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?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-