Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-06-26
WALHALLA, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JUNE 26 1879.

A Fiendish Criminal Summarily
Executed by Indignant Citizens.
An inquest held by Trial Justice T. P.
CASTOR over tho dead body of q white
woman found near John j. Moore's distil =
lcry, about thirteen miles above Spartan
burg, developed the following facts: Miss
Frances Heatcn, young lady of good
character and respectable family, from
Piokens County, came on foot to the house
OF John j. Moore on Thursday, tho 9Th
inst, to inquire where Mr.. Pasohal 0 Shields,
relative of hers, lived. She stayed there
to dinner md after dinner John S. Moore
stared with her, against her protest, to
show her the way to Mr.. Jefferson
O'Shield's house. Her body was found on
Sunday, 9Th inst, by parties noticing
buzzards lowering around the spot in the
woods only about half mile from Moore 8
house. The body was in an advanced state
OF decomposition and partly dcvourcd by
/. tho buzzards when discovered, but it was
plain to be seen that she had been out
ragged, and shot in the breast and her throat
cut.
The verdict of the Jury of Inquest was
that she had como to her death from the
wounds mentioned, and that the Jurors
believed that the wounds wore inflicted by
weapons in the hands Of John j. Moore
Upon this finding John j. Moore was
arrested Monday night, 9th instant, aud
brought here and put in Jail on the 10th
Instant.
Further facts having since been discov-
cred, tending more conclusivcly to convict
Moore of the diabolical act, public indigna.
ton rose to the highest pitch aud on Mon
day night body of mounted men, csti-
mated at between two and three hundred,
approached the town about IL o'clock at
night for the purpose of taking John J..
Moore out and hanging him. News of tho
approach of the body of armed men was
whispered about town late in the evening
and considerable excitement was created.
Sheriff Thompson cndcavorcd to get up
posse comttatus to guard tho Jail, and
collision being apprehcndcd, efforts were
lHadc to induce tho mounted men TO dcsist
from .heir purpose. Their minds, however,
were MADE up and they rode into the town,
and sui rounded the Jail, demanding the
prisoner. The Sheriff, finding that he
could not get up posse com'tafus suffi-
cient to protect tho prisoner, secretly took
the prisoner out of jail, under guard, and
had carried him off and sccreted him just
outside tho limits of the town. The
mounted men searched every cell ano room
in the Jail and upon being satisfied that tho
prisoner had been carried off, they scat.
tered in every direction and continued their
search until they found tho prisoner under
the Chinqucpip trcstlc of tho Air Limo
Railroad, one mi'e from town, where Sheriff
Thompson had left him in hand-cutfs
under guard with orders to take the cars on
the - o'clock train towards Charlotte.
Taking possession of tho prisoner they
rallied their forces and rode through town
with their prisoner and carried him off to
the spot whore he had committed his dia-
bolical deeds and hung him, We are informed
by person present, at 7 o'clock this
CTucsday) morning, in the presence of
about one thousand persons, among whom
wcrc two sisters of the lady whom he had
murdered, who arrived from Pickcns yosteT.
day. lie was permitted to take leave of
his family and was placed in buggy under
q tree upon the limb Of which rope was
tied and adjusted around his neck. lie
was then given permission to speak and
made few remarks denying his guilt and
saying-"that he didn't blame them, think.
ing as they did, for what they were about
to do, but hoped that after ho was dead
the righ: man would be found and they
would say that John Moore, for once, spoke
the truth" When he closed his remarks
the buggy was driven from under him and
his body hung until life was extinct.
Thus ended the career of John j. Moore,
a nan of notoriously bad charactcr-per-
haps the worst man that ever lived in
Spartanburs County-a man who, himself,
had admitted that che had committed
every crime known to the law except sui
eide" 1t is monument to tho peace and
law abiding character Of our people that he
has been permitted to live in this county,
implicated, as he has been, in so many
crimes and rascalitics. There is no doubt
of his being guilty of tho infamous crimes
for which he has been summarily executed
by our inocnscd citizens and he has received
his just deserts none too soon. And yet
VIC regret that the lawful gallows has been
cheated out of its victim. Convinced of
his guilt and believing that he deserved
such q fate, and even worse fate if posi-
Bile, we mado an honest effort to prevent
it, not for his sake, but that tho law might
be vindicated, believing that it would have
a better effect upon tho country at largo
that such fcnd should be tried, convicted
and hung according to law, however hcinous
the crimes of which he was guilty. SINH
lar efforts were mado by others, but of no
avail. The men who came md took him
and executed him were prompted, we know,
by the best Of motives. 1t was no excited
moh of mon under tho inHnnnca of linnor