The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, October 31, 1906, Image 4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1906.
The Sumter Watchman was founded in
&B50 and the Trite Southron in 1865. The
"Wafcft?/!a? a/id Southron now bas the com?
bined circulation and influence of both of
%he old papers, and is manifestly the best
advertising medium in Sumter.
Presentment of the Grand Jury.
Tlfe His Honor, Judge D. E. Hydrick,
Presiding Judge at the October
^.erxa of the Court of Common Pleas
^?n? General ession for Sumter
County, 1908:
We, the Grand Jury, beg to make
this our final presentment We have
'?examined into and returned all bill s
.priven us by the Solicitor. We have,
"through, our committees, visited the
-several county offices, chain gang, j
-alms house, jail and dispensaries. We j
End the financer of the county in good
snape, the work in the various office:;
yrell up and done in a neat and busi?
ness like manner. We find the jail
kept in a loose and careless manner,
prisoners are given water in glass
bottles, gathered from the streets or
?.ny place they can be procured with?
out cost. This we think dangerous, not
tm?y to the prisoners themselves, but
the keepers of the jail, as the bot?
tles could easily be used as deadly
weapons in case there was an attempt
by tht prisoners to escape. We recom?
mend that the proper authorities be
/ instructed and required to purchase
. *at once tin cups to be used in giving
the prisoners water. The jail is not
Sfcept clean, as is required by law, but
?eeds a thorough scouring, walls need
patching and whitewashing, and the
.two dry wells need prompt attention,
We find one prisoner in jail, Cornelius
?nd only ten bunks. We recommend
?that the proper authorities be re?
quired to purchase at once necessary
^unks, blankets and slop buckets.
We find one prisoner i jail, Cornelius
7jtfil!er, who has fits and is crazy. He
has been in jail two and a half
?nontlis, and we recommend that he
? sent to the asylum or poor house.
- We find also one cocaine feind who is
crazy and recommend that he be
removed from the jail to the proper
place of detention.
The jailor complains that he has
-rreat difficulty in getting tho county
physician to attend the prisoners, and
we respectfully ask that your Honor
will instruct the proper authorities to
. have'these complaints looked into and
corrected.
We find the Alms House in good
.'Condition, the inmates well cared .for
3Jid comfortable. The inmates con?
sist of eight whites and nine negroes.
We find there now two negro women
Who are crazy and dangerous to the
other inmates, and should be removed
*f> the asylum as lunatics.
We find the chain gang in good con
.?on, the prisoners well cared for
-ad in a healthy condition. The num?
ber now on the gang is nineteen
We find, the work on the New Court
H>use progressing rapidly and will,
v;'r?ea completed, be a credit to our
.scanty.
We find that the County Superin?
tendent of Education's office and that
of the Sheriff are made too dark by
the building cf stores on the south?
ern sid*?" of the Court House, and it
*is practically impossible for any
xwork to be done in them at any time
Unless by. the use of lamps, and we
"would respectfully recommend that
?a electrica light be ordered put in
each of these oifices at once.
?Complaint has been made to us
^whirh when investigated are found j :
to be true) that some of the prisoners
Saave been whipped at, the jail for
"teinor offenses commited while in
^il an? in the custody of the jailor,
3tn& contrary to law. We recommend
*2xa? the Sheriff be commanded to
take such steps as will immediately
1 wit a stO? to such procedure. We
"WOald f?rther recommend that the
^Sheriff be instructed to be moro care
ta? in issuing passes to* persons de- !
*S?riJ*g to ? ee inmates of the jail, as we
thifck ?he indiscriminate issuing of
.passes " wa s largely the cause of the
:ietent attempt to break jail, which
'"^resulted in the indictment of a good
^ttiny at this term of court and in
<i?rred gr^at cost to the county.
"We find that the State Dispenser at
'?ffayesvilie. Mr. George P. McKagen,
^Mts not made report or tu ii? ed over
to the county its share of the profits
troan the dispensary at Mayesville for
.She anon th of March, 1906, and we
tt?&ommen 1 that thTr county attorney
proceed at once to collect the amount
^tom S.2M dispenser, '?r his ads
We desire again to recommend the
of the present jail and property
Hfee proceeds of which, to be used by
t?fae county board cf commissioners in
tile erection of a more modern and
^3o;3venient jail on the property now
^awne? by the county on which is be
*2ig erected the county Court House.
We desire to extend our thanks to
3S?s Honor, the Judge, the .Solicitor
<&t? -KU court officers for courtesies ex
^K?u?ed. All of which is respectfully
^ssfefct?ttad.
R. K. Wilder,
. ? ' Foreman.
THE GAILLARD TRIAL.
From The Daily Item, Oct. 26.
The ti tal of the case of the State
vs. Henry Small, alias Campfire Bill,
alias Jack McCoomer and George
Spivins was called for trial upon
the convening of the court of General
Sessions this morning. L. D. Jennings,
Esq., attorney for the first named de?
fendant stated to the court th it he
was expecting material witnesses
from Cole Brothers circus, now in
Georgia, that the management had
promised to have them here for the
trial, and that he did not wish to go
into the trial of the case without
them. Judge Hydrick granted Mr.
Jennings until 3 o'clock to ascertain
whether or no the witnesses would he
set, as they were without the juris?
diction of the court and their atten?
dance up-on 4hc -court could not be
compelled. The attendance of these
witnesses is necessarily dependent
upon the willingness of these men to
attend, and upon the courtesy of Cole
Brothers' management.
Intimation was made that a motion
for a continuance would be made, and
that the defendants, both Campfire
Bill and Spivins desires to be tried in
Clarendon county at the next term of
court there, which will be on the
second Monday in February. This
motion has not as yet been formally
made, and has therefore not been
passed upon by Judge Hydrick. It is
not likely that the motion, if made,
will be granted, as both defendants
have had ample time to prepare - for
trial.
From The Daily Item, Oct. 27.
At 4 o'clock, as predicted yester
terday afternoon, L. D. Jennings, Esq.,
made a motion for a continuance on
the ground that he had used due
diligence to procure the attendance
of witnesses, that the effort had been
futile and that the solicitor refused to
admit testimony as to what the wit?
nesses would testify if they were
present. The motion was overruled
on the ground that there was no as?
surance that the attendance of the
witnesses could be procured, and the
trial was ordered entered into. Coun?
cil for the defendant however, was in?
structed to continue to use diligence
to got the witnesses within the juris- ,
diction of the Court.
The clerk then proceeded to em
partnel a jury, all members being first
sworn on their voir dire.
The jury consists of the following
gentleman:
J .E. Kenney, W. L. Brunson, W.
R. Bracey, Dave Locklair, John T.
Green, Jr., H. Lee Scarborough, S. A.
Harvin, J. F. Hodge, J. A. Mims, J.
S. Richardson, W. A Mcilwaine, and
R. E. Xewman.
Mr. H. Lee Scarborough was ap?
pointed foreman.
Witnesses for both the State and
the defendants were ordered out of
the court room during the taking of
testimony. ?
The jury having been empanelled
yesterday afternoon, the first work of
the court this morning was the tak?
ing of testimony in the case of the
State ve. Campfire Bill, alias Henry
Small, alias Jack McCoom and
Seorge Spivins, charged with the
murder of Mr. J. E. Gaillard.
Doctors Earnest Carson, S. C. Bak
5r, "Walter Cheyne and H. M. Stuckey
were examined in the order named
and gave clear and precise accounts
)f the nature of the wounds sus?
tained by the deceased, and of their
deadly effect. The ball, according to
ill the doctors, entered the left ab?
dominal region near the groin and
ranged slightly upward and finally
embeded itself Mn the soft portion of
:he right hip bone, almost completely
penetrating the bone and being found
directly under the skin. There were
fourteen perforations of ?he bowels,
Death ensued directly from shock
caused by a great loss of blood: The
bullet was identified and introduced
in evidence.
Mr. F. P. Burgess was at the Cen?
tral Hotel at Manning when he hea~d
that Mr Gaillard was wounded. He
found him lying on the left side of
the piazza. Mr. Gaillard said that he
was shot in the stomach and knew
that he would die. "God knows what
I was shot for.' he said. Mr. Burgess
saw no weapon upon Mr. Gaillard.
Mr Charlt s Hazeldell made an ex?
cel;.-nt witness for the State. When
asked if ht- knew who shot Mr. Gail
lard, he pointed to "Campfire Bill,"
and positively identified him The de?
fendant rod,, v> the depot in his bug?
gy with Wittie Levan, colored, who
had his buggie in charge. They talk?
ed together for a few minutes, and
remembered well his peculiar fea?
tures. Gaillard went over toward the
train to watch the work of loading
and called the witness and Burkett
to him. Gaillard was on his horse.
The defendant "Campfire" Bill sud?
denly came down from the platform
of one of the coaches, and asked,
"who's that wants to see mc," and
with the words drew his pisto! ami
fired five times. We were within six
feet of the car. Two shots were fired
at Gaillard, one at me and two at
Burkett, all were wounded. On cross
examination the witness stated that
there was plenty of light about the
/
depot, that he did not see the defend?
ant Spivins and that he would have
seen him had he l een present.
The testimony of Mr. M. O. Burk?
ett, the next witness, was substantial?
ly the same as that given by Hazel?
dell.
Mr. J. C. McLeod was then called
to the stand. He was flagman on
the circus train, and at the time of the
shooting was about SOO yards away.
He was in the caboose car attached
j to the train at Bishopville, when the
defendant, Spivins. came in at C:30
o'clock on the morning after the
tragedy. When witness stated that
Mr. Gaillard had been shot on the
night previous, defendant replied,
"served him right that he was shot."
Spivins stated that he knew who
did the shooting, and asked if a
crowd of men came up to me and put
a rope around my neck, if I would de?
fend myself. The witness did not see
Spivins before or after thc shooting.
Messrs. Henry Clark and Plummer
Clark, both testified to the fact that
they were in the agents office at Man?
ning on the occasion of the killing as
the train pulled out they saw George
Spivins standing on the rear platform
of one of the coaches with a pistol in
his hand. This was twenty minutes
after the shooting took place.
The testimony of Mr. J. M. Woods
was practically the same as that of
Messrs. Clark.
Court then adjourned for the noon
recess.
From The Daily Item, Oct. 29.
On Saturday afternoon the State
concluded the taking of testimony for
the prosecution' in the case of the
State vs. Henry Small, alias Campfire
Bill, alias Jack McCoomer and George
Spivins. The testimony of the witness?
es who were examined after the noon
session was .principally circumstan?
tial and substantiated that of the wit?
nesses previously examined.
Witnesses for the defendant, Mc?
Coomer were called upon the conven?
ing of court this morning. The Rev.
Mr. Inatihet was examined by Mr.
Jennings, and stated that the descript?
ion of the defendant given to him by
Mr. Burkett on the day following the
shooting, did not tally with the de?
scription given by Mr. Burkett on the
witness stand, and from the descrip?
tion first given he would never have
picked out the defendant, McCoomer,
as the guilty party.
Mr. Harry Craig, who is in charge
of the entire cooking department of
the Cole Brothers show, stated that
the defendant McCoomer was known
as "Campfire Jack," and not as
'Campfire Bill. He further stated
that Campfire Bill had disappeared
from the circus on the day* after thc
shooting affair and that he had not
been seen since. The name '"Camp?
fire," he said, attached to these men
by reason of their connection with the
cooking department.
John Miller, colored, also in the
employ of the circus, told that Camp?
fire Bill had not been seen around the
circus since the shooting, and that
the defendant McCoomer was not
him.
William Logan was by far the most
important witners put up by the de?
fence. He lives near the depot in
Manning and told the following tale:
He was on the front piazza of his
house, which is directly on the rail?
road right of way, and that he was at
a distance not more than twenty
yards from the circus train, when Mr.
Gaillard on a white horse, and Mr.
Sublett on a dark ^nule, rode up to the
depot. The two gentlemen engaged in
conversation, a part of which the
witness was able to hear. He distinct?
ly heard Sublett tell Gaillard not to
go up to the circus train. Gaillard
said that he was going anyway, and at
that time Sublett rode off. The wit?
ness heard Mr. Gaillard when he ap?
proached the train, ask a crowd of
men where the train master was, and
on being told that they knew not, he
said that he would go through the
train- if necessary to find him. The
Showmei abjected to this on account
of women being asleep in some of the
coaches. Then Mr. Gaillard rode off,
saying that he would come back and
find him. In a short while Mr. Gaillard
rode back, went up to another group
ol' men, grabbed one man by the
shoulder, and hallowed out that he
1 ad his mar. He told the men that
he had lost too much and that he
mu^t have satisfaction before the train
pulled out. The man that he had hold
of replied that he would like to settle
matters and that he would do so if
Gaillard would meet him in Sumter
on Wednesday. The man that the wit?
ness took to br the train master then
called out "couple up, couple up."
Th?' two s< ctions were then coupled
torether, the engine brought tu the
front of the train, and prt-parations
made to pull out. Gaillard then went
ui> to th?- train, told the man that lie
would never pull out until ho had
satisfaction, and with more sueh ex?
pressions as "take this for satisfac?
tion" the firing commenced. The wit?
ness swears that the man who did
ti'-- shotting was a white man, and
th?- one whom he had taken for thu
trainmaster.
Harvey Jackson, another Manning
negro, was also examined, but his
testimony threw no light on the case.
Court then adjourned.
From The Daily Item, Oct. 30.
The murder of which Jack MeCoomer
and George Spivins stand charged,
which has occupied the entire'time of
the Court of General Sessions since
last Friday, is now drawing to a close.
The defendant Spivins, through his
counsel, Mr. Welsh, concluded the ex?
amination of witnesses at a late hour
yesterday afternoon. J. T. Price, who
is in the employ of Cole Brothers cir
0
cus, and who has a position under the
defendant, was first called to the wit?
ness stand. He testified to the fact
that just prior to the shooting, his
work having been finished, he went to
the privilege car for a lunch before
retiring for the night. While in this
i car, the defendant Spivins, came in,
j called for lunch and while they were
together in the car five pistol shots
were heard. He considered the oc?
currence as not unusual and he and
the defendant retired and heard noth?
ing of the wounding of Mr. Gaillard
until the next day in Bishopville. He
said that he gave Officer Pierson every
assistance that he could.
The defendant took the stand and
substantiated Price in the statement
above made. He admitted making
rash statements to Mr. McLeod in
the caboose car, but said that he and
McLeod had had a personal difficulty
about damage to the train, that he
had been drinking a little and that his
i
statement that Campfire Bill had a !
i
right to do what he did, etc., was !
meant to antagonize McLeod who had j
spoken of lynching being the porper j
way to deal with the guilty party. The j
reason that he denied having made
the statement was to escape being !
m
I summoned as a witness; that his du
I ties were very important, that the
proper loading of the train depended
upon him, and that if he had to at?
tend coun: he might lose his job.
Messrs. Sublett, Burkett and
Haselden were recalled to refute the
testimony of the negro barber Logan,
who tried to put the crime on Spivins.
The defense then rested.
This morning four masterly argu?
ments were made by Messrs. H. D.
Moise. R. H. Welsh, L. D. Jennings and
Solicitor Wilson in the order named.
The arguments were ail clean, logical |
and eloquent in parts, and not with-?
standing the fact that the jury has j
been on the case for so long a time, i
they showed not the least fatigue.
The judge charged the jury at 3.30 j
o'clock th:s afternoon and they then j
retired to the jury room for the final i
consideration of the evidence in the
I
case.
At 5.15 the jury returned a verdict j
in both cases of "guilty with recom- !
mendation to mercy.''
Wallace Kilgo, a son of Rev. P. F. !
Kilgo, was seriously injured Friday
afternoon while at play with some of |
his companions. The boys have been j
wild on the subject of lassos ever since
the visit of Pawnee Bills Wild West j
show, and spend the time out of |
school roping each other. Wallace J
Ki?go was riding his bicycle \vhcn one ?
of the boys roped him. He had an
open knife in his hand and becoming
entangled :.n the rope he fell from
the wheel and the knife penetrated
his side. The wound was quite pain?
ful, but not fatal.