Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / March 14, 1909, edition 1 / Page 20
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! r-' . v ---4.it.-- -' . L ciTTvrrv "tr ' r ttt - - :i vv - T I V E S D E T E THE CLEW OF G O R J E S, T R U E j. t . . it I 1 Charles Somcrvilks Fbcte by Vn4rwty4 ftptCw),..tl.NwJTwk Hrld Ot All lbl R" t ON Christmas Day, 1899, I was sent by my newspaper with a corps of assistants to In vestigate the strange disappearance of George B. Eyre, of Cheater, Pa., and the coiirw f a few day1 zealous search made H more and more certain that If the light of Inquiry were ever to solve the deep myatery It would be to bring forth . the ghastly, grotesque of murder out of tbe dark- jew. This truth waa aa pite ous to contemplate as it was horrible, for George Eyre had seemed tP be one of those whom Fate had In most kindly keep ing. He was young (twenty -Ave years old), robust, big and kindly ; of a popularity attested by his repeated elections to the presidency of the Alpha Boat Club of Ches ter, nn organisation of young men of, the bt families of the community, lie wns well to do. His father had left III ni n fortune- of about $100,000. He stood as the sole heir of his grandmother's for tun, which w.is more than double th;it figure Ho made his home with his mother and ihls grandmother, ami they both wor- Upped Mm, And there was a third woman, too, who Lived him -on" scarcely more thai. & girl to whom he was affianced. Their wedding day was .narked for the approaching June. Kyre on the Saturday preceding his dliippca ranee went to Philadelphia to ipnke Christmas purchases. He remained In Philadelphia over Hiinday anil came Iwir-fc to Chester on an early morning train Monday. A little before nine o'clock he telephoned his mother Wiat he hHd arrived l:i town but would not le home intli afternoon. le-aiiso he Inlendcd to go duck hunt ing. He vent to the Alpha Chib.on the liores of the Delaware, put on a hunting Jacket and cap. leav ing his other clothing in the locket", aivd put out In a rklff with his onrs, a pair of paddles and hK two shot guns. This much was readily umlerstorri from nn ex nmlnntlon of his effects sty lie club house. Afternoon did not brln Villi li .ine, in r nightfall; nor did lie appear on Christmas Eve. The whole oinmuiii'v took up the alarm over the disappearance of the popular ; oung athlete All day before Christ mas his friends, in ekifTs nml launches, searched the desolate, socgy. brown marsh lands of Uac coon Island, the most frequented bunting ground In the vicinity, that lay aliout a mile and a half from Chester, on the New .lers'-y shore. There wns a sort f tradition of a hunter who years before bid been i aught In the deep mud Mid brambles of desolate Ti.iccoon Island, only to be found dnys later frozen "i death I found when I arrived In Chester on Christmas Day that the most generally accepted the- r wis Mia' Kyre. returning in the darkness from '',s di' k hunting expedition, bad leen run down by : rlvcr steamboat, his boat smashed and himself drowned Manifestly this was a or explanation T'-e :'1tiii 'md pnne up and down the riverside for miles, and If such an accident had befallen Kyre, bits ; tis Iki-u and his niifh and his paddles must hare drifted In somewhere with the tide. Not a chip of my of these 1liinc had emm- under anybody's eye. Woman in the Case. Next we worked on the possibility of Kyre having a reason for desiring to disappear. Humors tuut he had been faithless to his sweetheart and had become entangled with an adventurous woman were proved groundless. To be sure the fact stood out that he had sold his large stationery store In Chester only about two weeks before, but bis family and friends declared that he had. In the first place, only pur chased the business as a speculative venture, and there was proof that he had sold It at a handsome profit. And there was no rival In his love affair. There was the fact of uM being his grandmother's sole heir. Did soinelody exist who might have de signs on this fortune? There whs only, aside from his mother, a distant cousin who might, with (Jeorge Kre eliminated, ultimately lay claim to the money. But It was quickly found that this cousin at the time of tieorge Byre's disappearance was thousands of miles away. These facts communicated to my newspaper, my editors agreed with me that the sign that pointed most clearly to the solutfcm of the mystery was the rel hand of murder. I was instructed to spare neither effort nor expense In a search for Eyre's body and a general Investigation of the mystery. The Irtstriet Attorney, not baring an over large ap propriation for the expenses of such a aearch and in vestigation, readily consented to co-operate with us and became my companion on the grim hunt. It went on for days. In tugs and launches searching lirtlcs orgaclzed of Kyre's fellow club members and of the professional du k hunters and fishermen of the Delaware searched the shores and beat the marshes for miles and miles. No sign of the body; no trace of the boat: no trace of paddles or oars. 1 had be come convinced that had Kyre gone down the river that day In his boat be would have been seen nod recogniied, for be was very well known on the water In hla ably handled sloop in summer; in his launch and duck bunting skiffs In winter. He had been killed near the lonely shores of Raccoon, I de cided, and his boat and paddles and oars made away with We hired divers. Hut when they came from Phila delphia ready to don their big helmets and rubber suits and brass soled shoes and search the rlrer bot tom a new difficulty appeared A frigid spell had froien the river snlkliy along shore. Permission, -owcvr. was obtained from the Fish Corniinlaslon ers, who were authority In the matter, aad great holes were dynamited In the Ice. through which the gro tesquely clad divers found their way to the bottom. They found nothing. 8o niurh tor the hunt for the body. But another bunt had begnn the hunt for the possible murderer. And la these, days while the body waa being searched tar thla other huut bad taken positive direction. Ami tt began to close abont a thin, gannt, shifty eyed river man with thin black motacbe over a drooping month, and long, akinny fingers that constantly tofged t the thin black mustache. Jim Pierce was hla name, and as thla U a true da ' Jective atory. whlrh doea not lend Itaelf readily to the ' literary construct loo of a -surprise." I may aa well tdmlt at the very outaet that tola ma Jim Pfac waa THE CHECKERED HAT (From a Reporter's Recollections) BY CHARLES SOMERVILLE ' v - ' BAND III . bntcher'i THEN QUITE SUDDENLY WHEELED AND HELD OUT HER SHAKING HANDS TO US. the murcK-rcr; thru In the end with a fish line rope of his own making lie was found hanging to his cell door, a staring, self-slain thing of horror But of the curious building of circumstances against him; of how while we searched for the txidy he walked dellnntly In the streets of Chester and even sought the soelety of the rural groups that asseijjliled in the little KMce station on evenings to dlwtiss the strange case: of how the clew of the checkered hatband filially led to the complete exs)suri" of his ghastly offence: of how It guided us to the womnn who betrayed him, who told the story of his wild crime the while she held III her shaking hands the glittering Jewels stripped from a dead man's fingers; of how when he snarled against her that she lied the very dead rose up to give her story full corroboration these are the incidents that make my stor; . and out of them ymi may If you will follow the faint fllui that now standi ss It develop Into a picture bold aud clear. Drawing the Net. The first Important discovery ciuue on the very day. we began our Investigation Christmas afternoon . when two reporters whom I had detailed to canvass all the bouses In the streets by which Kyre could have gone from the railroad st niton telephone to the boat club, and find out, if possible. If he had. picked up with any companion, came back with word that an old couple In a cottage by the riverside were posi tive they had seen George Eyre enter the club house that morning, aud with another man! The name of this man they did not know, but they ssld they bad often seen him starting with George Eyre on these gunning trljs. Tbey described him tall, unken cheeked, gaunt, shabby aud on this day, tbey de clared, be wore Instead of the customary corduroy bunting cap a black derby. When this .description. In form much more full at the time, was laid before (Jeorge Kyre's friends, with particular stress on the fact stated by the old couple that -he waa often Byre's companion, the name of Jim. Pierce was the only one called forth from their lips. He, tbey told me. always worked aboard Eyre's sloop in snmmer, and on hunting trip usually did the paddling while Byre did the shooting. And then there waa the fact that Eyre had take two paddles in bis boat to cor roborate the old folks' story of a companion. In organizing the searching parties next day I offered Pierce a job on my boat He hung back. But I of-, fered 13 for bis day's work, and. noting other rlrer men casting curious glances at him, for the wage waa big for men of their class be accepted. ' On the way across the river I flatly asked Pierce If he bad been with George Eyre on the morning of his disappear ance. He flew into a rage In denying It. - But when we arrived at the island and paired off ta beat particu lar sections of the shore Pierce accepted with a show of good humor my invitation that be should atlck by me. On the trip my suspicions had" received unex pected support. Pete Sheets, one of th river met, came to me and declared that he wa willing to tnaka now to give me a statement accounting for all your movements on, that day. It's the simplest way of settling this thing right off. Once you've made it clear you've had no part In the affair talk will stop." He was still surly, tmt be began an account of his doings on the day that Eyre had gone away. It ap peared that he bad left bis house about eight o'clock and did have some Idea that he might meet Kyre, but had no appointment with lilm. Not seeing Kyre, he visited his sister's home nnd then the home of his father, and that look up all his time until about one o'clock In the afternoon, w.ben, - he, declared, he had gone to the Consumers' Ice Comiany's wharf and worked at loading ice uutll four o'clock in the after noon. Tracing' the Clews. The fact that he laid nil his movements on that morning In the bosom of his family, so to speak, was unsatisfactory but not incredible. "Pierce," I asked finally, "did you ever own a black derby hat?" "Never in my life," he retorted. "I never wear nothra' but one of these caps. Once I owned a black soft hat. I guess 1 got It yL Wear It aonietimea on Sunday." - No aoouer did our boat toucb shore than Instructed reporters were sent In four directions. Particularly were they sent in baste to the homes of . Pierce's fntber and bis slater. - They ame back with reports that hla .father said, r Sure, Jim was ta see me that day." but had given us the time of the visit, the hour when Plerta had' aald be ws-visiting his sister and his sister did nt recall a vlsiufroni him at all! . The other, two reporters' brtmjrhf tiflck from tb commis sion merchant - a corroboration . of Pero Sheets' ' statement, and from the foreman of the Consumers' Ice Company's" wharf ga'ng a tjueer announcement. It waa that Ftercs spoke the truth, when' he said V worked from one to four loading ice, but that he bad appeared and, without .asking. fpr .the, work, took up one of the prongs, laborel diligently, spoke to many of the other men. and had .gone away at four o'clock without stepping up to .be paid. W hen the rlveruh-u did work on the gangs they, were paid bx. the hour and collected, the. money f aiya , before Jesjrhig. rierce bad never com n round since for the money. If Pierce la regarded as trying to Vstabllsh an alibi the significance of this fact becomes, apparent. Stranger news than that Jreacbevl Us that night A rlverman Krottght to police headquarters an old negro who llred ua hut by tbe'SbotVand who said he bad seen Jtm Pierce r and his" brother. ; Finney Pierce tnrtba night 6f tb dayt"Kyre disappearance leay In a sktS and go off 'In the dhWUdu-e-t Kaccoon Isl and. He bad heard them beaching their boat at the; landing by Pierce's, father's cottage and. seen them, come asbore.at dawn, which meant that-tbey bad been away more tbsa six hours.- Now, professional duck hunters eftea go out af-plgbt. In the hope ot pot-' ting ronatlns; docks In the marshes; and usually suc ceed.' The oJd negro Mia ttte-ngnt'was sumcienny "Wbnt aid you do with them? "Sold 'em," he answered and gave name. "cYe saw the butcher. He admitted the purchase on TueVlay morning of a pair of ducks from the Pierce brothers. . "But," he added, "they were bo stale, so game I had to throw them away." Startling News Comes. I had hardly returned to my rooms In the Wash ington Hotel when news of a remarkable character en me. The youug acting president of the Alpha Boat Club and boyhood chum or li-yre sougnt me om. was greatly excited. "The boat club's been robbed!" berried. 'Every locker upstairs has been ripped open.' I accompanied him to Ihe club house. It was as he said in regard to the lockers. Most of the members crowded into the room as the news got among them. Curiously, as each oxanlned his locker he could report none of his effects missing, and among the things were clothing, guns, cartridges and other things valuable to any thieving huntsmen. Sails und spars ami oars thnt would have made the picked plunder for river pirates remained untouched. Suddenly it became very plain to ine. The man who had befn George Eyre's companion had left some clew Itehlnd nnd had come buck to retrieve it. He was evidently not a member of the club, who would have had a key. The lock of the front door had been torn out by way of gaining entrance. I asked the young acting president to get the other members to disperse In order that we might quietly conduct a search In the hope that the man had not found what he sought. All the belongings in the lock ers had been duly identified by this time. So we went downstairs in the room where the boats were stored. We turned up the four and eight oared sculls aud other boats, finding nothing under them, but as I lifted a hunting skiff I must confess that I got a genuine thrill. , , For lying under It wns a black derby hat! And yet if the mau who had gone away with George Eyre had left the hat there under the liout. surely he would not have been at pains to search In the lockers for It. So I asked my companion: 'Do yon know whose lxrnt this Is and whether It has been lately placed here?" He considered a while, and said: "Yes, the owner Just brought it In yesterday. He went out on a hunt by himself In the hope of finding some traceof George." We saw this member of the boat club. When we did the whole thing was made clear. He had brought his boat in and was storing It when he noticed a black bat In a corner of the room. He had observed4hat It was becoming covered with dust, so to protect it, be lieving It to be the hat of one of the members, he had slipped it under the boat That explained th tearing oien of the lockers by the desperate man who had forced bis way Into the club bouse to- take away the damning clew to his Identity which be knew to be there. When he had not found It in the comer of the room where he had left It he bad concluded that it .had been picked up and locked la one of the compartments for safe keep- I carried the hat, wrapped in a sweater, to my hoteU if was a cheap bat and had tyily a fanciful wholesale-maker's nam. But the odd thing about it was the . band. , It was of .the usual dull black silk except- before. had declined to' nave anything further to do with eoi : buntlnstrlpa. -, ;- . -r: :.-1. Out of the Information- brought back from Phila delphia by my assistant, however. It waa that the big- revelations came. At first the manager of the factor had declared that be could give him little help. . "We've sent out ao many thousands of those bats," . be said. " "But Isn't this an odd band! Isn't tbls checkered band peculiar? Surely there are not many of Just this , style that have been sent out and sold?" At that tbe manager glanced swiftly at the check ered band. v "Oh, those; that's different They will not be bird to Irae. We Just put out a few as samplesEast, West, North and South. Just wait, a minute. There were no sales at Chester,' but there waa at VUmington. Del., only a few miles away. And ty tb address of the hat jtoreJVUmlagton I went tb "next morning. - - -yes! -aaul Jbe proprietor.- ?I sold that bat about three weeks ago." l4J '' "Cair you describe the man you sold it to?" . "Certainly." he said; "I know him. It waa Jlns Pierce, of Chester.'' He grinned. "He's down this way often," be said. "He's got a girl down here: lives Just up the street. But I guesvJim wouldn't like it known 'bout the girl. Jim's married.". The next minute was possessed of the name and address of this girl. There was no trouble In tb matter of an introduction. 8he was Just a little un fortunate creature, habitue of waterfront resorta. The instant I mado mention of the name of. Jim Pierce the girl's fright was palpable. At first she de niy that she kpew Mm at alL But a companion sneered at her openly. ' "What are you lylu' forr she demanded. 'Braid of beln' hauled up In n divorce suit?" And as the girl I had sought frowned at her the other continued: "You know mighty well Jim was here to see you Christ mas night." The girl rocked apprehensively in ber chair. "What if he tvasr she asked. "Nothln. 'ceptln' you needn't lie about it." I asked the other girl to leave us. Then I said: "What did Jim Pierce come to see you aboutr "Nothln'," she answered. "l'ou'd better tell me," I said. "It's always tea best way. It will save you a lot of trouble." I tried for a chance effect. "It might save yoii from going to prison." i "I couldn't couldn't," she said, trembling. "Why?" "Oh, God!" sobbed '.he girl, and she flung up her hands to her eyes. I told her that she must no; try to leave my com pany aud the frightened little thing obeyed. 8b liesrd me telephone to the District Attorney at Ches ter to come down on the next train. He did, and when he came picked up the Chief of Police of .Wil mington. We all went finally to the girl's rooma. W talked kindly to her, and. perceiving from certain Dictures on tbe wnll that she waa religious, mod our demands for a full, frank statement on lmpres- , ' Andsuddenlv, without a word, with ber cruelly marked young face white with -fear and a sick trem bling of her lips, she tottered to her bureau, opened an upper drawer with a key that she tok from her purse, and then quite as suddenly wheeled and held out her shaking hands to us. Why He Slew Him. And in her hands were the gold watch and chain and the emerald and diamond ring that George Eyr wore the day helwent hunting never to return alive. Inside-the ring were engraved Initials attesting that the Jewel was a gift to Eyre from the girl who had expected to marry him in June. .'iim Tim." began the girl, announcing th queer est motive for murder probably to be found in crim inal annals, "killed George Eyre because he didn't have no money for Christmas presents for hla klda aad his wife and and me." Then tbe girl, not knowing that we knew anything of the circumstances, told a story tallying with all that we did know In the matter of yie crime. Pierce had come there Christmas night All the day that we had searched for Eyre's body and that h had talked to me be carried In his pockets the glit tering proofs of his guilt that could have been fur nished by George Eyre's Jewelry. He was drunk and Jolly at first Then be had fallen asleep on a lounge and the girl did not disturb him. 8h bad . fallen asleep herself on a big chair In the room whll she Waited his awakening. His horrible cries had caused her to leap from ths chair and In the dim light of the lowered lamp atar at him with startled eyes. He was yelling, "Yes yes you got me! I killed him! I killed him!" The girl shook his shoulder and he had come out of his dream of terror so shaken and broken that, hardly realizing what lie did, he confessed his crime to her. He had thought that he would not meet Eyre that morning, though they had au appointment. He went home and changed his hunting cap for his black derby. But as he came out of the house again Eyre waa ap proaching, evidently seeking him. And they bad gone to the boathouse together. Eyre changed his street trousers for khaki breeches. Jim Pierce saw blra transfer a roll of bills into the pockets and put his watch and ring In a wallet and place them in an In side pocket of bis hunting Jacket, over which he tightly buttoned the coat. They went together to Raccoon Island. And all the way over Pierce bad thought of how mean and poor a Christmas it wns going to be on account of his poverty, for his wife and children and the girl of his infatuation. The friend ship he had for Eyre and that Eyre had for him, the many good turns by way of employment that Byre lind done for him, counted for naught. As George Eyre stood up In the bow of the boat to take a shot at a winging flock of ducks Pierce took up the other gun. and, as he sat behind him. literally blew the man's head off. All the time Jim knew that his brother Plnney was in hailing distance, be baring been on the hunting grounds when they got there. The murder done, he shouted to Plnney. There is a feudal loyalty among these fishermen's families. Pinney helped him procure a big atone on the shore; they cut the painter off the boat and tied one eud around George Eyre's red stained neck and the other to the stone. The murder bad occurred on the far side of Raccoon Island,, near the Jersey shore. Right there they had flung his body over board in about flveJ feet of water. They beached tb boat and. oars and paddles in a deserted spot and came for them that night and towed, the damaging, blood stained things to the beach ten miles beyond the beach where the men -had seen th high, bright fire. They had, of course, stripped tbe body of th Jewelry and money. The sum of money waa $21 Eyre bad cheated bis assassin of much more because of his generous purchase of Christmas gifts before returning to Chester to be put to death. Th two shotguns they had sunk. - Flpally Pierce bad grovelled at the girl's feet, beg ging ber to keep bis secret and bide tbe Jewels, for he felt that he would be arrested soon and did not want the accusing, things found in his possession. 1 saw next day the conrronrauon or tne gin and Dim, he that ah The. Clew of the Hat. affidavit that ht had seen Pierce looking for Goorge clear for blra to see that neither tb men carried '. ,t character of the fuel for thla fire bad been, ' Eyre on the morning of the latter disappearance. any duck off thet' 'r - ''1, . :- '. but the suspicion rose .strongly that here was "He said be expected to go bunting with him, said w found Plriney Plerc . and ' asked him about ' ,, , remained 0f George Eyre'a boat and pad-v "DM anybody else see Pierce then and hear him Inquire for Eyre?" "Yes," replied Pete, and gave the name of a repu table grain merchant of Chester. . So when Pierce and I were alone I told .him of Jhese things and be again became more enraged.- , , t "But Pierce," I said, "you're do right to go off tb handle. In a case Uke this every bssb should be will-- . ..i n 1la mnramstits looked btou If youll listen to me yotfUDaak up your uslud right hi spit Of blmserr. that curious night-trip..': He-denied that' he and-hla brother bad gone, In the direction .of, Kaccoon Island. He said tbey went ten, jnUes down. the river In-a a-, ether direction.-v.- t i 1 ... AThat frrr i asked, s' -C-V. "Duck. he eald.' laconieNiyv i; : "Get any r v - ' i "A- iair.' that's all; , ? v v t . , ' -What, m six hours .or unnuu- Jng that along tbe borders ran a series of tiny glossy pierck 8b wltn! eyet wet with pity for , checks. I bad never seen such a band ou a derby bat 8hllklne ahTeklnny fist at her and swearing lied. " -v ;-;--. The authorities bad a puesle still, however, for tb One of my fellow reporters iJ -KW'wSS S"53 S the next morning with the hat to consult the makers las t - crlm hM been committed upon It . lUltta?' came "miT t0 nSCUB th "thoriUe. out r M d fvnbuS ot their pu?ale and fully corroborate th girl, for tw$ along the route ithat tmtMtoej y confession a haw-set In Dfd "ke!..th n n-2!L21S -nJKew Jee? long the rlvcr and tlfPtide flowing strongly slipped trTmao Ct ni Z S the rope off the rock that held Eyre'a body at th bKil i;? yJJSSXm. and exactly where the .girl h.d said Pierc reduced-to ash that w could net determlif iirimt'itold.-hef d guug yaorg Embody os f Pierce never confessed. He remained In the county jail from January until June. His trial was set for mide on' Ah, &rl where Wo m?u i - permission to be allowed U work at weaving fish-. norted hsvinr seen the fire alight oa the spot on Mon- net. ana rne twine was giea nun. itwos ue wove a day night very late, or course we rcasonea m uii that. the Plercta might bare simply lighted a fire to warm themselves, but this fire,., the .mea saia. nsa burned high and very brightly, while the bramble branches and drift wood of the marshes could only be .v..-. .in - nVir-x.'S tnoktnr abeenisb s.vlth dlfHcultv Imlted Into .smouldering fires. rierce ana uts vruiuer i iuucj "ci hu. w. --v .- - - -. . :- - ..: .- ...-: . - nooe for his neck and when the Sheriff came to bring him into court to stand bis trial that official found a corpse. . ,"' : v- "'" . , , Plnney rierce." Who had been Indicted as aa ac complice, was. however, never put to trial, for phy-sh-tanseclared him dying of consumption, wlta only a fw months left to live. -, - ; ? " ; r- 4s-; .. .tt'z..- fwe-t
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 14, 1909, edition 1
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