The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-05-13
The Whitaker Mystery.

Some CONTRADICTIONS IN Cauel w HltCa-
ker's account of the West Point "out-
rage" are worthy Of note. Whitaker
said on the next day after the outrage
that he was awaked by man jumping
right on" him in his bed; he looked
sharp and saw three men, two tall and
one short and all masked; he fought,
but was choked until "almost sufiocated"
(no marks on his throat.) He was struck
"a heavy blow on the left temple" (no
marks there); also "on the nose" mo
physical evidence of it), with something
hard" presumably the same thing for
both blows; and the man who hit him
Shouted" that they would kill him If he
made noise. Then they cut his ears
with what he thought was knife. -
Then they tied his feet. All this had
happened on the bed in the first narra-
tive. "Then they tied my feet and my
hands with strips of white crossbelts and
laid me on the floor with my feet toward
the bed in the little alcove you see there
and my head toward the wall: Next
they tied my feet to the iron bedstead." !"
He asked them to put pillow under his
head. They did this and went away
quietly, and when they were gone he
tried to gnaw the straps from his hands,
but could not (were the hands marked
with teeth y; shouted, but not very loud,
and then laid down and remained three
hours Gin stupor from blows recived."
His stupor was thin at both ends
He heard his tormentors when they went
away, for he says he was afraid to call
out last they should return, and he
heard Cadet Burnett in the morning and
did not answer, because he thoug htit was
turn of his tormentors. 1t seems odd
that though he heard Burnett's voice he
did not hear the reveille. To DR.. Alex
ander Whitaker said that one of the
men chit him with that Indian club"
and that he was also hit on the nose, and
~ knew nothing more until you found
me-" He received by this account two
blows, one on the nose and one on the
left temple, in one account "with some
thing hard" in another with the club.
In his testimony four days later he said
he was hit on the head with looking
glass, and the looking glass is in fact
found broken; also that he was hit "with
a fist" He says, "I was struck twice;
the first blow was on my forehead; l
think it was the blow of fist, but it may
have been an instrument" He expllc-
itly states on each occasion that he was
struck twice. In his testimony he says
the blow on his forehead was with fist
or club, and this may be the same blow
that he refers to elsewhere as delivered
on the cleft temple" though the left
temple is not the forehead. Consequent
ly the blow on his nose mus thave been the
one given with the looking glass, though
he says explicitly in his testimony that
they bit him con the head" with the look
ing glass. Perhaps an intelligent cadet
may confound his forehead with his left
temple, but not to know his nose from his
head would be a great reproach to the
instruction given at West Point, and not
to be able to distinguish between blow
from fist and blow from an Indian
club is at least creditable 70 the fist.
But from some one of these two blows,
delivered in about four places with at
least three weapons, he became uncon.
scious and "knew no more" till next day.
1t could hardly have been the blow with
the looking glass that did this if he has
the natural Uranium of his race. Yet
whatever other hurt he received was
given before the ears were cut, before the
hair was cut, before he was put on the.
floor, before his feet were tied-for all
that time he says he fought. 1t is
strange that Whitaker was not able to
unite the bands on his feet. There is
not vigorous human creature fat men
expected who, with only his ankles and
his wrists tied, and he on his back, conld
not so bend his body as to have nearly
the full use of his hands for operation on
knots tied at his ankles; and Whitaker
had light. It is unfortunate also that
he has the details of his story little
mixed that he gives the order of the
incidents differently y in his testimony and
in his first narrative; because any con.
fusion like this clouds the operations of
investigators, and it would be a great
shame to the government service if all its
authorities together, including the Exc
cutive and grand jury, fail to discover
the real culprit or culprits.-Neao York
Herald.