Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-09
PISTOL AND KNIFE.
A Desperate Fatally Stabs One Man,
Shoots Three Policemen, and
Makes Good His Escape.
The Entire Police Force OF Chattanooga
In Pursuit OF the Murderer-The
City In a Fever Of Excitement.

, we CLEAN the following particulars Of ;
: most desperate affray which occurred il
| that city Saturday afternoon:
: About half-past four o'clock yesterday
= afternoon, the drayman employed by L
! B. Dobell was returning from the river
when he passed Mr.. E. B. Colwell, II
company with James Jackson, walking
along toward the river, talking together
and appearing to be upon perfectly
friendly terms. He had scarcely passed
! ! them, however, when he heard a loud
| cry, and turning around he saw "MT
! COlwell lying upon the ground, and
, jackson sitting upon his body, with hi:
: pipe in his mouth, iabbing q knife into
/. Mr. Colwell." Mr.. Colwell called to the
/. drayman for Gods sake to hurry and
come and save his life.
After stabbing him three times, Jack
son got up and walked deliberately tC
the river, where he got into canoe and
rOwed across.
AS soon as jackson left him, Mr.. Col
well managed to make his way to the
rolling mill, where he appeared with his
clothing covered with blood, which
flowed from his hands that had been cut
in trying to ward off the fatal blows, as
well as from the wounds in lis side.
Mr.. Joseph Richards, the manager Of
the mill, who knew Mr.. COlWen well, at
once had the wounded man conveyed to
his own house, where he received every
attention, and medical and surgical aid
was at once obtained
/ An examination Of the wounds show
ed that the left lung had been pene-
! trated, and that other vital organs had
been injured, though the knife had pene-
trated too high up to reach the heart.
! There were three stabs, all upon the left
side, and very near each other. Mr..
| COlwel's hands were also badly cut,
which was done while he was trying to
ward off the blows. 1t is the opinion Of
/ the doctors that the stabs were given
with a bowie or dirk-knife.
Mr.. COlwel remained at Mr.. Rich
ards's house until about eight o'clock,
when at his request, he was taken to his
own home, in the elegant mansion on
| McCallie street, which he only recently
completed. While at Mr.. Richardsis
house he made the following dying
declaration, and signed it with his own
hand:
az do hereby solemnly declare
that James Jackson is my muir
derer; that he met me this even
ing. about four or five o'clock, and,
without any provOcation on my part
whatever, he made the three stabs, which
1 have every reason to believe will be
the cause Of my death, and | solemnly
declare that no one else did in any
manner aid or assist him in committing
said deed. All this I declare, believing
before God that I am upon my dying
bed, aud that it is the truth, as I shall
answer at the bar of God on the day of
Judgment
The cause of this dastardly attack and
cold-blOOjed murder is still a mystery,
but from the best information we can
get, the difficulty grew out of mis-
understanding in regard to the payment
by Colwel to Jackson of the sum de-
manded for rafdng a lot of logs down
the river to ShellmouDd. Others say
that Colwen had accused Jackson of
to settle the matter some months ago,
but failed.
Mr.. COlwell was over at the rolling
mill yesterday, looking at the foundry,
and remarked to some one thele that he
had paid Jackson all he owed him. We
could not learn whether his meeting
with Jackson was accidental or by ap-
pOintment.
After he had stabbed Mr.. COlwelI,
Jackson went across the river, armed
himself with a pistol, and returned to
the city. He went into Kesterson's sa-
loon, near the river, and called for
drink, and as be did so displayed his
pistol, and said that if any policeman
came after him he would kill him.
Soon after this, Policemen Carver,
White (colOred) and Templeton (colored)
came up, and as they entered the saloon
Jackson went out the back door, which
leads to Railroad avenue, near the
trestle. The policemen followed him.
OF what happened during the pursuit it
is impossible to speak positively. 1t is
said that White was the first to reach him,
and held up until the others came up,
when he shot White, and also shot at
the others. Policeman Carver says that
jackson hid behind post and shot the
policemen as they came up. Another
witness saw Jackson hide behind the
rear corner Of Hope, Leigh & CO.. ware
house, and shoot the policeman as they
came up. Jackson fired three shots only,
one for each policeman. Carver was
mortally wounded, being hit just below
the nipple of the left breast. White was
shot in the abdomen, but the ball
glanced on a rib without penetrating the
cavity. Templeton was shot in the calf
Of the left leg.
Another report, and we believe the
correct one, is that just as Jackson said
he would kill any policeman, White
happened to pass, and some one called
JacksOn's attention, who rushed out and
said, "D--n you, maybe you want to
arrest me?D With that he pointed bis
pistol and commanded him to stand.
AS soon as Carver and Templeton came
up Jackson fired at White, who fell, and
then he lodged behind the post,
During the melee, policeman Carver
fired five shots at Jackson, and is con-
fident that at least two of them took
effect. This seems to be confirmed by
what is reported as happening
afterward. 1t is said that after
shooting the policemen, Jackson walked
down the levee to his canoe, having
compelled a negro on the way, to bring
him the paddles, and getting into the
canoe showed out into the river. 1t was
noticed by policeman Templeton, who
followed him to the river, and fired at
him once or twice, that he did not pad |
die with his ususl energy The has the |
of being the best canoeman
on the river, and he was observed |
shortly after leaving shore to lay down |
his paddle and let the boat drift. This |
led to the belief that Carver's shots had |
taken effect Policeman Templeton |
also says that he heard Jackson say that |
Carver had hit him, or killed him.
James Jackson, the hero of these des- |
perate exploits, was raised in this county, |
upon the river, near Williams's Island /
He is river man, and is about twenty |
seven years old, about six feet high, with /
light complexion, sandy hair and light l
beard, and weighs about one hundred |
and fifty pounds. He has the reputation |
of being a very desperate man, and his |
exploits of yesterday fully sustain this /
reputation. This Is not the first time
that he has come in conflict with the
officers of the law. In 1867 three of /
police-Beach, Macy and /
John Hamill-went across the river
to arrest him upon the charge of
stealing some oxen. While they
were carrying him over in q
canoe, he said, "Boys, can you swim?''
They said, "Yes.D sfWell, said jack
son, "swim or drown" and with that he
upset the canoe. As 1t went over, Beech
held his pistol up and swan with It
lifted above water. Quick as thought,
Jackson made adive, and, seizing Beech
by the feet, dragged him under
water, so that the pistol was wet and
rendered useless. Then he swan ashore
and left the policemen to get out as best
they could. From this it viii be seen
that it is not likely that jackson will
ever be taken alive.
The Mayor Of Chattanooga is author
lied to offer a reward Of i've hundred
dollars for the apprehension Of Jackson.
CONDITION or THE WOUNDED MEN.
We saw a gentleman about eleven
o'clock last night who had just returned
from a visit to the three dangerously
wounded men. He reported that White
was out Of danger, the ball having in
dicted only flesh wound in the abdo-