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' J Madison County Record J"
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Tllri ON1Y NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN MADISON COUNTY
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VOL XXI
I'JiJli..' Jll 'JUL.1
Willis Cole v
Released.
Willis Cole Arrested Upon
Suspicion of lzte Implica
ted In tee Elcrder of Geo.
Thomas Here than Ten
" Years Ago Released by the
Court
Thursday 22, Mr. Willis Cole
who had been arrested 8 or 10
days before, updn suspicion that
in some way he was implicated
in the murder or George Thomas
on Little Laurel 10 years 'ago
"last June was brought before
Justice of the Peace, Roy L
Gudger, for preliminary inves
tigation. The skeleton of George
Thomas was exhibited in the
court room at the trial. It was
a most ghastly sight. The skull
and nearly all the bones of the
body and , the shoes he wore at
' the time he was murdered had
been collected put in a box and
brought to the trial.
The evidence showed that
while some . men, were cutting
timber for W. C Cook, on the
side of the mountain about Lit-
tie Laurel Creek in the Belva
" ' section, the skeleton of a human
being w a s found among the
thick laurel. shrubbery and
' brush, a very isolated place.
Trees had fceen cut and the tops
' : f allerr on the 'spot , where the
skeleton was found. The stumps
ndtreecuIef;aJ56Ti ;
. cayed. . Finding of the skeleton
was reported to Mr. W, "M.
Thomas, of Big Laurel,, brother
of deceased. ' The diSappear-
ance- of George Thomas had
1 been, discussed so much, and
from the ; bones and. other evi
dences the parties finding ' the
' skeleton seemed to think it was
the remains of George Thomas', j
; Mr W. M. Thomas and others
gathered up the bones and other
articles found axn d securely
boxed them. ' , "
George Thomas had a broken
leg, making that leg some short; ,
er than the other When last
seen he wore brogan shoes, of
rather peculiar make, which had
been half soled with Jeathe
belting. He had a decayed
. lower jaw tooth which gave
him trouble.. W. Rl. Thomas,
. identified the shoes, as being
the shoes George Thomas wore
just before he disappeared. He
also testified that George had a
- short leg which had been broken.
" He 'also testified about the
decayed lower jaw tooth, which
' gave George trouble. Dr. Frank
Roberts testified that the skele
ton was that of a liuman being.
- That one of the lower leg bones
had been broken,-which would
make that leg some shorter
than the other asT the bone was
lapped.. The , skull above the
eyes had been broken in or had
rotted away, the doctor could
riot tell which. He said the
- cavity insthtf jaw tooth would
" ' cause the person while living to
suffer, nadn from it All told
.the evidence seemed to be con
elusive that the skeleton was
' that of George Thomas.
-For, years the disappearance
i of George Thomas had been
v' discussed in the Little Caurel
section oyer a large scope
of that country many stories
. Tiad been circulated witn as
" many different colorings"
Sometime after Thomas dis
appeared it was reported that
MARSHALL,
where he resided, had gone to
Virginia or Kentucky. One
man told it several times that
he saw George Thomas in West
Virginia and that he had mar
ried there and had two children.
The evidence showed that the
parties who it was reported
went off with Thomas were not
missing at all 'from home at the
time it was reported they were
gone. Owing to the many re
ports a large number of wit
nesses were subponead, but
wheri brought to testify it was
found that there was but little
foundation for many of the
reports. '';''". '
Mr. Capps testilied ne saw
George Thomas pass ; his place
wilft his dinner bucket going
toward the place he was work
ing zi a saw mill ! the day he
disappeared. He never saw
him any more, ;TilmanGosnell
testified that he was working
at logging and mil business and
he talked with George Thomas
late on the evening that Thomas
was last seen, lnat ne ana
Thomas talked after the other
I men had left, Thomas told himJ
he would be back to work the
next morning but Thomas never
came and he never saw him
any more." Thomas was seen
by many that day and worked
on his -job all day. If any one
saw him: after that evening it
was not shown, ? v s
j osn uunter tesunea uiai one
or two years after Thomas was
missing, that he and another
man went to where Willis Cole,
the vdcf calcnt tiarai
making" liquor, Cole passed the
cup around and the ouier man
became more or less intoxicated
and talked a great deal. Cole
said with an oath: 'They talk
about, George Thomas, by G
I caq go where he is r to his
grave in 30 minutes." The
other man is dead, ' '
Ezekiel Gosnel testified that
some 6 or 7 years ago that he
and Cole and Ike Payne were
upon the mountain in the Little
Laurel country and Cole was
drinking and he -got to telling
how he killed old man Johnson
and his wife in Tennessee, how
he shot . the old lady Johnson
throughsthe head and her brains
splauerea on in e aoor. ne
then sOd ;'that he could go to
the grave of George Thomas or
where he wis in 15 ssi 30 min
utes Jke Payne is dead. Til
man .G osn e ll testified ; that
Ezekiel Gosnell told him this
same story about 5 or 6 years
ago. 'There was the ghastly
skull with sockets that eyes did
once Inhabit, but if. there was
any one present or anywhere
else that was connected with
the foul murder of George
Thomas there were no-eyes in
the silent dead sockets to reflect
accusing rays of light; no brain
m the hoUow, empty skull, to
think; no tongue in the skeleton
jaws to tell the story of the
desperate struggle with the mur
derer or murderers to save the
life of the ; body that thencov-
ered lthe now dry and ghastly
looking bones, an in the pres
ence of the court and spectators
Part of the teeth were gone but
the bad jaw tooth, with deep
cavity, tha wrecked the ner
ves and body , of George Thorn
as with pain, as if by destiny,
was still firmly set in the jaw
bone.
The disappearance of George
Thomas was a great mistery. It
is believed that for some reason
unexplained that he was mur
dered, and at some time his
MADISON COUNTY, N
A Letter From Gastonia, N. C.
, Gastonia. N. C
X'
. ., 508. W. Main St.
Editor News Record: ,
Last Friday we received the
first copy of the News-Record
since we left Marshall. Of course
the first thing to happen was &
quarrell in the family to see who
would read it first. We were so
anxious to hear more from Mar
shall. It was like a letter from
home telling of all the members
of the family. , ,
We have found our new home
to be in a splendid location. A
fine people are located here.
Their progress is surprising. -
The people are not merely liv
ing today, they are thinking of
the future. ' ' .
The school system can be com
pared with any in the state. They
have now, five schools , filled to
capacity, and a new High School
building nearingr , completion to
cost $500,000. One of, the very
finest in the state. X
Gastonia is the county seat of
Gaston County. Gaston County
is a great manufacturing center
of cotton yarns, being the third
county in the world in number
of spindles, with over a million
and one half spindles. And larg
est number of coton mills of any
county in the world, with one
hundred and four in operation.
The people have not forgotten
the one who made all this pro
gress possible. They have! just
i--"d- uiJnrrmletodii nflw ; Fli'fit Hftntiat
Church costing over $230,000,
with a main Auditorium to seat
over a thousand , people. ; The
First Baptist Sunday School has
an enrollment of about eight
hundred fifty pupils." The State
Baptist Convention is to meet
here in December. There are
ten or twelve other denomina
tions here with churches J to be
phJud of. , " :
With all s u c h vprogressive
surroundings, onts cannot besatis
fied without mountains, if he has
once lived in the mountains of
Western, N. C. -
Wishing T h e News-Record
much success.
H. Paul Dellinger;
body placed where his skeleton
was found. ' ' .
The defendant- offered no evi
dence and moved to dismiss the
case. It was n ojt explained
why Cole stated f at different
times that he- could go in 15 or
30 minutes to the b o dy of
George Thomas. " '
f The court was of the opinion
that the.evidence was not suffic
ient to hold the defendant Cole
for grand jury investigation and
Col? was discharged. ' t
If the murd e r of George
Thomas is living the sentence
of condemnation ispon him
and like one of old hfe is silently
exclaiming : .
How is It with me, when every
noise appals me ? ,
What hands are here? Ha !
they, pluck put mine eyes 1
Will all great neptune's ocean4
wash this blood ;:"t .? X
Clean from my hands? - ;
No; this my hand "will rather
The multitudinous sea. incardi-
nine making the green one red"
If he died "with; the guilty
secrets unrevealed'he is suffer
ing the tortures of hell, what
ever that is. ' y ...
C FRIDAY, NO,VEMBER
EHIy Sunday's Son Tries T0
: Kill Self.
,4
t
Cosnd With G&s Tube In Mcuth
Police Declare Will Recover.
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21.-
Georgo Sunday, real estate brok
er and eon ' of the evangelist,
William A. Sunday, was found in
a bedroom of his home here yes
terday overcome by gas jet lead
ins to his mouth, according to
police, , ;: '
His physician said he ywas in a
serious condition, but would re
cover. . . .;; .
I-
Humorist Becomes Serious
' When I Bay that the - State of
North Carolina has practically
everything I mean literally just
that, in the sense that she has
practicajly, everything which
conduces to comfortab'e all-the4
year-around living for the ave
rage, human being According
tol the best of my observation
and belief, she has within her as
complete an assortment of natu
ral attractions and natural glor
ies as U to be found enclosed by
any set of state boundaries this
aide of the - Pacific Slope. Thi3
witness equally" is positive that,
taking bne sea,sO'n'wittJlanDther,
she has on her Piedmont Plateau
the most equable and agreeable
clbnaje' of temperate s North
America. .And certainly, at this,
present time of writing, sha. i
the most up-and-coming State if
the South, if not . of ; the entire
Union.- Jrvin S.sCobb in Hearsts
International for November,
1923. r: :.v.:;.'
Ittle Pine News
We had a Bo Supper November
10.- The proceeds ; will go to buy
Supplementary readei ? for the
school. ' "'" it ''-' '
We have a traveling Library at
our school house. Wc are enjoy
ing reading the books. "
There are measias in our school
These are the ones that has them;
Paul Lunsford, Esmond Freeman,
Alma Henderson, Lenard Brad-
burn, Sallie Sluder, Kate ' Payne,
Farmer. Thev .are not
hurting them very much. We hope
they will be able to attend , school
in a few days. ;"; XX. Xs'X'y.r
Mr. Wtifard " Payne and Mr
Walton' Tweed went,' to Cherry
Flata Thursday night fox hunting
they are expecting a good race.";,
' Miss Hattie Howell" was visiting
her sister last week; she visited our
school one day , ve were glad to
have her. s -
Mrs. Mae Sprinkle has just re-
roverea irom an itriacii vi mcaoiro
She was out of school two . weeks.
We are glad to have her back with
us again. . ' ' ' ,
Sixth Grade. ;
Mrs. M. F. Whitt is . visiting
Mrs. T J. Merrill at her home
at Amelia Court House, Virginia
Mrs. T. J. Merrill; daughter and
son. James, Mrs. M. F, Whitt and
L O. Clark visited aU the im
portant places,' "Richmond,, Pe
tersburg and Buckroe Beach,
Mrs. M. F. Whitt is leaviug the
11th for Charlotte Court .House
back through Roanoke and
Knoxville. 1 then return to' her
30th, - 1923.'
Born In North Carolina
North Carolina has always been
a population exporting state. ' You
can find a Tar Heel jn almost any
locality in the United States. ' A
native of the state traveling through
othet stattt-is usually surprised at
the number of people he runs across
who were bora in North Carolina,
but who are now Jiving out of the
state. One gets the idea- that we
must have lost a considerable nuro
be rof natives to other states. And
so we have. The people born in
North Carolina but now living in
other states number 443,844, and
they range all the way from seven
ty-flve in Vermont' to 113,151- in
Virginia. As far away as Califor
nia you will find 5,742 native Ta
Heels. In Washington there are
5,729, In Arkan?as 11.128, in Texa
14 60, in New York 17,803 in
in Pennsylvania 20,$77, in Missou
ri 5,470, in West Virginia 13,636, in
Florida 17,358. in Tennessee 27,744
in South Carolina 50,040t and id
Virginia 113,151 or so in 1920. -.
List of Subscribers
Grady Woodson; Alexander; Di
Tweed,- Marshall, R 4; Mis
Bonnie Amnions, Snow Hill; L. Ji
Ammons, Mars Hill; R.' P. Mc
Cracken, Mars Hill," M.. C. Faulk
ner, Maishair R-3; Mrs. George
Meadows; Asheville; "John Nelso
Jr. Morgarrfon;. A. C. Gentry,
Belva; Mrs. A. J. Rector, Caryville
Tenn. ; R., M .Gahagan, Aljenstanti
Mrs. L. N.'Odell, Lockbart S C;
Susafi Gentry, Big Lurel; Noah
Rice, Big Laurel; Miss Gertrude
Tweed, Marshall ; Ed Hixon, Big
Laurel; Robt Dill, New River,
Tenn.; H. W. Grcoms, Mara Hill;
J. G." Ramsey, Jr., Marshall, R4;
L. G. Buckner, Buckner;' Mr. ' T.
S. Rollins. Asheville; M T.Duckett
Hollywood,' Cali. ; Lee Wallin, Re
vere; G", W. Hunter, Marshall R-3;
J. h. Shelton, Johnson City, Tenn.
WVT. Huntersinger, Mars Hill; J.
M. Hunter, Marshall. ,
About Our Sheriff
Dear Editor;
Please give space for the fol-
lewing remarks: 3.
- It is with great pleasure-that
, and I think I can speak for
the greater part of No. Three
Township, note the success of
our Sheriff. : Mr. Ramsey, in
bringing to justice the offenders
of the law. We recall with
great interest the whiskey stills
that have been demolished, the
many gallons of whiskey that
have : been captured; and xthe
number of bootleggers, whiskey
transporters, and other ,: notori
ous criminals that have been
taken into custody.
Therefore let us, the people
of Madison ; County, do our
whole duty as citizens of North
Carolina by reporting to the
sherriff, all helpful information
by co-operating witn hrav in
bringing to justice all criminals,
thereby doing our bit in helping
to make the enforcement of the
law one hundred per cent in
Madison CtAmty. ;
' ' Henry H. Buckner
A good newspaper helps to make
a aood community but the editor
L. .1 . . n nnAVBttAH t ItAVTI.
Imunity to build a good newspaper,
No 17
Why Our FcsestsA Should
! Be Preserved
By Johnnie Rogers ;
The people of the United States ,
inherited from their fathers one
of the richest heritages the world.
has ever seen; an area of timberv
land which seemed as frequently
remarked inexhaustible. Less
than a generation ago if one had
been lecturing on forest conser-
vation ' people would have said
"what foolshness is that man ,
talking?" ; No one-lecturing on '
forest'. Conservation to-day is"
called foish. The people from -
one end of the land to the other
have begun to realize a period of ; .
timber shortage which they only ; '
began to realize before the war.
They realize it when they buy a ,
newspaper" and ' pay twice or
three times the former - cost.:
They realize it when they go'
into a furniture store and ask , .
the price on the tables anJ
chairs needed, they realize' u
vhen they come to building thei "
homes', " Before the war lumber '
was twenty eight to thirty tw.o ...
dollars per thousand feet cutv
now it is seventy five to eighty
five dollars per thousand feet.
It is estimated that eight hun- ,
dred twentj two million' acres
of forests are rieft. Practically ,
two thirds of this is in the a
United States. We are cutting
every year from' vdur, forests .
twenty six biliiun feet- and. only -growirnr
six billi6n. : : ) ' i ; ' "
The Cape Fear ' liver before,; ; ;
defor-atatioB lwffrt-mfifi.'iyf'i7-r . ,
able for me hundred twenty five
miles. The annual depth of the
river for eight months in the
year was six to seven feet before
deforestation but n o vv it is
twgnty "one inches. ' .
The water sheds rich and fer-
tile have been cleared, and there -are
no lakes nor glacial soil to
catch the water wasted which'
should have been absorbed by
the soil, this ,: escapes - to the '
stream in the natural way. The
leaves and branches of the trees'
orevent the rain from beating,
ths soil as it does in the open. -
The literary Digest forAprH'
2feth, 1919, tells us that some
seven hundred thirty two west
ern towns and cities depend on
the national forests for their ,
domestic water supply.
Examination by the forest en "
gineers has been made and they
.1 . .Ml . a J 1 .
say tnat it win cost me govern,
ment two million two hundred ...
sixty five thousand dollars te ' .
restore this water back to its
former depth. Congress made
appropriation to bem . work at
oft c e. Scientists investigated
and say; if the lands are de
forested in a short Urn a they
will be as bare as the hiils and
mountains Of ' Palestine and as
Francehas already become unde?
like conditions.-.
Pie Supper
There will be a pie supper at
Enon School House, , on Saturday
kight, December 1st, 1923. . Ther
will also be some good music. The -
proceeds will e used for'ti.e benefit
of the church. Everybody cor-
dially mvited. . ,
Full Standard 4 yard Sheeting1
15c.,worth 18c. at G. L. McKin
ney's
home in Asheville. . - c
. r -- u- '. " :.v. -v ,
Thomas and some others near
(