SHjr jsmtfjjfulu Jlcfalk
Prlc. On. Dollar P.r Vtar I "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR OOO." . Slngl. OopM. PI.. c.nU
VOL. 28. SMITHFIELD. N. C.. FRIDAY. JULY 2.1900. NO. 18
HOLT'S SLAYER CONFESSES.
Solomon Shepard the Man?Calling
Or. N. M. Johnson to his Cell,
Solomon Shepard Declares That He
is the Man Who Slew Engineer
Holt in the Southern Yards at
Durham Last December?Was
Alone in His Crime and the Fa
tal Shot Was Intended for a
Brakeman Who Had Ejected Him
From the Train.
Durbam, Juue 27.?Solomon Shep
ard, the negro of mysterious action,
has confessed that he killed Engineer
Holt near Durham last December and
that he had no assistant,
This startling turn in the dread
ful affair came last night when Dr.
N. M. Johnson went into the jail to
attend a sick prisoner. Shepard had
spent the day reading the Bible and
getting religion. Why he took a
notion to unburden himself to the
doctor, is not known, but he did and
said that he slew the engineer that
night without the aid of anyone.
The negro tells a reasonable story.
There never has been any large num
ber of people who did not believe
that Engineer Holt met death meant
for another man. The wanron use
of a shotgun was commonly called a
fttsubin Barbee characteristic, but no
body ever found the motive whereby
Reuben Barbee became the assassin
of Fred Holt. The brothers of the
dead man believed that their kins
man had been murdered by mistake
and the negro says so.
Shot Intended For Breakman.
Bhepard says that he was put off
the train by a breakman whose life
he sought. The engine that Mr.
Holt drove was an extra and the
negro was on the lookout for an
other. There were several men on
the cab at that time and the murder
er expected to get the brakeman.
He failed. Leaving the coal chute,
he said he fired at it "just to scare
somebody." It had the desired ef
fect. The Greenbergs have not re
covered. It was the Greenberg in
cident that had much to do with the
arrest of Barbee. He had trouble
with them, hated the family. The of
ficers figured it out that the man
who killed Holt, fired into that
bouse. They knew that Barbee, hated
them, therefore Barbee fired the
shot. But they reasoned only half
fight.
Shepard remained in Durham until
about six weeks ago. The fact that
another man was ssweating for his
crime kept him brave. He went
over to Petersburg and was arrested
there, but escaped after telling some
thing of the connection he had with
the Holt murder. What prompted
him to confess cannot be guessed
now.
It was not long alter ioe iuuluci
before some of the officers got on
Shepard's trail but having too little
pvidence for an arrest, never gave the
case away. He had been seen the
night of the assassination with a shot
gun but he had not been more close
ly connected with the crime. That
was two hourss before the commis
sion of the crime, --ater the arrest
of Reuben Barbee, there was nothing
to fear. In that connection, it was
worthy of note that the tracks made
by the murderer did not in a single
wise correspond with the shoes of
Barbee, but he was held and is
still in jail.
The doctor tried hard to keep
down the story that the negro gave
him, but It leaked out last night
and swept the city after midnight.
It even reached other towns. The
press of the North is following it
closely and there is big demand for
copy from local newspaper men.
A strange coincidence in this case
Is that noted by men who knew Shep
ard and Koonce Patterson. The only
crime ever charged up against Shep
ard was that of seriously cutting
Koonce Pauerson. Both are occupy
ing the same cell and each is charg
ed with a capital felony, Patterson
having broken into the house of Dr.
J. W. Petty.
Had No Accomplice.
It is understood that Shepard had
mentioned the name of a man who
was with him and that the fellow
left here the first of last week. The
county officers inclined to the belief
that be had a white accomplice but
his confession settles everything.
Until this morning but little cre
dence had been put in the Shepard
story in Ohio. Reuben Barbee, who
Is regarded as a shrewd and calcu
lating scoundnri, was supposed to
&?ve worked up this new excitement
and the scheme was believed to have
been his own. But Barbee fought
for trial a few days ago and that
circumstance could not be explained.
It now seems that a man with a bad
name has spent six months in jail
for a crime that had not been com
mitted by nim.
Ou the strength of the latest caper
of Shepard, it is understood that tire
attorneys of Barbee will ask his re
lease. Habeas corpus proceedings
may be necessary. The trial of, Shep
ard will take place in August at the
regular term of court.
As murder of any sort is regarded
as bad form, the plea of Shepard
that he hit the wrong man isn't ex
pected to avail him much. Until the
court there isn't much else to talk
about. The pecple are as interested
now as when the murder was fresh.
?Charlotte Observer.
Prohibition Ssntiment Stronger.
Governor Kitchin, in a letter to
Rev. W. B. Oliver, of Florence, S. C.,
in response to inquiries upon the
effect of prohibition in North Caro
lina, says: "Busines in this State
is as sound and progressive as in. any
adjoining State. Prohibition has not
demoralized labor. It Is true that
some negroes and some white men
too, as for that, are violating the pro
hibition law, and our courts are con
stantly sending them to the roads
for it. Considering the pronts, tne
violations are not beyond what prohi
bitionists expected. The law is sup
ported by public sentiment and is a
great benefit to the State, though, of
course, there are many good citizens
who opposed prohibition and who stili
doubt its efficacy and wisdom. It is
however, doubtless working as well
and as satisfactorily in this State as
in any other. It has not worked cor
ruption and evil, though some men
have engaged in corruption and evil
under it. It never made a good man
a bad one. It is not true that drunk
enness is more common and prevalenl
than before prohibition. In my judge
ment there is not a county in the
State that is spending as much monej
for or consuming as much whiskey
per capita as before prohibition.
There is not the slightest possibility
that the next Legislature will repeal
the law. I think the prohibition sen
I timent is sounder and stronger than
heretofore."?Raleigh Cor. Charlotte
Observer.
HANGED HIMSELF IN BARN.
Aged and Influential Physician of
High Point, Ends His Life.
High Point, N. C., June 30.?Dr.
J. W. Burton, one of High Point's
oldest and most influential ciitzens
and physicians, hung himself today.
He left home about nine o'clock this
morning and not returning in the af
ternoon a search was instituted and
his daughter, Miss Allie, found him
in a barn at the home on Lindsay
street, stiff in death. He was de
voted to his wife who died some
time ago ^nd since her death visit
ed the graveyard daily to see her
grave. Old age and sorrow on this
account had dethroned his reason to
an extent which had been noticable
to friends for some time.
Dr. Burton was 65 years of age
and his father and several brothers
and sisters and a large family sur
vive.
MARRIED A CONVICT.
! Young Woman Hopes to Reform Man
Imprisoned for Burglary.
Wilkesbarre, Pa., une 26.?Ethel M
Booth, a young woman of this city
in the hope of obtaining his par
don and reforming him, yesterda)
married John H. Williams, a convlcl
serving a five-year term in the re
form penitentiary at Philadelphia foi
burglary. He was sentenced lasl
fall.
Williams is a little more thai
twenty years old.
Miss Booth had known him for i
year and was engaged to him at thai
time. She expressed her faith in hin
| and declared she did not believe h<
was intentionally guilty, anrt saic
she would marry him in prison If h<
proved to be a good prisoner.
His conduct has been model, anc
yesterday she went to Philadelphi:
and married him in Warden Mc
Kenty's office. She now hopes t<
be able to induce the board of par
dona to grant him his freedom.
SARAH ORNE JEWETT DEAD.
On? of the Foremost Women Writer*
of America Passes away after an
Illness Lasting Many Months.
South Berwick, Maine, June 24.?
Au illness lasting many mouths ended
to-night in the death of Miss Sarah
Orne Jewett, Litt 1)., regarded as one
of the foremost women writers of
America. She was a sufferer from
apoplexy and paralysis.
It was while living in Boston^ Mass.
early in the year that Miss Jewett
was stricken with the disease which
proved fatal.
The house where Miss Jewett was
born, September 3, 1849, and in
which she died, has been in the pos
session of the Jewett family since
1740.
Miss Jewett wrote "The King of
Folly Island," "The Tory Lover" and
numerous other books. Bowdoin Col
lege conferred on her the degree of
doctor of letters in 1901, and she was
a member of the Loudon lyceum.
Sheriff Gets Year in Prison.
Cumberland, Md., June 26.?Will
iam E. Hodel, sheriff of Allegany
County, was sentenced to one year
in the penitentiary to-day by Judge
Boyd. Hodel was convicted of pur
jury by a jury last Wednesday.
__________________
Jail for Snoring Juror.
Mauch Chunk, Pa., June 24.?
While the case of William Lucken
bill, of Lehigton, vs. the Eastern Pen
nsylvania Railroad was on trial here,
I Edward Harkins, of Lansford, a
juror in the case, fell asleep and
snored so lustily that the court com
mitted him to jail for twenty four
hours in contempt. The case then
went on with eleven jurors who kept
awake.
BATES GETS THIRTY YEARS.
Judge Criticises Exaggerations of
Durham's Criminal Record.
Durham, N. C., June 24.?In sen
tencing Wesley Bates for the murder
of Jack Robertson last fall. Judge
j Biggs gave him thirty years in the
I penitentiary, and criticised the State
newspapers which carry such glaring
I accounts of Durham's crimes. Judge
Biggs said counties which he had
visited had in their jails eleven men
indicted on capital offenses, but the
papers of that county would write
editorials on Durham's lawlessness.
H( declared that there is a follow
up system of chronicling crimes here
that makes the public think one
takes place every week, while there
has not been a homicide committed
this year. His remarks were ap
plauded.
First Bale New Texas Cotton Sold
For $425.
Houston, Texas, June 28.?"Before
the war" prices were received on the
floor of the cotton exchange today
when the first bale of this season's
I cotton sold at auction for $425. The
bale came from Mercedes, Hidalgo
county, and weighed 368 pounds,
i The first bale last year arrived on
I June 20.
Mixing Butter Into Dough.
Just to show that he Is a jack-of
all-trades. Uncle Sam has issued a
bulletin to the housewives in which
he tells them how to get the best re
i suits from the mixture of butter and
flour. The person who made the dis
covery, however, is Miss M. U. Wat
. son, of the Ontario Agricultural Col
, lege. She reports that she first mix
? ed the shorteningln the dough byi rub
' bing or cutting it into the flour; then
t she made more dough and poured In
? the melted butter. Biscuits from the
? two were baked side by side, and
t they were equally good to look upon
but upon breaking them open It was
i found that the texture of the melted
butter variety was tough, while thai
i of the rubbed In would have made a
t I Southern "mammy" sing for Joy
l Not so with the cookie. Both meth
' ods worked like a charm, and the ex
1 pert taster couldn't tell one sample
? I from the other.?Van Norden Maga
! zine.
i;
i Fifteen dollars a year is the sala
? ry paid to the president of the re
J public of Anderra, in the Pyrenees
- This is the smallest salary paid tc
the head of any Government.
HOCUTT-ELLINGTON WEDDING.
Popular Young Couple Married
Thursday at Clayton Baptist
Church.
One of the most beautiful weddings
ever known lu this section of the
State was solemnized yesterday after
noon ill the Baptist church at this
place when Miss Mary Lucile Elling
ton, the beautiful daughter of Sheriff
and Mrs. J. T. KUington, became the
bride of Dr. Battle A. Hocutt, a ris
ing young physician of Clayton.
Never has Clayton society! witness
ed a more striking assemblage of
fair young womanhood and handsome
men than graced the occasion with
their presence, and the bride and
groom who were the central figures
of the occasion in this instance have
likewise beeu the leaders in society
for several seasons since the bride
was a debutante.
Immediately before the ceremony
while those present were waiting
Mrs. J. J. Young sang "For Your
Sake."
Promptly at three o'clock to the
strains of Mendelssohn's "Wedding
March' rendered by Miss Bessie Fu
trell, of Scotland Neck, the bridal
party entered the church, which for
nearly an hour had been packed
with an eager throng of spectators
from the town and surrounding
country. In perfect time to the
mellow notes from the organ th<6
party advanced to the altar, where
I Dr. R. T. Vann, the distinguished
president of Meredith College, of
Raleigh, waited their approach. Ad
vancing slowly up the isles the at
tendants arranged themselves In a
semicircle around the rear of the
chancel: Miss Katherlne Futrell, of
Scotland Neck, with Dr. Henry Best,
of Wilson; Miss Kittle Pool, of
Clayton, with Mr. Wilbur Dunn, of
Raleigh; Miss Vallie Blanchard, of
Raleigh, with Mr. Eric Ellington, of
Clayton; Miss Mary Pritchard, of
Chapel Hill, with Dr. Joel Whitaker,
of Raleigh; Miss Einily Diggs, of
Scotland Neck, with Mr. D. D. El
lington, of Clayton; Miss Mildred
Young, of Clayton, with Mr. Carl
Bell, of Wakefield; Miss Mary Kin*,
of Leaksvllle, with Mr. K. R. Elling
ton, of Clayton; Miss Cora Hocutt,
of Wakefield, with Dr. W. S. Jor
dan, of Fayetteville; Miss Mabel
Gower, of Clayton, with Dr. a. H.
Rose, of Sniithfield, Miss Louise
Wyatt, of Raleigh, with Mr. I). W.
fVrbour, of Clayton; Ushers, Messrs.
W. D. Young, J. H. Austin, J. T.
Taltou, and E. R. MacBride, of
Lauriuburg.
At the altar Miss Ellington was
met by the groom, and with the
! gleam of the altar candles blending
I youth and beauty into a symphony
j of color they pronounced the vows
which rendered them man and wife,
using the beautiful ring ceremony
of the Baptist church, receiving the
golden symbol from little Jessie Ea
| son, who carried the ring in the
j heart of a boquet.
With the Recessional softly float
ing from the organ, the happy pair,
I with a new light In their eyess and
a Joyous glow on their faces, led the
| way down the isle to the door where
[ carriages were waiting to convey
the bridal party to the depot. At
the door, on account of a summer
shower which had come up during
the ceremony, the party was forced
to wait for a few minutees, and here
the couple held an impromptu re
, ceptlon, receiving the congratulations
and good wishes of the friends who
were crowding around.
The bride wore a going-away-gown
of blue rajah silk, hat and gloves
to match, and carried a shower bo
auet of Lillies of the Valley and
Brides Roses. The maid of honor,
-iJliss Katherine Futrell, carried pink
roses, while the bridesmaids carried
i white carnations.
! Immediately after the ceremony
[ the bride and groom left on the
, 3:30 train, for the "Land of the Sky
i and the Sapphire Country," wberv
[ they expect to spend some time at
: the principal resorts of the stat?*
l Asheville, Toxaway, Waynesvllle and
. other points.
?! The church was decorated for the
? occasion with daisies, ferns, palms
> and cut flowers, and was lighted
?^from the chancel by myriad candles
The middle block of pews was re
' served for the relatives of the brldt
-; and groom, and was filled with peopl
- many of them of statewide promt
. | nence. White satin ribbon Was
> j stretched on either side of the ais
les of the seats reserved.
Miss rri.vton comes of stoik that
is a*runu to none in the state, and
j her father, who is known far and
! wide as "Sheriff Ellington," is a
1 promiuent figure not only in this
' section but over North Corolina.
Beautiful in person, accomplished
1 mentally, and attractive in disposi
! tion, the bride is one of the State's
most popular young women.
The groom is a popular young j
doctor whose name is already becom
ing known over a large scope of j
; country, and has a bright future be
] fore him in his chosen profession.
Ills father and mother, Mr. and Mrs.
I 1. W. Hocutt, who were here to wit
ness the marriage, are well known
residents of Wake county and are
prominent in their community both
in church and social circles. Both
are to be congratulated upon n son
of this town although he lias been in
of this 'own although he hasbeen in
| it but a comparatively short time.
On Wednesday evening bfore the
[ wedding the bridal party was given a
reception at the handsome old colo
| uial home of the bride's parents,
] where they feasted and made merry
until a late hour, when the wedding
cake was cut. Miss Kate Futrell
drew the ring, Miss Yallie Blauch
ard the dime, Miss Prichard the but
ton, and Mr. MacBryde the thimble.
The wedding gifts artistically dis
played in the drawing room were
numerous and costly, showing to
some slight extent the popularity and
prominence of the bride and groom.
On the dining room table the same
candlesticks were used which had
served 011 the occasion of the mar
riage of the bride's mother some
forty years before. Punch was serv
ed In the library, and later a de
licious luncheon was served on the
wide varanda of the beautiful home.
?Clayton Enterprise, 25th.
_ _
NEW "TAR HEEL" HONOR.
Robs Wisconsin of Claim of Hav
ing Oldest Triplets.
Washington, D. C., June 27.?North
Carolina has much to boast of be
! sides the Mecklenburg declaration of I
independence, the first birth of a
| white child in North America and
its wellknown motto of "First at
Bethel, fathest at Gettysburg and
last at Appamatox."
Congressman Charles H. Cowles is
one North Corolitiian who will not
sit quietly by and allow any other
State to claim anything to which
Carolina rightfully has a claim. Con
sequently he has disputed with By
ron, Wis., the honor of being the
j home of the oldest triplets in the
j United States, the Windeckers, who
I recently celebrated their sixty-first
birthday.
Representative Cowles dcposeth
that the Gibbs triplets, of Wilkes
county, N. C., are 13 years, oue
month and several days older than
the Windeckers, and on May 22 cel
ebrated their seventy-fourth birth
day right at their birthplace, Wilkes
boro. They are hale and hearty,
| married and in great-grandfather
stage. Each triplet carried a musket
lu the Confederate army.
WILL BIGGERS NOT GUILTY.
Jury at Charlotte Returned Verdict
After Four and a Half Hour's
Deliberation.
Charlotte. N. C., unJe 26.?After
j being out exactly four and one-half
hours the jury in the case of Will
| Biggers for the murder of J. G. Hood
| this afternoon returned a verdict of
not guilty.
The announcement of the verdict
I was greeted with cheeers, the court
room being transformed into a scene
of wild confusion. Women, friends
and relatives of the prisoner crowded
around him and wept from sheer joy.
When Judge Council had succeeded In
restoring order he thanked thee ju
rors for their work and adjourned
court.
The Traction Engine to Stop Running.
'
Just before going to press we learn
' that an agreement has been reached
' whereby the traction engine belonging
1 I to Messrs. Hand & Lawrence will be
taken off the roads of Smithfield town
? j ship after July 17th. After findirg
' I that the people generally were bo much
e opposed to it they agreed to take it off.
? About three hundred dollars was raised
1 by citizens here for them to help bear
- the loss which will be incurred in sell
ing the engine.
i . __ _
INSECTS' GIANT ANCESTORS.
Dragon-Flies In Jurrassic Timet
Were as Big as a Sea Gull is
Now?Evil Appearance of Spi
ders Has Given Them
Undeserved Reputation
ThU is scarcely the age of insects.
In spite of the terrific appearance of
the tarantula spider, it is a pigmy
by the side of some of the insects
of the Carboniferous Era, where the
direct ancestors of most of the great
Insect groups are to be found. The
Carboniferous ancestors of the locust
were nearly all giants. Indeed, says
the London Graphic, there were
many of them the span of whose
wings measured more than a half a
yard. Professor Handsclirsch has
traced the lineage of insects through
Jurassic times, when the locust and
earwigs temporarily declined and the
butterflies appeared. A Jurassic
dragon-fly was as large as a sea
gull of to-day. In that age, too, ap
peared the tsetse flies, of which
Professor Cockerell has found two
specimens iu the Florissant shales in
North America, and It Is quite pos
sible that Just as the tsetse flies
of to-day are extinguishing the big
game animals of Africa by Infecting
them with the parasite of Nagana
fever, so in that age the great rep
tiles may have been swept away
by some similar disease. One of the
curiosities of the ancestry of the
horse is that whereas a great deal
of Its evolution and development hap
pened In America, yet it had entirely
disappeared from both of the North
and South Continents before the Age
of Man. The wild horses of the
Pampas are the relics merely of
Spanish invasions; they are not the
descendants of the primeval horse.
Insect Intelligence.
It is possible that the insects of
those epochs were much longer-lived
than their descendants to-day. It is
hard to see otherwise how insects
which only live a few hours or days
could acquire the instincts which are
so ingrained and so persistent in
them, unless they inherited theiu
from remote ancestors, who had a
better chance of acquiring experience.
We speak usually of the 'instincts' of
insects and the "intelligence" of hu
man beings; but the dividing line is
hard to draw. Man exhibits many in
stincts, but none of them is compara
ble in complexity or fixedness to
those of insects, and, indeed, it has
been urged that the activities that
are called instinctive in insects are
indicative of a high degree of intel
ligence, not of a lack of it.
9
Spider Venom.
Usually the spider is regarded not
as the victim, but as the rapacious
and bloodthirsty executioner, and
great powers have been assigned to
the death-dealing properties of spider
venom. The tarantula spider was be
lieved to be especially deadly. But
Dr. Kobert, who has made an exhaus
tive study of spider-venom, has prov
ed that extracts from the venom of
this dreaded spider are quite Innocu
ous, and this is the case with nearly
all spiders, with the exception of the
; common garden spider, which does
yield extracts having poisonous ef
fects. Very often the evil-looking ap
l pearance of a spider gives it a no
I torious reputation; but in one case it
j is well deserved. This is in the in
stance of the Russian kara-kurte
(black wolf) spider. The bite of
this insect feels like a bee sting, and
though there is no swelling, violent
pains in the limbs follow it, and these
are succeeded by difficulty in breath
ing. Both the heart and the central
nervous system are affected, and the
poison dissolves a number of the red
blood corpuscles.
Dancing Epidemics.
Perhaps, however, the most curi
ous thing about the tarantula's poison
is that it was believed to have pro
duced epidemics of dancing. Robert
Boyle, the English physicist, made
inquiries in 1693 into these "dancing
epidemics," but it was clearly proved
that the tarantula was not the cause.
Similar dancing epidemics have been
1 known in other parts of Europe,
where they could not be attributed to
spiders. There was notable one In
the fourteenth century in 'he K'uine
and Mosol'e districts, w'ere men ant
women, old and young, danced from
town to town, in the streets and in
the churches.?Ex.
An honest man does not mako him
self a dog for the sake of a bone.?
Danish.