North Carolina Newspapers

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Devoted to the Industrial Development of Eastern North Carolina.
Vol. 1.
. 38
P til I 1 I I.
4! 4U4
ELIZARRTH CITY N PDIRAV HAD 9ft inno
I)
I
b
-o-
Sentenced to be Hang
ed April 25th,
i 1902.
A .
STILL HOLDS HIS NERVE.
Hears His Doom Amid Lamp
' Lights Dim, and calmly
Returns to His 0 ill. Case
Will Be Appealed.
The case in which Jas. Wilcox
was tried for his life, for the mur
der of Nellie Cropsey on the night
of Nov. 20, 1901, closed Saturday
night at 10:10 o'clock when the
jury brought in a verdict of mur
der in the first degree and the
Judere sentenced him to hang ' on
( ; . . -
April 25th between the hours of 10
and 3 o'clock. '
j The Judge in charging the jury
:jummed up the contention of both
sides as follows:
; ;!. . :' . "
: i THE STATE S CONVENTION.
Taking the commonwealth's con
tention first, Judge Jones said the
State held Nell Cropsey was killed,
that the prisoner at the bar did it;
that he had the motive and oppor
tunity; that the facts showed he
did kill her; that she was stricken
in the temple and thrown into the
river. . He said the State held fur-
ther the blow in the temple, the
abscence of clotted blood in "the
heart's venous side, the abscehe of
water in the stomach and lungs in
jdicated the deceased did not die
by drowning; that for three years
Jim and Nell had been companions
by day and night; that he gave her
Christmas and birthday presents;
that they loved; that the affection
had cooled on Nell's part; that
Wilcox burned with resentment,
became jealous and decided to kill
his sweetheart before she should
become the wife .of another; that
he came the fatal night with mur
der in his heart, was moody, ab
sorbed and called Nell out to kill
her. ."
The State also held, he said, that
Wilcox's indifference was not con
sistent with innocence:; that there
was unaccounted for time. He
said i
t was circumstantial evidence.
THE DEFENSE S CLAIM.
Judge Jones said the defence
claimed that the evidence did not
show that murder was done, that
the fact and prisoner's conduct
was consistent wijbh innocence; that
their love was mutual; that lover's
quarrels were' common; that was no
motive for murder; that NeH's con
duct was not indicative of real
spruning; that her heart wajf burn
ing with love one night aiid con
sumed by hatred the next; tha&her
exuberant spirit that night, the
talk of suicide may have indicated
her purpose to destroy herse lf .
He said the defence admits the
Opportunity for murder, but de
hied the motive, and held that a
responsible man would fnot have
cUosen the father's yard, for inur
der; that his clothes were not wet,
that his conduet and appearance,
when seen by Leonard Oweffe, be
fore inidnight, were natural. The
defence held, too, that Wilcox's
conduct, and conversation 'with
State's witnesses "were naturaL
THE VERDICT.
The town clock was chimming
the hours of 10 when the jury en-
tered the court room. They were
seated. The Judge gave them a
few words of instructions and the
Prisoner arose to receive the ver
dict Turning with military pre
cision he looked the jury full in the
eye. The nickering shadows of
the oil lights gave the surround
ings a ghastly appearance. The
suspense was terrible. The clerk
asked for the verdict, the jury re
plied "Guilty." "In wha degree?"
"First Degree." .
The Judge pronounced the death
sentence. The words "hang by
the neck until dead dead" un
nerved all save the prisoner.
i Jim Wilcox betrayed not
tremor of motion.
a
CECIL RHODES DEAD.
Africa s Un-crowned King Passes
Away.
Cape Town, March 2(T. Cecil
Rhodes; multi-millionair and em
pire-builder, is dead. He died at
5:57 o'clock this afternoon (about
1:20 o'clock, (Washington time.)
The end was peaceful.
Cecil Rhodes was born in Eng
land. When a boy his health was
bad and he went to Africa ' for his
lung trouble. There in subsequent
years he amassed a vast fortune in
diamonds and became known; the
the world over a diamond King.
He has been closely associated
with the British policy in South
Africa and was charged by some
as being the ins tigator of the Boje
war. He is the head of the great
industrial enterprise in the Dark
Continent and is building the
great railroad which is destined to
extend from one end of the conti
nent to the other. He has been
ill with heart disease for about two
weeks and his condition was con
sidered serious. Me owned mag
nificent palaces in Africa.
WORK OF A. MOB.
Speedy Justice Given to a Negro in
Washington.
Woc,v.iTinrfnTi "M n Mnivh in.
11 aouiugvuu) -w i
The body of James Walker, the
wh nnicnnpd fh whnlfi
family of Dr. David T. Tayloe, of
the State Board of Medical Exam-
iners, was found dangling from a
limb of. a gum tree om the Green-
ville road just outside of the town
limits of Washington, N. C, early
this morning.
A man coming to town ran into
the body, which hung over the effort will be made by the author
walkinff tath. He hastened in to ties to capture the guilty person
inform the I authorities. Coroner
Tayloe was summoned and impan-
elled a jury, who brought in a ver-
diet that the negro came to his
death by lynching at the hands oi
unknown parties. The negro was '
about 19 years old.
When some one attempted to
use the wires to Williamston this
morning they found that the tele-
graph and telephone wires were
both cut. The lynching party
came from the 'Williamston di- reiating" to, condition of soil, di
rection, and when- the body was mate etc., Tduring or subsequent
found this, morning, it had not been to the planting season, the an
long since the lynching took place swers to which will be of especial
as the body was not then rigid.
Rush Work on Baseball Grounds.
Washington, N. C, , March 25
Rush work is being done on ' the
baseball grounds here to prepare
them for the Philadelphia National
League team that will arrive here
this week. They will have one of
the best errounds in the State.
There will be twentytwo men ex
cluding the newspaper reporters of
several papers in the North.
5e
HE IS WAITING FOB A YOUNG LADY. WHERE IS SHE?
Every one sending us a correct solution to the above puzzle accom-
panied with $1.00, will receive
ROBBED AND SLAIN.
h j. Cobb Murdered and Thrown In-
to Canal.
Weldon, N. C, March 24. J. J.
Cobb, a 'farmer who formerly lived
near Weldon, but who has been at
work at Roanoke Rapids for the past
few months, was murdered by-unknown
parties and his body thrown
into the, canal where it was found
yesterday morning. Mr. Cobb had
been missing for a week, and it was
thought at first that he had gone
back to his farm. Investigation
led to the belief that he had been
foully dealth with. The canal was
drawn off Sunday and his body was
found v at the locks, near the
electric powe- house. He had been
murdered. Three pistol shots had
been fired into his person. His
arm was badly shattered and one
ball took effect in the leg. There
was an ugly wound upon the head,
anrl this caused his death. His
-
skull was fractured. Coroner
O'Brien was notified and held an
inquest. The verdict of the jury
was that J. J. Cobb came to ms
death by violence at the 'hands of
parties unknown
Three arrests were made yester-
day on suspicion, but there being
no evidence against the accused
persons they were released. Jivery
or persons.
;
Crop Report for April.
Reports on the condition of the
fth.veftr win with the
, xl
"i lCi'U1," -
oi wmw Wu ftuu ,r
fully stated; Besides the custom-
arY expression of condition in the
form Gf a percentage of a normal
I vnn ; there are several questions
value to the Department in all
cases where the crop lias been in
juriously affected.
The remainder of the report is
devoted to farm animals, their mor
tality during the year, the diseases
that have been unusually prevai
ent among them, and their con-
dition on April l. o these re
ports is added an estimate of the
number of breeding sows on farms,
expressed as a- percentage of the
number on April 1, 1901.
the Tar Heel for one year.
CHAMPION SKATER.
Entertainment
at the
Rink Next
Week
For a few years past the skating
rink has been the popular amuse
ment in this city.
Mr. D. R. Munden the manager
of this attraction has been alive to
the best interests of his patrons.
To meet the demand for novelty it
has become a diversion with him
to all-ways have some treat in store
for his guests. His latest and
boldest move in this direction was
to engage Prof. Albert Waltz of
New York for the week beginning
March 31, 1902.
Prof. Waltz is not known here
as his performances have beenlim-?
ited to the larger cities. Suffice
it to say he is considered the cham
pion skater of th& world accom
plishing over 100 original and sen
sational tricks
To lovers of the art, a rare treat
is now in store. The capacity of
the building will be packed beyond
a doubt. Don't forget the hours
3:30 in the afternoon; 7:30 at
night. Admission 15 and 25 cents.
Ladie's skates free.
HERTFORD.
Hertford, N. C, March 27.
Correspondence of the Tar Heel.
One of the prettiest grand open
ing displays were seen in this sec
tion was shown at the millinery
store of Mrs. G. T.-Hawkins in this
city, under the management of
Miss Lade White. The business
has rapidly grown until to-day, it
caters to the trade of four counties.
This millinery display yesterday
was an unusually: fine one. The
lates affects of the season were
shown, 'This line this season em
braces a variety of pleasing and
tasteful designs, new creations
everyone.
The spring session of the Super
ior Court convened here Mondayf
The docket was rather large con
taining a number of divorce case
that consumed no little time. Judge
Jones spoke well for Hertford. He
is credited with-saying that Hert
ford is the nicest town he has ever
visited in his travels all over . the
Tar Heel state. Hertford does not
boast its street railways, water
works and electric lighting systems
but when it comes to wealth, cul
ture and refinement she has all
others 'skinnedfto death."
Saloons are a dead issue inHert-
ford. They went "up the spout" a
few years ago and the liquor sign
is a relic of by gone days. There
are a few who continue to howl
"this will never be a town of any
size unless saloons , are put back
here."" The man who savs this is
the very fellow who used to hang'
around the "Bowery" waiting for
some one to treat. We don't want
a population of this kind, "what we
want is men, "high minded men,"
and we can say with pride that our
community is full of just such and
Hertford is growing.
EXPRESS OFFICE MOVED.
Mr. Jno. D. Sykes Appointed Agent
For This City.
xne juwaueut y orancn oi me
Southern Express Office is taking
fTL -TIM.? 1 t?l 1 1 HI
on new life, and evincing a spirit
of progress and enterprise which
is highly pleasing to its patrons.
This is perhaps due mostly to
r. ono. u. ojKes wno nas recently
been 'rnv&n the ncrpiipv fnr this ritv.
o o j j I
Mr. Sykes is in everyway qualified
lorme responsible position ana
the residents of this city may ex-
pect a competent service under his
management.
To the Tar Heel reporter Mr.
Sykes said. "We will spare no
pains to give the public the great
est possible convenience and satis
faction. We have leased a con-!
venient office, only two doors from
me citizens panK) ana we win ar-
range it in a wodern manner, com
bining both the telegraph and ex
press offices. This is a desirable
location and no doubt will meet
with the approval of the public."
VALUE OF TIME.
Dr. Ivey Says Only Twenty Years Are
Allotted for Work.
Rev. Dr. T. N. Ivey preached in
the Edenton Street Methodist
Church last evening and he gave
a strong sermon on life.
Dr. Ivey said that if a man lived
to be seventy years old his time
would be thus divided up, the first
15 years in training passed in
childhood, 23 years in sleep, 6
years eating, 6 years in recreation
and only twenty years remains for
work. Dr. Ivey says that the ma
jority of people did not live
seventy years, hence they did not
even have. 20 years to accomplish
their life. work. He then pointed
out how short 20 years was to ful
hll ijods purposes, ine mind is
to be developed, character built,
fellowmen benefitted and prepara
tion made for the erreat hereafter
all within this short time. Man
has no time to throw away
waste. Raleigh Times.
or
Proposed Steamboat Line.
Mr. Edmund Alexander, with a
party of capitalists, left this week
for Hatteras where he goes in the
interest of the - proposed steam-
boat route between this city and
that point. Mr. Alexander is man-
infesting a spirit of" enterprise in
this matter that is highly com-
mentable and merits the full ap
preciatioh of the people of this
city. He is a good citizen, fully
alive to matters of public interest
and tne city wouiu oe me tne uet-
ii. AA-i- i
several of his kind.
This proposed line from Hatteras,
touching at intermediate -points,
will do more to increase trade
with this city, and develop the
lo wer sound country, than any
other project of equal expense.
The promoters should be encour-
aeed: Mr, Alexander assures us
that he has matters pretty well in
hand and that the line now seemsi
an assured success.
A New Railroad for
Elizabeth City Seems
Assured.
PRESIDENT BOSLEY WRITES
The Terminis a Desirable
one. How the Road Will,
Entebbe City. Right of
Way Secured and Survey
ors at Work.
The Elizabeth City and Western
r. now seems an assured sue-
cess- The new road wiU come
direct form Boslev. N. C. to this
enfcering the city from the
rear of Overman's Cemetery,
through Euclia Heights and down
t. . . . .
jarK Ave., to a Domt on tne river
front that haa been given to them
bv the Riverside Land and Im-
ptbvement Co. The site is one of
mutual advantage. By the depots
being located in the less populated
section, building will be encourag
ed at that point and the city 'will
soon begin to spread out and as
sume creditable proportions.
There is a srood devth of water at
the referred point nd good whar.
wfain
We are not giving Our readers a
sensational story but undisputed ;
iacts. We are sooner or later go
ing to have this road. As to how
soon depends upon the immediate
action of the citizens.
The following is an extract from
a letter to Hon. T. G. Skinner from
Pres. W. H. Bosley of the Suffolk
and Carolina R. R.
"While we are all decided that
the extension should be made, at .
the same time we must perfect our
other arrangements before we be
gin. We must receive the agree
ment or contracts for our terminals
at Elizabeth City in such shape as
they can be enforced and used by
us when the road is built to that
point, and the rights of way over
the line as surved by us. We must
have all this before us in busines
form and legal shape before we
actually commence the constuct
ion. Immediate action, while not pro-
sitively necessary is advisable, and
we suggest that the next meeting
of the Chamber of Commerce . be
largely attended and the matter
given due consideration.
The surveyors were in town this
week and were evidently well
pleased with the proposed terminus
Mr. Skinner has met with goOd
success in obtaining right of way
for the road. In all cases the far-
mers faring either given right or
sld at a nominal ngrue.
It is now up to us, Let us by
all means act at once.
To Visit Charleston.
Capt. W. T, Old, commanding
the Naval Brigade, and his .staff
jeave here on April 5th, for
t , ... m,
the Charleston Exposition. The
Brigade will go from here to Wil-
mington, N. C, where they will
take the yacht Hornet ior an ocean
voyage to the Exposition City. '
' Recently having electee Dr. . J.
H. White as their Commander. The
Naval Reserves have taken on new
hfe. Dr. White is well fitted for
the positic n ana is endeavoring,
l with the uriaminous support of his
company, to make thir divison the
most efficient m the state.
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