Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-10-27
sickness, whereupon the case was ordered to
be continued.

Court then adjourned until o'clock P NJ.
On the rel assembling of Court, at 2 P. NJ,
the following cases were called
State vs.. John R. Faris, perjury prosecu-
tor, &. M. Lowrauce. MOI. pros.
State VS.. Rufus Lindsay, colored larceny
from the field. Prosecutor, Alvis Mcdaniel.
The defendant in this case was small col.
ored boy, and the offence consisted in the lar.
ceny of nine cars of corn from the field. AS
the field from which the corn was taken did
not belong to the prosecutor, and the owner
of the land declined to prosecute the case,
mol. pros. was entered. Mr.. Bell for defen-
dant
State vs.. Peyton Berry alias Peter Berry,
colored larceny of live stealing hog
and appropriating the same to his own use.
Prosecutor, Charles Gilbert, colored. Yer
dict, guilty.
State vs. Robert Biggers, colored lad ma
licious misunderstanding pay train of The
G.. C. & A. Railroad. Prosecutor, A. +.
Hayward. Pleaded guilty.
State vs. John Crawford, colored, and Mag
gle Dancey, white unlawfully living in we'd
lock. Prosecutor. N. L. Gibson. Mr.. Solic.
itor CASTOR for the State. The defendants
were not represented by counsel. Two COL
ored witnesses, of glossy blackness, were intro
duced by the State, who swore that they wit
messed the marriage ceremony performed be-
tween the defendants by Edward Lindsay, a
colored preacher that they were married in
this county since cotton picking commenced,
and that Crawford was recognized as negro
and his wife as white woman. Mr.. Gibson
testified that defendant Crawford had stated
in his presence that the woman to whom he is
married is white woman. The defendant, o
dark mulatto, in his own BEHALF testified from
the witness stand that he became acquainted
with the girl, Maggie Dancey, at Mooresville,
N. c., where her family live. That they
formed an attachment for each other, but
fearing, on account of the stringent laws in
North Carolina upon the intermarriage Of
the races that they could not be legally mar
ried in that State, they decided to come to
South Carolina for that purpose-he having
been informed that there was no law in this
State prohibiting their union in wedlock, and
that the preacher who married them, 30 in
formed him before proceeding with the cere-
mony. He accordingly returned to his home
in York county, and in week or two the
girl followed him, and they were married.
While he did not know that he was violating
the law of this State, provided the girl was
white, he stated further that at her home her
family were regarded as mixed blooded. He
had seen the girls grandmother; she was a
bright mulatto. The family associated only
with colored people of their neighborhood
attended the colored church, and though to
all appearances white, they were regarded as
mixed blooded.
This statement presented the case in new
light, and the absence of testimony corrobo'
rative or contradictory of the statement of de.
fendant Crawford touching the woman's in
termxture with the African race, the Court,
on suggestions of the Solicitor, called DR.. W.
J. Whyte to give his opinion as medical ex'
pert. In company with the Sheriff, DIR.
Whyte and the woman retired to a private
room, the Doctor afterwards testifying that
from the hasty examination that he was ena.
bled to make, he gave as his opinion that the
woman was not of mixed blood. His examina-
ton, however, was only cursory, it being late
in the evening, aud as his opinion was not
sufficiently positive to satisfy the Court, the
case was continued until Tuesday morning,
when the doctor was notified that he would be
expected to make more minute examination
under more favorable circumstances. Court
then adjourned until 10 o'clock Tuesday NOR
ming.
On the re. .convening of Court, Tuesday NOR
MING. the case was resumed. DR.. Whyte,
taking the witness stand, said he had made a
further examination. but owing to the imper'
feet microscope with which he examined the
hair and skin of the woman, the examination
was not satisfactory to him; and besides, the
microscopic test could not be we'll applied to
the cuticle without detaching it from the flesh.
While he could make no discovery Of foreign
or negro blood, and was unable, on the second
examination, to detect anything leading him
to change the opinion he had previously ex-
pressed, yet, in reply to question by the
Court, he said he could not say positively that
the woman, is of pure white blood.
The woman is of small stature, with fair
complexion, Aaxen or light auburn hair and
light blue eyes.
The case was then argued for the State by
Mr.. Solicitor CASTOR, who called the attention
of the jury to the Importance Of the law, en-
acted in 1879, under which the parties were
indicted, taking strong ground for the rigid
enforcement of the statute, for the moral as
we'll as the physical welfare Of the people.
At the conclusion Of the Solicitors argu.
ment, the Court charged the jury explicitly
and at great length Oh the peculiar features
presented in this case The Importance of
the law under which the man and woman are
indicted was dwelt upon, and the necessity Of