f : b Iff if ft I : ' l ?0Z. XXIX MOUNT AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA; THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, ID 00 NO. 20 LAWYERS SPEECH STOPPED. Union City, Term., Jan. 6. After a bitter attack on Gover nor of the State and an attempt to bring the killing of former United State3 Senator Edward W. Carmack into the case, Rice Pierce, senior counsel for the murder of Captain Quentin Ranken, to-day was reprimanded by Judge Jones. Mr. Pierce was preparing to close his argument for the de fense and was discussing the testimony of Fehringer, Hogg and Morris, night-riders who turned State's evidence, He launched into a violent denun ciation of Governor Patterson. "The Govrnor of the State." he said, "after sending an army into Obion county to trample on the rights of the people, to snatch honest men from their homes, and bully them and a buse them, then offered a reward of $10,000 for the arrest of Ran ken's murderers. I do not ap prove of crimes. I denounce murder, whether it is a cowardly assassin or the streets of our capital, or any equally cowardly murder on the banks of Reel Foot lake. But I submit that all men are equal before the law, and the man or men who assassinat ed Carmack are entitled to no better treatment than those who killed Ranken. "After filling Obion county with the army and abusing citi zens, what does Patterson do, this Governor of the State? He sends for Frank Fehringerand Herschel Hocrer ancLWad Morris anu he bribes Cnem to perjur themselves to send honest men to the gallows." Several u..ieo ti.e ailjrney re peated this charge and then Judge Jones said: , ") "The court does t believe that the judiciary jiould permit to pass unr.C'ced this assault on the Chief Executive of the State The is rWjiitngin the testimony to sustain counsel's chaYges. The witnesses swore repeatedly that what Governor Patterson told them was that if they would tell the truth he would give them an unconstitutional pardon and see that they got out of the country. In no way is it in evi dence that he offered them par don to involve any one in the murder." "But," retorted Pierce, "these witnesses, or one of them at least , swore that if Patterson had not 0 lie red him the pardon, he would not have made the con fession. Just what else he otf ered them. I do not know, but I believe I have a right to say he bribed the witnesses to perjure , themselves." "Mr.. PricK" again said the court, "these remarks are higaly improper and the court will not permit you to make them. Gen tlemen of the jury, there is noth ing in evidence upon which the charge against the Governor can be based." t. "Mr. Pierce had spoken nearly j two hours when he was stopped j by Judge Jones. Court adjourn- ; ed a few minutes later until to- j morrow, with two hours of time ' still to the defenses credit. The j case should go to the jury on j Thursday. Juror Rosson, who is ill with measles, is being kept in the court house. A room has been fitted up for him and he is car ried from it to his chair each time court opens. He has a high fe ver but is determined to remain on the jury till the trial ends. There ia no ca on record of a cough, 1 cold or la jrrinpe developing into pneu monia after t oWv'a Honey and Tar has been taken, aa itlrjret the mt obtUi oate deep aeatedV-ouzht and colds. Why take anything elae. &U by J. H. Gwyn THE STRENGTH OF AN EAQLB Weight th Bird Could Carry in Might His Strong Claws. Forent and Stream. While I cannot give positive proof of how much a bald eagle c in carry. I shoulJ suppose that he could carry at least as much in proportion to his weight as a hawk or a horned owl. I have the recorded weight of a male bald eagle weighing nine and one quarter pounds and a female weighing twelve pounds. A horned owl will weigh from four to five pounds, and I have several times known one to carry off a large house cat. One was a very large one, and the owner told me he could hear the cat cry as he was being carried off. Now any one who will weigh a large house cat will find it to weigh at least ten pounds. I have seen a goshawk carry off a hen fully twice its own weight, and I have taken from a marsh hawk a very large chicken which would weigh more than twice what the hawk would. The marsh hawk is one of our weakest hawks, but he had car ried this chicken over a quarter of a mile. My belief is that if a hawk or horned owl can carry more than twice its weight and U know postively that they can) an eagle could, if occasion re quired, do as much in proportion to his weight, which would be to carry eighteen or twenty pounds. Once when an eagle, shot 1 -h.the imdv with ArAwm ItorriaTon hia back. I up-ended a long road skid a.d dropped it on mm he stretched up and caught it in his claws and held it up the length of his leg above him. I walked up on the skid and stood above him, and he eas ily held me and skid, which I should judf . rt'ould weigh more than tw.ty pounds. I took pains 'to be weighed the same day, and weighed 119 pounds. Put a stick in the clav of a wounded eagle and let him grasp a small tree with the other, and a man must be stronger than I ever wa3 to t. ko the stick from him. Shot By Hia Brother. Special to Th Observer. Concord, Jav 9. While rab bit hunting this afternoon about 5 o'clock Hugh Burrage, about 18 years of age, accidentally shot his brother, John Barrage, aged 20. The entire load, including the waddirg, lodged in the young man's left kidney, making a wound the size of a silver dol lar and three inches deep. The wound is a serious one but is not considered fatal, unless compli cations set in. The boys we-e on the land of their father, Mr. J. M. Burrage, near the Three Mile branch and only a short distance from their home. They had stopped in a sage field and lain down. When the dogs jumped a hare, the boys began to run, John in front of his brother. The injure:! boy wore two coats and two top shirts, which checked the force of the load and prevented it from penetrating the body. He was carried to his home on Meadow street, where the wound was dressed, and he is now resting very well. Notice. Having qualified aa Administrator of the estate of J. B. Smith, Dec , this is to notify all pt-rsons huving claims a gainat the estate of said deceased to ex hibit them to the undersigned on or be fore the 2.r.th day of Nov. I'joa, or tliia notice will be plead bar of their re covery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate pay ment. This Nov. 25, 1908. J. J. Stone, Admr. T. W. Foteer. Attv. SIX RIDERS TO HANG Union City, Tenn., Jan. 7. With a verdict of guilty in vary ing degree the jury inr the night rider trials reported at 8:45 p. m. to-night. The twelve men found Garrett Johnson, Tid Burton. Roy Ran son, Fred Pincon, Arthur Cloar, and Sam Applewhite guilty of murder in the first degree with mitigating circumstances, and Bud Morris and Bob Huffman, the other defendants, guilty of murder in the second degree and fixed their punishment at twenty years in the penitentiary. The punishment of the six first named defendants was left to the court and may be death or life impris onment. The defense filed a mo tion for a new trial which was set for hearing Saturday and which will be overruled, as indi cated by the court when sentence will be pronounced. The court will sentence the six first named defendants to death. JURY AGREES QUICKLY. The jury had been out since 2 p. m., but because of th illness of Juror Rosson had not been able to consult until 6 p. m. There was a difference of opinion among the jurors as to the degree of guilt of the defendants but an agreement was reached quickly. Court was convened at 6 p. m. and the jury sent word that it would able to report shortly. The room was crowded, as it was dur ing the argument. The minutes passed and at 8:15 p. m. the bail- cglled for the county physic ian. Jury Kosson was in a state of collapse and needed attention. It was half an hour before Ros son was revived. The jury filed in and six deputies were summon ed to carry in the bed upon which the sick juror reclined. The fore man announced the verdict, the defense called for a pole; which was made and the judge dismiss ed the jurors. Rosson'scondition is such that it was deemed inad visable to move him tonight. MOVE FOR NEW TRIAL The defense demanded until Monday to move for a new trial bat the State opposed it and the court fixed Saturday as the day, intimating that the motion was a mere form anyway, which would be overruled. The defendants took .the ver dict with calmness, as they had been expecting it since the clos ing of the argument. Attorney Pierce turned to them when it wns announced an:l said: "We will tear this case to piec es in the Supreme Court." The State expected a verdict of first degree murder in all eight cases and was visibly disappoint ed. Bob Huffman, one of the men to escape with twenty vears, is the man who according to the confession of Frank Fehring er, fired the shot which killed Captain Ranken as he was being drawn up by the rope. When the jury's readiness to report was announced the mili tary quickly surrounded the court house and a detail of soldiers with revolver holsters open, was de ployed around the walls of the court room, but aside from a whispered buzz of conversation, there was iu demonstration. The prisoners were quickly handcuff ed and under military escort tak en to prison. The verdict is con sidered a compromise one and no trouble is feared by the authori ties. END OF MUTABLE TRIAL. Thus is ended in the lower court, one of the most vigorously contested and notable criminal trials ever heard in this State, ' the outcome of a reign of law lessness, the culminating act of which being that of which men were found guilty, calling forth the mustering in of the militia of the State, under the personal di rection of Governor Patterson, to the aid of the civil authorities in the ferreting out and the tak ing into custody of those who were charged with the commiss ion of the crime, the so-called "night-rider clan" of Reel Foot Lake. The operations of the night rider band began wi-.h the burn ing of fish docks extending to the inflicting of corporal punisnment on those whom the leaders in their counsels deemed guilty of actions in opposition to the wish es of the clan, finding a climax in the lyching of Captain Ranken. Ranken and an associate stock holder of the West Tennessee Land Company, Col. R. Z. Tay lor, an aged man and one of the most prominent men of the north western section of Tennessee, had come to the lake region to conclude a deal as to the sale of some timber lands, the property of the company. - STORY OF TRAGEDY. The night-riders, composed largely of the fisher folk of Reel Foot lake, which is owned by the land company, were especially aggrieved against the land com pany because of th refusal to allow the fishermen to ply their vocation at will in the waters of the lake. This they charged largely to Captain Ranken and Colonel Taylor. According to the evidence during th trial, when it was iparjip4bJlth(ttwa-wJ to spend the night in the lake re gion the band was told to meet at a designated point and toward midnight, they donned their fan tastic garbs of long cloaks and masks and marched to the Wal nut Log Hotel, where Captain Ranken and Colonel Taylor had quarters. Forcing them to has tily don their clothes, it is relate r they marched them to a secluded spot among the wooded recesses of the lake. Here a short parley ensued and not reaching a..satis facto y termination to tho ri U rs the rope by which Ranken was led from the hotel, was thrown over a torked limb or a tree m.d the man drawn into the air. A volley of shots followed ami with in a finv stvonds Umken was lead. In the meantime Ttylor lad plea led for the release .of lianken and his suhstit itun. When h saw the men were de termined to kill both he made a dash for liberty swimming the bayou, on the banks of which the lynching occurred, and though several vol.eys fro ii a score of rifles fallowed ! im he succeeded in escaping, teaching a place of s if'ety after thirty-six hours :-icv.' i:i the marshes. GOVERNOR PATTERSON BUSY. Two days later Governor Pat terson and two companies of State troops began the work of hunting down the perpetrators, Arrests by tho wholesale were ma jo and the county was placed under military rule. A military post was established at Reel Foot lake r.nd those who were arrested were held practically incommuni cado. Several of thos arrested confessed and gradually those who were deemed not guiltv were weeded out and allowed to return j to their homes. The ten men held most respon sible for the raids of the band were taken to Nashville for safe keeping and in the jails there two of them died. The other eight sought release under writs of habeas corpus and were order ed set at liberty on the charges, on which they were held, other than that of the killing of Cap tain Ranken. When they were returned to Union City to be re leased, however, indictments charging murder had been re turned and they were immediate ly re-arrested. Military aids court. Their trials began a month ago and the court was under the pro tection of the military. During the sessions armed soldiers were constantly on guard and during the night the men were under the care of the military as were others held to await trial. Dur ing the trials several of the al leged members of the band told of the working of the clan and of the raids, describing the murder of Captain Ranken, showing it to have been most brutal. These will be granted pardcVi. The defendants were represen ted by Rice V. Pierce and other prominent attorneys who exerted every legal effort in the aid of their clients and as a defense sought to establish alibis. The case of the State wa3 cared for by Attorney General Caldwell and other attorneys. The present term of court is the second term called to conside er the night-rider cases. The first term was called immediate ly oh the arrival of the troops and its legality, because of a fail ure to announce the fact of its convening in advance was ques tioned. Riders are Sentenced. Union City, Tenn., Jan. 9. Judge Jones to-dav imposed the death penalty on . Garrett John. U, the night-rid ers who were found guilty of the murder of Caotain Quentin Ran ken, and sentenced Bud Morris and Bob Huffman, thetwoother defendants, to life imprison ment. The attorneys for the defense immediately gave notice of an appeal to the State Supreme Court. If this tribunal does not interfere the firs named six men will be hanged the 1Mb of Feb ruary. In appealing to Judge Jones to-day for a new trial the defense attacked the competency of jurors McKinney and Dahnke asserting that they had express ed opinions as to the guilt oftho parlies on trial and that Dahnke was a resident of the State of Kentucky. It was also claimed that Juror Rosson, who was ill, was thud incompetent to pass upon the guilt or innocence of the accused. After having heard the treti- mony of three witnesses intro duced l)V the defense in an elf ort to prove that Jurror McKiu I ney had expressed an opinion us j to the guilt of the convicted men the State proved by the members of the jury that he insisted on mitigating circumstances being included in the verdict. The contentions in regard to Jurors Rosson and Dahnke were later with-drawn and the motion for a new trial was quickly over ruled Perfect silence prevailed in the court room during the pronounc ing of the sentences. The de fendants, eaehgn turn arose, pale and worn, f i receive i the words of Judge . s. The court then directed the sherilf to see that the defend ants be carefully looked after and a proper guard be supplied. Court then adjourned 100 -PIGS. One hundred fine der before they are picked over, john a: young, Greensboro, N. C, Wilkes Method f Read Making. Greensboro, Jan. 7. H. M. Hamby, of Wilkes county, was in Greensboro yesterday and told of a road-working that smacks of the good old days when the neighbors all chimed in to roll logs, shuck corn, thrash wheat and do other work where the service of more than one per son was required. In the incident of which Mr. Hamby tells, a lumber firm is operating a saw-mill on the bank of a stream up on the side of the Blue Ridge, and, in order to get the lumber out, it is necessary to build a few miles of road. The road is badly needed in the com munity for other purposes than hauling lumber and the sawmill people, realizing this fact, seized the opportunity to invite the peo ple to construct the road. Every body in the community was in vited to meet at a certain point to begin the work. The lumber firm let it be known that a tur key dinner would be served with plenty of sauce, and probably other "refreshments" that Wilk es people like. The result was that almost the entire ptpulation came wihaxes mattocks, picks, shovels, nlows and oxen and nearly half of the road was made the first day. The women came, too, to help pre pare the dinner, and according to the report a feast was served out in the wilds on the mountain side, the prospects of which would get a full day's work oat everrMTtriTa. tTTwilei section of the country. were the best people of thfvXi.' munity who went to help the sawmill people and to build a ',, road for their com nunitv with- out other reward or hope of re ward. Mr. Hamby says that the psr formance will be repeated until the road is finished. In Wilkes county many of the old customs are yet practiced. Cornshuckings, log-rollings, quiltings and other cooperative undertakings are quite frequent. Such occasions are often made important social events. After the task or undertaking i3 finish ed the country maidens and rural lads come together for the old Virginia reel dance and for what is known among them as the jig dance, The "fiddle" and "banjo picker" are important personages at such functions. Mr. 'Possum Comes' Bete?n New ly Wed Couple. Gastonia News. Mr. and Mrs. William Frank lin Long have separated after a married life of eight days. The wife has returned to her owa home. She was Miss Roxie Chris tine and she and her husband married after o .e day's acquaint ance. The immediate domestic trouble arose over the cooking of a 'possum. Mr. Long bought a 'possum up town the other day and took it home and Mrs. Long refused to cook the m irsupial, and left her home. FOIEYSHlBlfEYi Makes Kidneys and BtaMar Right mf rfaai pigs' on hand. Or-

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view