The daily gazette., 1878-11-22
SECOND EDITION
The TRAGEDY At vANOyKE'S
James Jones' Terrible Fate
Shot In Woods at Midnight.
"DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

HIS FATAL SECRET THE CAUSE OF THE
cRIME-A DREARY TRAMP THROUGH
THE wooDs-HIs STATEMENT OF
STRANGE cRlME-THE CRIMINALS AR
RESTED, ETC.
The shooting of James Jones, a color
ed man, at Van Dykes station, IN Black
bird Hundred on Wednesday night, as
related in yesterdays GAZETTE, Is one OF
the strangest and most horrlu crimes
ever perpetrated In this State 1he par
ticulars read like the darkest pages OF
romance, and were it not for the fact that
the known existence of the fatallywound-
ed colored man affords indisputable evl-
dence of the crime, the story would pe
regarded as the creation of feyerish aud
existed Imagination.
THE SCENE OF THE TRAGEDY.
Van Dykes near where the tragedy oc-
Cured, is a station on the Queen Arne's
and Krnt railroad, about five miles west
from Townsend, and short distance TINS
side of the Maryland and Delaware hne.
1t is sparsely settled, barren LOOKING
country, covered with forests and stunteu
vegetation, and altogetheris dreary and
uninviting stretch of country. IL was
amid these surroundings that the coiored
man, James Jones, was shot anno,V 10
death for the possession of secret that
1t was feared his wagging tongue would
not permit him to keep to himself.
DETAILS OF THE SHOOTING.
| AS has been stated the reason for
the attempted murder of the colored man
wss because he had knowledge of the
fact that two daughters OF NJ rs. John f.
Dodson, of Chester town, Md, had each
given birth to an illegitimate child and
| that the babies had been strangled at
their birth and Immediately buried
Jones had been employed on Mrs. Dod-
sons farm and according to hisstatement
assisted in burying the victims OF the IN
fanticide, having been sworn to the Ut
most secrecy.
| Afterwards Jones revealed to colored
woman the secret of the two buried ba-
bies. and as the affair became noised
aru,ind it was determined by those inter-
ested to kill Jones, in order to protect
their safety and their regulations. The
following statement by Cons able Tru-
man Rose, of Townsend, and by Jones
himself made in the presence of Con-
stable K ose and Magistrate j. q. Wilson,
give the full details of the horrid affair ::
| STATEMENT OF TRUMAN ROSE.
am constable of fAppoquininink hum
dred, New Castle County, Delaware.
About midday yesterday l received a
note from Mr. Tarbutton saying horri-
BILE deed had been perpetrated near Van
dykes station, on the Queen Anne s and
Kent railroad, about half mile from
the MARYLAND line. He directed me to
telegraph to Chestertown, Md, and or
der the arrest of VIM. Newcombe and
Phillip Vincent, and have them held for
the Delaware authorities for the shooting
and attempted killing of James Jones,
colored, on the night Of the 10Th instant,
between and y O'Clock, which did.
Squire j. G. Wilson, of this town, and
myself went out to the house where the
negro had taken refuge, aud found him
with a ball in his head and one in his
neck, and in low condition, suffering
exceedingly with the wounds. After
waiting the return OF IT. Iarputton,
Jones deposition was taken, to which
! the doctor and myself We're witnesses.
DEPOSITION OF JAMES JONES, coLoRED.
Ihave been living with John f. Dod-
son four years next Christmas MY name
| is James Jones. started from Dodson1s
| in carriage with PhihpVincent, William
, Newcombe and Mrs. Dodson, about sew
en- O'Clock Tuesday night. Mr.. Dodson
came to me and asked me ii they carried
me up in Delaware would L ever come
back he SAID he wanted to leave Mary |
land, because had been lying on them,
and said said his daughters had babies
and had buried them. had told black |
woman on the place that the girls each |
had baby, and it was the truth about |
the babies. ] buried the babies in the |
branch below the house ,one in the spring |
of 1877 and one the n, x fall. When we goG |
in Delaware the men said, "Jim, make |
up your mind; you have got to die" l
SAID, "Mr. Billy, you promised me that
you would bring me up here and let me
60" He said, 81 can do nothing but what |
the madam says" Mrs. Dodson said fir.t, |
"Kill Lim!" Afterwards she said to the |
meu, "Do as you choose" said, "Mr.
Billy, you ought TO let me CO." but he |
said, "No, Jim,I brought You here to kill |
you, and must do as am TOLD" He pull
ed out his pistol and shot. VIM. New
combe shot twice. / remember Philip |
Vincent shot twice. Then Mrs. Dodson
told them 10 make a clean job of it and
not let me get back any more. They
then united me, and of them called me |
TO see if was dead. They had me tied all |
the way up here with rope around
my body. They did not put the roI g |
around my neck until they got up here.
Mrs. Dodson told them to gag me to keep
me from halloolng. They ran after shoot
ing me. then managed to get to some
other house. After going to these houses
l came to Andrew Coulk's.
Since j, ness deposition he has made
many statements, all of which agree with
his depositiou. His subsequent State
mrnis are as follows:
The daughters each had baby, which
he purled. Alice the eldest, came 10 him
in the spr ng of 1877 and asked i'm 10
bury a baby, which he would find near
pile of rocks in the rear of the house.
This child he buried. The next, child
which he also buried, was given him by
the same person the following fall. Some
time ago he revealed these matters to a
servant woman of the place, who last
Friday week got angry with him and
fold Mr.. Dodson what he had told her
about the buried children. Then Mr..
Dodson took him to task about II, and
maize him show him where he had buried
these children. Last Tuesday, at noon
Newcombe and Vincent came to Jones,
tied him and whipped him until they
both gave out. Then they put him IN
the meat house. Early in the evening
the same day they took him out and
started, as already stated, Jones thinking
he was to be let free on reaching the