The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-09-28
The Bunker Hill Homicide
4 Super>titiOus Negro Woman
Shoots Il COnjurer.
Competition befTeen GH,pordcr
dnd the ConjHriny Bdg.
The Former Proves the Quicker Mode of
Taking Lille

The Former Proves the Quicker Mode of
Taking Lille
Bunker Hill is the name now applied
to What was formerly called Murphy :
Mill, which is i'll the Second district. near
he head Of the main branch of Bohemia
river, aud few hundred yards west of
the line between the States of Mary
land and Delaware. The stream divides
the village into two parts, and the differ
ence between the buildings aud those Win"
iuhablt them is quite as noticeable as was
that between the people living on the diff
fereut sides Of the Ohio river, in the days
when slavery prevailed on the southwest
side of it, Gu The Bohemia Manor side of
/ the stream everything looks prosperous and
! pleasant: not SO on the Middle Neck side.
/ There misery, wrctchcdness and squalid
poverty sit crthroned in three wrrtched
novels, where three families of miserable
negroes appear 10 make the best battle
with starvation that their ignorance anI
superstition allow them 10 do.
/ Abont three weeks ago an
OLD GRAY HEADED NEGRO
made his appearance in the neiehborhood
of the village of Warwick, which is about
three miles south of Bunker Hill. aud after
wandering around for a few days, he d,sap-
peaTei mysteriously he came. and
nothing more WAS heard OF him uIl Thurs
day, the 10Th of September, when Frank
I Gray. who clerks in the store of John All
stou, on top of the hill, near the three pow
crty. stricken novels. saw him sitting III the
shade Of a tree near the store house, which
lie shortly ailerward entered; and during
| the conversation which followed, hs told
Mr. GRAY that he was born on the Manor.
and resided there till he was Ii years of
age: that his master. whose name Mr.. Gray
could not recollect. had
SOLD HIN To GEORGIA
as the negroes say about fifty years ago:
that his new master sat him Zee at the age
of 2l: that lie married, and continued 10
reside near Augusta. Ga. where he raised
[ 4 family OF seven sons and one daughter.
At the beginning of the war all his chill
dren came North. and his sons enlisted III
the oath Massachusetts reg lment aud served
through the war. ii the conclusion of which
they settled in Rhode Island. The old man
learned of their whereabouts, and On the
9Th Of March last. left his home !" visit
them, bat found, much to his surprise,
when he reached Rhode Island, that they
had left there for California three weeks
before. Whercupon he started back To his
home in Georgia.
| He informed Mr.. Gray that he had har-
vested for gentleman near st. Georges,
( III Del, and had also worked for another
/ gentleman on the Manor. He also told Mi.
/ Gray his name, the first part Of which was
"KoBISsoS,"
! but the last part of which Mr.. G.. had for
/ gotten. We have reason To believe that he
| told other persons that he was formerly i
| slave of the late General Sewall, and had
/ Frequently ridden race horses for him IN the
early part of his life. Now this old man
Robinson, who may have been descend
ant of the illustrious Crusoe, for all We
know to the contrary, was cnujurrr, and
certainly had a coniuring bag and 4 mag
net, aud probably was well supplied with
/ all the rest oi paraphernalia used by the
craft, for we heard many illusions made
hy the negroes of Bunker Hill tn a mySte-
I rlous bottle III his possession that contained
a spotted snake, the dc!eterlcuS effects of
which they feared very much. The old
man appears To have had great Icpu;a-
ton among his countrymen as 4
sKILLFUI CoNJUREK,
and one whom it was best not to offend
He professed to he able to find money by
means of the magnet lie had; aud WHEN he
wandering around the country ON The
occasion OF his first visit to Bunker Hill,
he stopped and took dinner at one Of the
novels there. During this visit he learned
something of Lewis Tilicr and his wife
Jane, who. with their three children and
Mrs. T. 5 blind and dccrepit old mother
lived near by. Mrs. TIlcr ami her hus-
band are natives of Queen Aune's county.
and were raised near Sudlersvile. lie was
a slave of DIR. Sudler and obtained his
freedom at the age Of % years. they are
the parents of eleven children, five of whom
are living; and Mrs. /. has been in poor
. health for some six years past. The old
| man, on the occasion of his first visit. in
formed the negro where lie fed. that Jane
/ Tilcr had buried bottles, in order TO make
mischief betwce,! one Tom IIinsou aud his
wife. who lived next door II the Tillcis.
! We may here remark that the custom Of
| burying bottles is part of the incauia
lions of the supeTstitious negroes of the
Z .Srern Sh IRE This cane'to Mrs. Us
knowledge, and she appears To have brood
cd over 1t pretty much all the time till the
day that the wandering old cpUiurer visited
the store. where she had occasion To go 10
I purchase some flour. and, finding him
there, at once called him To account for try
ing Ia make mischief, by accusing her of
/ bury ing the bottles, AS before stated.
THE ROW At THE STORE
did not amount to mach, and the parties
soon went away from it-shc to her h1vel,
I and he TO one inhabited by - Nukcs
distant from Tillcr's about fifteen or twenty
yards. The row at the store occurred about
T 10 \. NJ. and some time afterwards. pruba-
/ ably about i. NJ. Mrs. r.. having armed
( herself with single barrel pistol belong
ing to her husband. went to Nokcs' door
and renewed the quarrel. Nukcs testified
before the jury Of inquest that sine charged
the old man with having threatened tn send
( her to h-ll in three days; that she bad the
. pistol III her hand. that she Threatened TO
/ send him To the before me ntinncd place in
three hours. WhercHpon the old man arose
and passed out Of the door, and that in i
/ few moments lie heard the
REPORT or A PISTOL,
and going 70 the door SAW MIS- Ti!ler about
ten feet from it facing the old man, who
/ WAS in the act of turning around prepare.
| tory To re-entering his house, which he
/ Immediately did, IemaTkipg while doing 81
| that the woman had shot him. Mrs. It's
statement differs materially from that of
Nokes, IN this important particular, that
! the old man said he wCpld send her To it'll
| IN three minutes. She further statcs that
/ she began to retreat soon as lie arose
! from the chair; that she walked back waIds,
keeping her face towards him, aud sho,
| hum because he continued Ia advance and
she was afraid he would do her som. injury.
After the shooting the old man went into
the house and showed the wound which
was in the abdomen, directly below the
naver to Nokes aud requested him to go
| for 4 physician. which he did. visiting
Warwick and Middletown for the purpose
of obtaining the services OF one, but was
unable to do so till the next morning.
! THE OLD MAN DIED
| shortly before daylight an Friday morning.
| The facts coming 10 the knowledge of
Justice Christiield. he summoned Il jury
| of inquest on Friday, which after an in
vestigation OF the case, rendered verdict
! in accordance with the facts rs before