Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-05-15
,MlscEMAN9:
Will She he Hanged +!


piled with q great pressure to grant
her pardon and he refused to do it.
So Susan was launched into eternity
in the presence of a crowd of ten or
twelve thousand people-as many as
could crowd in sight of the CHASTITY
spectacle. Another Georgia woman
is now under sentence of death, and
Gov. Colquitt will have the the case
to wrestle with for some months
This case has still stronger interest
to press upon the pardoning power
than that of poor Susan Eberhart,
and Is now creating intense excite
ment all over the state. The women
of Georgia are unanimous for the
condemned, and will leave nothing
undone that they can do to accom-
plish their design Of saving the wo-
man from the rope. The feeling they
exhibit does Their sex credit.
The case is exceedingly dramatic
from first to last. There is q family
of Southerns in Pickens, one of the
mountain counties of Northern Geor-
gia. There were several boys-all
brave, sturdy mountaineers, but Bob
Southern was the flower Of the flock.
He was the king of athletic sports
among his fellows, and the 1avorite
Of the mountain bellies round about.
Every girl appeared to want him all
TO herself, and all did their best to
get him. Among these mountain
families was one named Hambright-
prosperous farmers. Kate Ham
bright was the acknowledged belle of
the district. She was beautiful, tall
brunette, and had strain of genuine
Indian blood in her veins. There is
no doubt that Kate Hambright loved
Bob Southern, and wanted him as
badly as the other girls did, and there
is no doubt that he loved her better
than any of the rest. The fact is he
had This pick and choice of all the
mountain maidens, all the boys were
in love with Kate, giving her the same
margin of selection. There was but
one boy among them all that she had
any doubt about her ability to cap
ture and keep all to herself, and that
was Bob Southern. His popularity
had made him q "flirt." There was
but one woman that Kate Hambright
feared, and her name was Mrs. Mar
cissa Cowart-a plump blonde and
pretty. She had got q divorce from
her husband, as Sshe afterwards said,
for the sole purpose of marrying Bob
Southern. Bob was not insensible to
her beauty and Establishments. He
treated her with marked favor when
ever he met her, which was often in
the rambles among the mountains
But Kate Hambright finally won,
She was married to Bob Southern in
the latter part of the year 1876. But
even after Bob's marriage to Kate
Narcissa would not give him up
Neither was he cured of his flirting
propensities, and she encouraged hit
attentions more than ever. Bob and
Narcissa took solitary walks, lonely
rambles in the woods Kate became
miserable with her prize. She ex.
postulated, coaxed, reasoned and
tried to win him wholly in vain. He
laughed at her feers of "that woman
as she called Narcissa, and told he,
how she was little "goose." Blu
Kate was desperately, wildly in love
and she became madly jealous. Hel
love was the love of q tigpess nurtureG
in those southern hills. Her jealousy
was such loves natural outyrowth
During the Christmas holidays O.
1876 her father gave party at hi
house in honor Of the young couple
The rules of mountain etiquette re
quired that he should invite all hi
neighbors, and Mrs. Narcissa Cowar
among the rest. OF course she CAM
and Hates pleasure was gone. Sh'
tried to make her husband promis,
not to dance with chat woman" HI
leased her and would not promise
Kate then humhled herself by goin.
70 Narcissa in the dressing room be
fore the ball commenced, and beg
ging her not to come between hus
band and wife not to encourage hin
and not to dance with him if he ask
ed her. Narcissa replied, "what if
do part man and wife-was not di
vorced for his sake? shall dance
with Mr. Southern tonight in spit,
of his wife," Narcissa swept into tn,
ball room and Kate sat and thought
When the dance was about to com
mence Kate went into the ballroom
and saw her husband and Mrs. Cow
art preparing to dance as partners a
the head Of set. Kate hurried VI
and reminded Bob that he had engag
ed to dance with her that set. Mrs
Cowart replied that she intended
dancing that set with Mr.. Southern
The dance commenced. and the wifi
walked away. She went outside an(
watched them through the window
until the dance was nearly done.-
Kate then went to her father, in ,
room adjoining the ballroom, anG
borrowed his pocket-knife, saying
that she wished to pare her nails
She fastened into the ballroom, ant
reached the couple just as the set wa
over. She caught Mrs. Cowart BY
the arm and saying, "You have dane
ed enough" plunged the knife int
her shoulder, severing an artery
She then slashed chat woman" across
the left breast, the blade cutting
through the upper portion of tn,
heart. Mrs. Cowart fell dead on tn.
floor, and spoke no word. Kate
Ijumed on her body and ripped oper
her abdomen, and would have GU
her all to pieces, if some one less ter
ror stricken than the rest had no
cried out "Who killed this woman p
Kate Southern rose up and said: 81
killed that woman, and l ought to
have done it long ago." Then one Of
the floor managers forbade any one
leaving the room until the matter
could be investigated. At that Bob
Southern, who had been standing by
became q man. Stepping up to Kate
putting one arm around her, drawing
pistol with the other and pointing to
the doorway blocked with people, he
said: "We are going out of that door
if have to shoot our way through
And out the door the couple went un.
hindered leaving the company to
take care of the wreck of the ball
room. Thus Bob Southern and his
wife and his brother, who Joined
them at the door, darted from the
house and shot out into the night
They left the state in disguise and
made their way safely to Marion
county, North Carolina, where tthey
engaged in farming and lived
happily for year. Here child
was born to them, which
is now about six months old. At
length they resolved to move West,
and started with their effects in a
wagon. One account says they were
going back to Georgia to give them
selves up for trial; another explains
that their intention was to elude pur-
suers who had tracked them to their
South Carolina retreat. Be this as it
may, they were on the road when
they were surrounded and captured
by band of horsemen armed with
rifles, one dark rainy night, and escor-
ted back to Pickens county, Georgia.
Father and mother and child were
locked in one cell. The charge was
murder, and the trial is just conclud-
ed. Kate was taken out for trial
alone-carrying her child. The case
caused intense excitement, and the
courtroom was full of the relatives
and friends Of both families. The I'M
conscious little one played with its
mothers ribbons and rings and smiled
on the CHASTITY proceedings. There
was deep sympathy for th6t young