The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-23
ALLEGED CoLORED MURDERERS.
Four Black Sharp Brothers Under Arrest for
Poisoning and Breaking the Neck Of Red
Man-Their stories-The Body Ex-
humed and the Bloodthirsty
'Gemmen" in q Bad Fir.
srArRsvILLE, N. G., Feb. 8, 1873.

STATRsvILLE, N. G., Feb. 8, 1873.
| A most singular and m Mysterious murder has re-
| Gently been unfathomed in Irden, an adjoining
county, for the preparation OF which four negro
| brothers, named Sharp, have been arrested and
| imprisoned From the particulars have been 30
far able to ascertain 1t appears that about fourteen
miles northeast Of this point, near small rural
village called DIN, there resided the four negroes
above alluded TO, who were formerly slaves Of Mr..
| Ames Sharp deceased. Like most Of our manu-
mtted cOlOred citizens, the brothers took the sur
name OF their late owner, and were respectively
known AZ Bob Sam, julie and DOlph Sharp. Dolph
lived In rude log cabin the lands OF Mr.. Pope,
and near his cabin another one unoccupied.
In the same neighbOrhoOd, and on the contiguous
lands of one Mr.. Frank Walker, lived q very peace
able quiet and industrious negro named Henderson
Redman. He had rented the unoccupled cabin
from Mr.. Pope. but had not yet taken formal pos
session Of it, he intended to remain In the SER
vice OF Mr. Walker until the close Of last year.
Some time in the month Of December last Bob
Sharp, without the knowledge of either Mr.. Pope,
the proprietor OF the unOccupied cabin, OF Hen
derson Redman, its tenant, moved with his
family into it and became by right of squatter
sovereignty its possessor. This proceeding, of
course excited some Ill will and caused not only
angry words but
THREATS BETWEEN REDMAN AND BOB SHARP.
But no hostile collision took place at the time,
Is 1t known that anything OF serious nature trans
PRED until Christmas day-the day above all others
when there should exist peace and good will
among men. On that day the snow fell rapidly
| and covered this entire section, close to
the spurs Of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to
the depth of several inches with beautiful white
mantle. Henderson Redman, having no other
way to pass the great holiday went rabbt-hunting
through the woods In the vicinity and remained
out until the afternoon, at which time, upon his
return, he went to the cabin he had rented then
occupied by Bob Sharp. All OF the four Sharp
brothers were present, as If spending the Christ
mas, and this circumstance afterwards looked
strangely suspicious. What transplred at the dis
puted cabin has not yet been developed; but about
four O'Clock that afternoon messenger reached
the residence Of Mr.. Frank Walker with the sad
and unlOOked-for intelligence that Henderson Red
man was frozen to death. Urged by feelings of hu-
mainly and instincts common to all Mr.. Walker left
his comfortable Preside and family then in the full
enjoyment of their Christmas pleasures, and pro-
ceeded Immediately to the cabin, which was fully
two miles distant from his house. When he arrived
upon the scene he was more than gratifed to find
the Sharp brothers all engaged In the laudabe
effort to restore life to the inanimate body of Red
man by
RUBBING 1T WITH CAMPHOR;
but, alas it was use, Life was found to be ex-
tinct, and the soul Of Redman was freed from it's
tenement of clay. Mr.. Walker observed that the
floor OF the cabin was very wet, and when he
made remark as to the cause of this one Of the
negro women present said she had accidentally
spilled q bucket of water on it, and the extreme
GOODNESS OF the weather had prevented it fr ON
drying sooner. With the knowledge thus in pos
session OF the people in the vicinity 1t was deemed
proper to hold an inquest, and, accordingly, one
was summoned to meet or the next Saturday fol-
time, The body was kept in the custody of the
township officials. When the inquest met DR..
Parks made partial post-mortem examination OF
the body in the presence of the jury ana Witnesses
at the conclusion OF which the Doctor stated that
he had discovered traces of
POISON IN THE STOMACH.
bob sharp who was known to have been at en-
nifty with the deceased, was examined, and he
stated that Redman had come to his (Bob's) cabin
in state OF great intoxlcation on the day of his
death, and had commenced dancing; that the neOr
Of the cabin had been very wet, and was then
frozen and slippery; that Redman, while dancing
IN MS intoxicated condition had slipped and fell
very heavily upon the oof that after he got up he
of being SICK and said he would go out in the open
air. Bob further stated that Redman did go out;
ent, including his Ob's wife, left HIM alone in the
cabin, where he remained sitting by the fire, with
Dolphs cabin, and Bob thought he sat by himself
over over an hour he then thought he would go out and
for not Thanh SSa he dis
yards distant frozen to DEATH The state
ments OF all the other members OF the various
Sharp families agreed substantially with that of
Bob ana rather served to confirm his than other.
wise; and upon this evidence the jury returned a
verdict that the deceased came to his death while
in state OF intoxcation by exposure to frost and
snow"
colOred graveyard, located on the lands OF Mr.. G.
A. TOmn. Now comes the sequel to the proceed
ings above narrated. 1t was not long after the
burial OF the body that the suspicious of some citi
zens In the vicinity including some of the Jurors
became aroused. They were not satisfied, upon
dered by the jury was correct, and some OF them
specially noticed the fact that the head of the
sde while a" the Were
BILE and stnened A neavy United States rine
known to have been in the possession of Redman
the day he was hunting, had disappeared very
mysteriously, and mis- freezing to death within
thirty yards OF the cabin where Bob Sharp lived
and was then sitting without making any
cutlery seemed rather incredible. These and sew
era other minor circumstances caused the citizens
~ the IN, negh i 1h to visit W. Caldwell So;
for another examination OF the body. In accord
ance with the facts stated to him the Solicitor at
once gave an order to DIR. William NJ Campbell, a |
distinguished surgeon residing here, to
ExHuME THE BODY.
On the 10th ulti1no DR.. Campbell, accompanied by
several citizens from this county visited the grave
yard, and when the body was taken up nineteen |
days after its first interment, the Doctor made the
second examination. He reported that he found |
the articulation between the third and fourth Of |
the bones OF the neck ruptured. portion OF the |
nbres OF the artcular ligaments were broken and |
part elongated so as to allow great mobility in the
joint Upon saving through the lamine and re.
moving the spnOus process Of the vertebra the !
Doctor found cot OF blood resting upon the spinal
cord, just at the origin Of the third pair nerves.
The remainder Of the spinal cord, as far as the |
examination extended, was found to be entirely
healthy. Upon these facts which were testified to |
before bench Of magistrates assembled specially
for rehearing Of this remarkable case, warrants |
were issued for the
ARREST OF THE FOUR BROTHERS SHARP.
They were duly apprehended, none OF them hav-
ing attempted to escape, and after a brief exam
lnatlon they were all committed to jail to await the
action OF the Grand Jury at the approaching term
OF the Court, which meets in April next. Since the
trial by the magistrates some additional facts have
been developed which have not yet been disclosed.
1t Is known however, that there a fight at
Bob Sharps cabin between two OF the Sharps and |
Redman on Christmas Day. when the latter