAMSON GETS
10-YEAR SENTENCE
i
MANSLAUGHTER WITH MERCY
RECOMMENDED.
Killed Ham Brabham
/
Killing Resulted From Difficulty Between
Children?Defendant ReIlied
on Plea of Self-Defense.
R. 0. \Williamson, k well known
young white man of Ehrhardt, was
" found guilty in the general missions
court last Thursday of manslaughter
in the killing of W. Ham Brabham, a
prominently connected citizen of the
same town. The trial was commenced
Thursday morning, after many
vain attempts had been made to post
W pone the case,x and was concluded
Thursdy afternoon late. The verdict
was rendered just before court
recessed for the day, the jury recommending
that the trial judge exercise
mercy in passing sentence on
the young man.' Williamson was
sentenced to serve ten years on the
public works. The sentence was
passed on Williamson Friday afternoon,
Judge Simms stating Friday
morning to the defendant's counsel
that he wished to take the case under
advisement before fixing the sentence.
H. M. Graham, Esq., for the defendant,
pleaded that extenuating
circumstances in connection with the
case be taken into consideration, and
that thevfact that Williamson has a
wife and two small children be considered.
James E. Davis, of Barn'
well, who also defended Williamson,
had left previously for Columbia, and
was not present Friday. The solicitor
was assisted in the prosecution
by B. D. Carter, Esqv, and W. D. Bennett,
Esq.
- Dr. Robert Black was the first wit
ness called by the state. He testiI'
^ fled to the wounds found on the body.
There was a gunshot wound, evidently
caused by small shot, in>the left side
of face and upper chesC and another
gunshot wound on the right side of
face and head and upper part of the
* body, entering straight from the
front, while the other wound indicated
a slanting shot.
C. C. Moore lived in the second
house from Williamson; heard two
shots on Easter morning last year.
Went to the scene and saw the body
of Brabham on- the ground. He also
saw William^m, who asked him to
bring him to Bamberg.
' J. P. Griffin heard the shots about
11:30 a. m., and the shots were
about thirty seconds apart. Saw
t
Brabham lying on the ground face
downward in the path or road in
front of Williamson's house. Williamson's
house was about 65 feet
from Brabham's house. Saw Williamson,
who said he had killed Brabham.
Saw no weapon about Brabham's
body.
J. M. Kirkland testified that Ham
Brabham worked for him. Witness
was at the postoffice when he heard
two shots. He went to the .scene" and
saw Brabham lying with his hands
outward. Searched him and found
1 no weapon except brass knucks in
left hip pocket. The path in which
the body was lying was fifteen feet
from Williamson's doorsteps.
J. E. Folk was the only witness
who testified that he saw the actual
shooting take place. Mr. Folk is
deaf, but can hear a gun shot or
similar shocks. He was sitting on
his front porch near the Williamson
house reading when a gunshot attracted
his attention; looking up he
? ' " * T>?V
saw BraDnam ana wnuaiusuu, ruauham
making gestures. Williamson
| was standing in his own door. Saw
f gun raised second time, heard the
shot and saw Brabham fall. The
shots were a few seconds apart.
Mrs. H. F. Purcell lived next door
y to Brabham. Brabham was at her
house that Sunday morning. She
heard the shot, looked out and saw
Brabham on his knees. Another shot j
then sounded. Brabham had started j
on toward down town when he fell. J
The body was lying about ten feet I
from the bridge. * J
Mrs.'W. G. Burnett was the principal
witness for the state. She and
her husband lived upstairs in the
same house with the Williamsons.
On Sunday morning she had occasion
to go down stairs. She saw
Williamson before the shooting and
he told " er that he was going to. do
something that he hated to do. She
asked him what it was and he replied
that she would see. Mrs. Williamson
then interposed and said that he was
going to kill Brabham. She went
back upstairs and told her husband,
* ^
8,000 DIE IN MASSACRE.
Americans Make Estimate of Armenian
Dead.
Constantinople, March 27.?Estimates
of casualties in the massacres
at Marash, sent here by Americans,
place the loss of life at about 8,000
Armenians. During the disorders
150 Turks were killed.
There are 10,000 Armenian refugees
in Marash.of whom 2,000 are
sheltered in American orphanages
and hospitals. Americans are also
caring for wounded Turks, but there
is great suffering at Marash because
of a lack of supplies and nurses. A
wagon train of American supplies was
pillaged early in March between Antab
and Marash.
Forty per cent, of the buildings at
Marash were destroyed or rendered
uninhabitable during the massacres.
Nearly all the shops were destroyed
and more than half of the churches
and mosques werer laid in ruins.
The hills are so full of armed bands
at present that traveling is almost
impossible, but two m6re American
doctors are now on their way to
Marash from Adana, under guard of
Turkish gendarmerie.
who was reading, that "he was going
to ask him about it." A few
minutes later,' looking out of her
window, she saw Brabham at his own
house put on his coat, lock the door, j
put the key in his pocket, and start!
down town, it being necessary to pass
Williamson's house. As he got in
front of Williamson's house, William-j
son hailed him and afcked him if he
had called his wife a d liar and
that he would kill the whole family.
Brabham said "No, no," that he did
not want any fuss, but that if Williamson
wanted to fight for him to
come out in the road or street. Mrs.
Williamson then joined in the conversation
and said that he could not
fight Brabham, that Brabham was
too large, or something like that.
Braflham then said to wait then until
he could get his gun, and the first
shot fired. Witness did not see the
shot, because she was expecting it
and turned away to keep from seeing
the man killed. After the first shot
she heard Mrs. Williamson say that
Brabham was not dead, and for her
husband to get his pistol and finish
him. Brabham said "For God's sake
don't shoot again. Then another
shot was fired.
.On cross examination the witness
added further that during the conversation
Brabham said Williamson's
wife had put herself in a man's place
and he had talked to her like she
was a man.
George Burnett corroborated his
wife's testimony, except that he was
busy reading and did not pay much
attention to what she said previous
to the shooting. When the first shot
u-nc firort hp lnnked r?nt. nf the window
and saw Brabham in a stooping position.
This closed the testimony for the
state.
Counsel for the defense stated that
Mrs. Williamson is in a delicate condition
and that her physician had advised
against her coming to court.
Her testimony in affidavit form was
read to the jury. In this was related
the cause of the beginning of the
trouble. The son of Mr. Brabham
had smeared coal tar on- the new suit
of her little son. (She1 told Mrs.
Brabham of it across from her house,
and when she did so Brabham's boy
denied it, and she said she knew it
was so because her boy had said so,
and added that if she had him she
could kill him, explaining she said
this to scare the boy so he would not
do it again. She told her husband
of the incident, and then told Brabham
of it in passing. rShe told him
she had not said it, or something to
that effect, whereupon he told her
she was a d liar, and that he
would kill the whole family. Dur:
ing the conversation Sunday mornI
(nor Rrohhom h c\ fl ?snir1 hp wnnlri p-pf
his gun and started back to his
house when her husband shot him.
H. A. Hughes testified that in
passing Kirkland's store he hearu
Brabham telling some olie he would
kill the whole family if they put their
hands on his son.
Mrs. E. F. Zeigler said that she was
in the store of J. M. Kirkland some
days before the shooting, and that
Brabham had related the incident.
Said he told Mrs. Williamson she was
a d liar and that he would kill
' the whole family; that the trouble
started about nothing, that he had
loaded his gun with buckshot the day
he had cursed Mrs. Williamson, putting
it beside his door, expecting
Williamson would come to him about
it. Witness thought this was on
Thursday before Easter Sunday.
R. Ehrhardt testified that Wil
THREE DEAD IN
SALLEY TRAGEDY
CARLOS CORBETT FIRES FATAL
SHOTS.
Another Wounded.
Hugh Fanning, Julian Cooper and
t -ll Cnnf
JM jan oiwirj miicu uu mc uiwn
All Salley Section Men.
Columbia, May 29.?Carlos Corbett,
who shot three men to death
and probably fatally wounded a
fourth late Saturday night near Salley,
Aiken county, came to Columbia and
surrendered to authorities at the state
penitentiary early yesterday morning.
On advice of counsel he refused to
discuss the circumstances in connection
with the tragedy. The three
men who'were killed instantly were:
Julian Cooper, 23 years old and married;
Hugh Fanning, 30, unmarried,
and Bryan Salley, 21 or 22, unmarI
ried. Corbett is 45 years old.
James Salley, a widower, 63 years
' old, was brought to the Columbia
hospital early yesterday morning. He
has four wounds. One bullet entered
the left temple and passed through
the head. The optic nerves were so
injured that both eyes were destroyed.
A second bullet passed through
the biceps of the left arm, entered
the b8dv and lodged in the chest. A
third ball entered the forearm and
ranged downward one-half the
length of the arm before it made its
exit. Two bullets are also said to
have grazed Mr. Salley's back, causing
slight abrasions.
Escapes by Strategy.
Louis Salley, 18 years old, fell,
posing as if shot and escaped without
injury. He ran for help when Corbett
is said to have gone back into the
house to reload his weapon after firing
the first fusilade.
Julian Cooper was the first man
killed. He was shot through the left
temple. He leaves a wife and two
small children.
Julian Fanning received two bullets
in the upper center of the breast,
the bullet holes being only about an
inch apart.
Bryan Salley is Said to have begged
for his life and was turning away
when he received two bullets in the
side and back. v
Burning cane pumice in the road in >
liamson worked for him. Some days!
before the killing witness went to
Kirkland's store for gasoline, and
that Brabham told him he had a
"wooden overcoat" for a- man who
worked for .the witness.
G. Marion McMillan testified to
hearing a part of the conversation
testified to hv Mrs. E. F. Zeigler.
Miss Annette Moody, sister of Mrs.
Williamson, heard Brabham make
threats against the Williamson family.
That her sister asked him about
it, and told him she did not mean
she would kill Brabham's son.
Several witnesses testified to the
good character of R. O. Williamson,
who first lived in York county, then
in Barnwell. One witness, J. AMoody,
father of Mrs. Williamson,
said he knew Brabham in what is
now Allendale county, and that his
reputation then was bad. That was
several years ago.
The defendant was the last witness
called. As to dates, his testimony
was somewhat confusing. He stated
that on Monday before the killing he
met Brabham, who asked him to go
to an office and talk over their differences?caused
by the little boys'
trouble. Witness told Brabham it
was nothing but women's and children's
talk and he would not pay any
attention to it, but Brabham warned
* * i A -1_ x-n- A. ~ c -Tan
mm ne naa Dener icuk to ma wuc.
Wednesday his wife told him Brabham
had cursed her and told her he
would kill the whole family. Saw
him coming Sunday and asked him
about cursing his wife. He told of
the conversation following, ending
by Brabham telling him he would go
get his gun, and started toward his
own house. He then shot him.
Brabham turned and Williamson
said he was coming toward him when
he fired the second shot. He was
afraid he would be killed was the
reason he had killed Brabham.. Brabham
had had his foot on Williamson's
step when they were talking. Witness
said he was not mad at Brabham,
and had no hard feeling toward
him.
Asked on cross examination if he
killed Brabham because the latter
cursed his wife, h? stated positively
that he did not, but shot because he
felt his life was in danger.
DIES FROM PISTOL SHOT.
Mrs. Hope Ready, of Jackson, Dead in
Rear of Home.
Dillon March 27.?Mrs. Hope
Ready, of Jackson, was killed instantly
today by a bullet fired into the
right temple. She was found at the
rear of the house in the yard with a
pistol in her hand, it is said. When
the report of the pistol was heard
search *was begun for Mrs. Ready,
who was found in a pool of blood a
few minutes later. The bullet entered
the temple and came out at the
back of the head.
Mrs. Ready was a young woman,
' " 1 nnlTT o Kr>iit firt
navmg ueexi uiamca umj uuu^
days. Her husband is the son of Dr.
William Ready, prominent physician
of Clio. Before marriage Mrs. Ready
was Miss Olivia Chandler. Her father
operates a hotel at McBee and formerly
ran a hotel in Clio.
front of the Corbett home seems to
have precipitated the trouble. Conflicting
reports are given as to how
the fire was started.
The story as told.by the Salley boy
who escaped and by residents of the
community who were in Columbia
yesterday was that the pumice caught
from the exhaust of the automobile
driven by the dead men. It is contended
that the machine was choked
down in this filling and that an exhaust
spark started the blaze.
Points at Issue.
Corbett's contention as set out by
other parties, is that the men in the
machine applied a match to the pumice
put in the road to fill in a gullv,
drove down the road a short distance
until Corbett came out of his house
and then went back and entered into
an altercation with him.
I
t As the tragedy occurred just across
the Aiken county line in Orangeburg
pnnntv thpi innnest vesterdav was con
ducted by W. R. Kirkland, magistrate
at Norway, Orangbburg county, wh?5
acted in the absence of the Orangeburg
coroner who was out of the
state. The verdict was that the men
came to their death from gunshot
wounds in the hands or Carlos Corbett.
The five men left Salley at 10:30
o'clock Saturday night for a drive
about si$ miles into the country to
the home of the parents of Julian
Cooper, whose wife and two children
were supposed to be there. The Corbett
home is on the highway between
Salley and Cooper home, and
the fire was started in the
outgoing trip. Finding that
in the outgoing trip. Finding that
Mrs. Cooper and the children were
not at the Coopers but at the home
of a neighbor back between Corbett's
place and Salley, it is stated they then
started back and upon arriving at
the Corbett place were halted by
Corbett. Testimony yesterday at the
inquest was that Corbett began swearing
and declared he "had been run
over enough by people from Salley.'
Effort to reason, it is said, was of nc
avail, and the shooting was begur
after few words had been exchanged
according to the testimony of the witness.
It is claimed by some that the machine
went only a short distance beyond
the Corbett home and stopped
waiting there until Corbett came oul
to the fire.
Many Shots Fired.
Young Salley, who escaped, sav
two of his companions shot down anc
threw himself to the ground as if he
too had been killed. After emptying
his revolver, Corbett is said to have
stepped over the young man while returning
to the house. Young Salle}
then scurried off to call for aid. He
heard shots as he made his get away
but was not sure any of the bullets
were fired at him. The wounded mar
at the hospital says he was shot ir
thp head after Corbett had gone bacl
to the house, and returned to the car
Mrs. Corbett spent the night in th(
barn. When the shooting was over
her husband informed her of whai
had happened and advised her to g(
to a neighbor's house as he was go
ing to Columbia to surrender by th(
first automobile he could hire. Mrs
Corbett -was so frightened that sh(
was unable to get to the house anc
consequently spent the night in th<
barn. Corbett drove through th<
country and arrived in Columbia a1
an early hour yesterday morning.
All parties are white and belong tc
prominent families in and arounc
I Salley.
Claims He Shot in Self-Defense.
The following special from Columbia
to The Charlotte (N. C.) Ob
server was printed Monday morning
giving Corbett's side of the trouble:
Columbia, S. C., March 28.?Carloi
GEORGIA TOWNS
SWEPT BY STORM
WEST POINT SUFFERS A BIG
LOSS.
Wire Service Down
Cities Near Alabama-Georgia Line Report
Heavy Death Toll?Many
Dead at La Grange.
Atlanta, Ga., March 28.?At least
thirty-six lives were lost, a hundred
or more persons were injured and
properly damage possiuiy ruiiuxug
into millions was caused by tornadoes
that swept through Georgia and Alabama
late today. LaGrange and West
Point, Georgia, towns near the Alabama-Georgia
border, suffered the
heaviest, the estimated dead at LaGrange
running as high as thiriy-six.
Twenty-one bodies, six of whites and
fifteen negroes, were fuond, it was
known. West Point, which lost heavily
last December from the flooded
Chattahoochee, reported ten dead and
, severe damages in the business sec.
tion.
The tornado also was felt in Macon
. wli^re property damage ran high and
some persons were injured. Washington,
Georgia, a town near Augusta,
also felt the effects of a storm,
but apparently no lives were lost.
The tornado in Alabama took its
chief toll, according to reports to(Continued
on page 8, column 5.)
, A. Corbett, who last night killed
Hugh Fanning, Julian Cooper and
, Bryan Salley and seriously wounded
. Jones Salley at the Corbett home, in
Orangeburg county, two mnes irom
, Salley, came to Columbia early this
( morning in an automobile and surrendered
himself to the state peni,
tentiary authorities.
Corbett said that he acted in defense
of life and to protect his home
. against the alleged marauding party.
According to Corbett's story, he
, dnd his wife were awakened last
, night about 11 o'clock, by flames
, shooting up in the front of his home,
which, along with his farm buildings,
were threatened.
He said that he had cane stacked
in front of his house to the height
of three feet paralleling the public
, highway, and this was afire with the
flames shooting toward the house.
When he had the fire under control,
l he said, the automobile, bearing a
, party which had passed his house
5 came back up the road. He averred
t that one of the party said: . "He has
put out the fire, let's start it again.
Corbett said he was standing in
, dense smoke emanating from the
smouldering coals and they did not
L seo him. Threatened
His Life.
? "When this threat was made,"
L said Corbett, "I warned the party
? that I would protect my wife and
" my home at all hazards, and after
I had spoken, one of the men, a
hoarse voiced man, Jonas Salley, 1
think, exclaimen: 'Damn you, we
> will kill you?' With this, two of the
t men got out of the front of the car
and advanced toward me with then
hands in their hip pockets and twc
r other men left the rear of the car
I with their hands in their side pock5
ets like they were going to draw
> their knives. These last two ad
vanced as if they were trying to cut
- me off from the rear. I then began
1 shooting."
5 Corbett said that when he firsl
? discovered the fire he smelled an
5 odor of either gasoline or kerosene,
1 and he is of the opinion that some
1 member of the party sprinkled the
: cane and then ignited it.
He was of the opinion that the
J members of the party who live at
' Salley were drinking. He claims
t that he was cold sober and has not
> taken a drink of intoxicating liquoi
during the past eight years. He
* could attribute no cause for the men
attempting to burn his house, as he
; alleged.
1 Corbett was formerly cnier oi
5 police of Sallev, and is now farming.
5 He is about six feet tall, of sparse
t powerful frame, clean cut face and
piercing, fearless eyes. When seer
> at the state prison he was calm anc
I collected and no element of nervousness
was apparent. He said that h<
came to Columbia to give himself ui
to avoid possible further trouble.
He said that he has large famil]
- connections in the Salley section a:
- have the dead men. Had he re
, mained, these two elements mighi
have come together, engendering
IK>ssible riot and further bloodshed.
3 He said that he shot with a 3S
i
CARLISLE NOTES.
Examinations Finished?Captain Palmer
Inspects Unit.
Saturday, March 20, marked the
close of the second term at Carlisle,
examinations being finished on that
day. Both faculty and students are
glad, as examinations are generally
looked upon as a necessary evil. Tuesday,
March 23, began the third term,
which ends at the close of the year,
many cadets were allowed furloughs
after completing their respective ex- /
animations and before beginning what
may be termed "the home stretch" of
the school year.
Captain Resolve P. Palmer, infantry,
R. O. T. C. section of the war
plans division, general staff, from
headquarters Southern Department,
Charleston, S. C., visited Bamberg
March 20 and inspected the R. JO. T.
C. unit at Carlisle. Captain Palmer
arrived in the morning and spent the
time until 3 o'clock with the headmaster
and professor of military science
and tactics, going over the administration
and records of the unit.
Then followed an inspection of quaiters,
rifles and personnel of the battalion
and work on the drill field in
physical training, close and extended
order, and such other exercises as
were called for.
Immediately after chappel exercises
Tuesday morning, March 9, the stu- -V
dent body met to consider needs of
athletics and methods of raising more .
funds to support the ball team. Approximately
$600 was subscribed by
the cadets, which will go to school \ '
athletics.
The first base ball game of the season
was played on the Carlisle athletic
field Thursday afternoon, which
resulted in victory for Carlisle. Although
this was merely a practice
game?between the Bamberg team
and Carlisle?it afforded much interest
and amusement for both the players
and spectators. Carlisle enters on
her real schedule of games next wee'k, !
the first game being with Orangeburg.
Since the purchasing of a strip of
ianu joining 1110 aiuient ucm, *?uia
, has begun to convert this strip into
several tennis courts. Work on these
; courts-to-be is now going on. i
calibre Colts special revolver and
he said "I thought I got one at every '
crack." H? was under the impression
that he had killed four men.
One May Recover.
Jonas Salley, who is desperately
wounded, but has a fighting chance,
according to his physician tonight,
was brought to Columbia early this
> morning in a car and placed in a
local hospital. ??-|
i H? was shot three times. One 01
the bullets went through the fore
part of the head, penetrating both
i eye balls and blading him. Two
; entered the left arm between the
elbow and shoulder. 'One of these
lodged in the chest, this last bullet
being the only on? in his body. He
will be operated on tomorrow and
his eye balls will be taken out, ac'
cording to his physican.
Inquest Sunday.
1
s Salley, March 28.?The coroner's *
inquest into the death of Hugh Fan
ning, Bryan Salley and Julian Coop>
er, who were killed at 11 o'clock last
night, about two miles from, this
town, was held here at noon today.
' The triple tragedy occurred about one
mile over the Orangeburg county line
v" 2: f
; and as the coroner of that county
i was out of the state the inquiry was
conducted by W. R. Kirkland, magis;
trate at Norway, who came to Salley
. this morning with Sheriff Dukes. The
, verdict charged Carlos Corbett with
s the death of the three men.
i There was one witness?Louis Salley,
18 years of age, the only occui
pant of the automobile not wounded.
; He testified that the three men who
ha and .Tnnps Sallev. who
; is in a critical shape at a hospital in.
Columbia, left Salley in an automo>
bile and that the machine got stuck
l in some pumice in front of Carlos
i Corbett's house and that the pumice
| caught fire from back-fire. He said
? that as they later came back past
. Corbett's home he was out in the
. road in his night clothes and stopped
t the car. The witness said that Cori
bett cursed and that the party in the
L automobile tried to reason with him.
- Corbett wanted to know what set
; fire to the pumice, Salley said.
) A large crowd attended the inquest,
the verdict of wrhich was that these
t three young men came to their death
3 from gunshot wounds at the hands of
- Carlos Corbett.
t Corbett went to Columbia to give
; himself up and it is understood that
he reached the penitentiary at an
I early hour this morning.