Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1869-03-04
THE RANDOLPH MURDER.

In the contested election case for the 3rd Con-
gressional District, to which reference has been
made in our columns as being on trial at Columbia,
one of the witnesses, w. K. Tolbert has confessed
that he was accessory to the murder of B. F. Ran.
dolph. This murder, as will be remembered, was
committed at Hodges Depot in Abbeville Coun-
ty. We copy that part Of his evidence which re-
lates to the murder In answer to the question
estate how you happened to be at Hodges Depot
the day Randolph was killed?" Tolbert replied:
81 heard he was going to make speech there,
and went up to hear it. When got there, they
told me he was not going to speak there that he
had gone up to Abbeyile Court House, and was
going to Anderson that night on the afternoon
train. Joshua Logan and j. W. Tolbert came to
the depot with me- Both were well known st
Hodges Depot. When we arrived there we found
q crowd of men, some eight or ten besides our
number. We commenced talking about Randolph !;
that he had threatened to Colonel Aiken to burn
up the State that he could do it in three words,
and that we must kill him. Langdon Conner and
Fletch. Hodges spoke to us, after we came up-we
were all armed, mean at Hodge s:Depot. They
put up target, and we all shot off our pistols at
it. We did it to reload our pistols, oas to be sure
they would fire, being freshly loaded. They put
saying that as we did not live there, the negroes
would not know Us. If any more shooting Was to
be done, they would do it. That if Randolph's
guard fired on us, they would fire on them. When
the train came in, Langdon Conner went to the
conductor, and asked him if Randolph was on
board and he came back and said he was on the
train. The train ran up to the side Of the plat
form. Randolph was sitting by the door Of the
car. The rest all went to the upper end Of the
platform, and got on the platform. [ went to the
lower end. Just at this time the Greenville train
ran up. Randolph Immediately changed cars, and
walked back into the last passenger car, and took
his seat James Cochran stepped up to me at that
time, and says: bill, you fellows ought to have
been disguised" I said "Jim what do you
think of it, anyhow" He says: "He ought to
be killed, and now is the time to do it. right nov"
Fletch. Hodges came up with roll Of money. in
ua more ss Shooting 5 we we will do it, BY this time RAM
dolph had got off his seat and walked out on the
platform of the car. John Brooks came up with
his pistol in his hand, and he says: CHOW is your
time, here he stands on the platform" and he
pointed him out to me. Logan, Tolbert and my
self done the shooting. We all three shot him,
and he was killed dead. Langdon Conner told me
to go on, they would do the balance. He had bis
pistol in his hand. We got on our horsesand rode
off, No person attempted to arrest US. We went
to Aleck Ellis, about two and half miles of. He
was not at home We wanted to see him on bust
ness. He was at Cokesbury. Logan and Tolbert
went to Cokesbury to see him, and found him
there in Democratic meeting. They came back
to Aleck Ellis with him. They told me that Ran
doph's name was brought up in the Democratic
meeting, as to what they should do with him:
Some said, ''cut him up and feed him to the dogs "
Others said, 'they would box him up, and express
him to Governor Scott as q present Ellis kneT
that he was killed. and killed by U.S. and that some
of the members of the Democratic Club saw it
done; saw Randolph killed. Witness was here
Pope, Esq, to speak only from his own knowledge,
to which Tolbert replied: 81 speak from my own
knowledge The members of the Democratic
Club that I remember as being present were Jas.
Cochran, Langdon Conner and Fletcher Hodges.
They advised me to shoot Randolph, to kill him,
and they would back me in it.
This man, hired assassin by his own confession,
has also been called on to bear witness against the
Democratic party in this State. As might be ex-
pected, when his purpose is to give such evidence
as will atone for his own crimes in the eyes Of a
Republican, he narrates with great precision many
acts of Democratic fraud and violence on and be-
fore election day. He says he was Democrat, and
served on q committee to break up Union Leagues,
kill leading Republicans, destroy Republican tick
cts and play 'buly' generally. He also states, as
coming under his own knowledge, that at several
precincts negroes were not allowed to yote unless
they would put in Democratic tickets; that the
Democrats. without exceptioa came to the polls
armed and by threats and fraud prevented anything
like polling of the full colored vote, SC.
Unfortunately for the truth of these statements,
the Abbeville Press publishes afidavits from the
of the accused precincts, who testify that
the election was carried on fairly and strictly accor
ding to law; that no tickets from properly regis
tered voters were refused; that no illegal votes
were received and, finally, that there was no dis
order or disturbance whatever