The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-06-03
BLO0DsRED In COURT.
An Exciting seeno at the Sessions I'm King
stree.
Correspondence Melr, and Courier.

4
The most exciting and tragic scene
State was enacted here to-day. It wax
10 the case Of the State against w. w.
Ward, indicted for forgery.
The readew of the Neics and C6urie,
will remember that at the March term
! 1879, there was tried at this place q case
Of foreclosure, where James Harper was
the plaintiff and w. w. Ward defendant
Ward held q receipt of Harpers fos
$1,000 in payment Of bond which Har.
per denied was genuine paper, and
which Judge Mackey, sitting in equity
pronounced o forgery, and ordered that
Ward be indicted. The criminal suit
was begun yesterday and concluded to-
day. james Harper was the prosecutor
When the jury rendered their verdict oi
guilty and the Judge ordered the sheriff
TO take charge of the prisoner, Ward,
who was sitting inside of tho bar of the
court, and who was perfectly sober, de-
liberately arose from his scat, drew his
pistol and fred at Harper one time and
one time at w. X. Lane, one of his wit.
neases. Harror escaped untouched, hu!
Lane was wounded in both hands. Af
quick "a possible several gentlemen
spraDg ON Ward and disarmed him and
he was taken off to Jail. When the fir.
Ing occurred Harper and Lane were both
sitting inside the bar, which was crowd.
ed with the lawyers, officers of the court
and citizens, all within o few pacas oi
Ward. That no one was killed. Is mi.
raculous. One of the balls buried itself
IN tho wall of the house, and what be.
came OF the other one has not yet been
discovered. Great CONSERVATION and ex.
citement prevailed in the crowded court
room, and one or two negroes jumped out
OF the windows to the ground, distance
OF twenty-five feet, unipjured.
Judge Aldrich ordered warrant to be
issued against Ward for assault and bat
terry, with inten. tc kill. The judge has
not yet passed sentence on Ward. The
forgery case has excited great interest
and was ably conducted by Richard Do
zier, Esq, for the prosecution, and by
| Messrs. Barron and Lambson for the de.
fence. The jury wasan Intelligent one
composed OF ten white men and two ne
groes.
Ward sentenced to Seven Years I'm thu
Ponitentiary.
KIN0sTREE, May 90, 1880.
When Ward was called up for sentence
he asked the pardon of the Court for hii
conduct in shooting at Harper and Lane
in presence of the Court. but said he haG
no regrets or apologies to make to the in
dividuals who had robbed him of hi,
liberty and property; that he could moi
resist any longer. The Judge then de.
livered o forcible and impressive sen
tence, in the course of which he said:
Mr.. Harper --ssss --sss jour ffTriiandd, I am in.
formed; he was cne Of the sureties or
your official bond as sheriff, lent vol
money from time to time, and finally lei
| you have $1,000, which was secured by {
mortgage of house and lot in this town
He indulged you by extending the credit
until, being himself embarrassed. he fell
obliged TO foreclose hia mortgage. On
the trial of that cause you produced q
receipt for 81, 400, which, although signed
by Harper, he pronounced to be q forge.
~, alleging that he had written You O
note about corn, the ink of which you
extracted by by Q chemical preparation
called "ink eraser" thus preserving the
! blank paper on which the note had been
written and his genuine signature, over
which you wrote the receipt for 81, 400.
~ Unhappy mani Not content
with the base attempt to defraud the
man who had befriended you, not salts.
fed wlsh interpreting all the delays in
your power to prevent the collection of
the debt, not humiliated at the exposure
OF the fraud you attempted % practice.
not. overwhelmed By the weight of the
| perjury you committed in the effort 10
support your fraud, not re pentant of your
treason to friendship, yoa had the herdi.
hood yesterday to at:empt his life by a
base and cowardly assassination, When
the jury handed in their verdict. and the
Clerk read the fatal word "guilty,p Won
drew your concealed weapon, and In this
temple of Justice, in the very presence
of the Cor:ss, attempted TO murder the
man you had wroDged, and to sprinkle
his blood on the very altar of Justice.
firing two shots at him. BY the mercy
Of the good God your victim escaped un-
harmed, and the jurors, the officers of
court and numerous spectators uninjured.
1t was the most audacious violation of
the ssnctity of the hall of Justice and
the majesty of the law I have ever
known. It proves you to be very bad
man. whose heart is fatally bent on mis-
chieP'--a man who has no social re-.
straint, whose vices and whose vengeance
cannot be controlled, except by. the iron
hand win which offended Justice guards
those who seek the shield of her protec-
ton. How you escaped adding murder
to your crimes Of forgery and perjury, is
one OF those mysterious occurrences
which the ingenuity of man cannot
fathom. Perhaps God in his mercy turn
ed the ballsto give you time to repent,
It may be that the prayers of your
| young and stricken wife who. with her
little children will now have to struggle
with poverty and ahaue, found gracious