Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-30
THEYAMACRAW TRAGEDY
THE MURDERER OF GEORGE
FIBERT ESCAPES.

VI
ELBERT ESCAPES.
Further Details of Sunday Mornings
Crime-The Inquest and Judgment OF
the CorOner's Jury-The Evidence
The Cause of the Dispute that Enoe"
in Death-'DOn't Draw pistol o"
Me"-The Fatal Blow.
Another murder committed and the muir
derer escapes. is the record OF sunday
mornings crime. An inquest was held
ar the morg,ie Yesterday by Coroner Shelf
tai over the remains Of the negro George
Ebert. who was found on sunday morn
ing lying in an insensible condition III
It. Gaul street lane, and who, after being
conveyed to the Georgia Infirmary, died
there the same day at IL O'Clock. A jury
Of twelve men was impaneled and
sworn. when DIR. Sheftail made a post
mortem examination. The skull OF
the dead man was found to
be fractured in three places.
one fracture was at the back oi the mead
near the base of the brain, another lrac-
ture was discovered at the top OF the
frontal bone, and the third on one size Oh
the head in the upper portion OF the tenn
pie. a,;a;.oJ
The examination of witnesses elclted
the following testimony;
VIM. Jones cOlOred. testlned tnaI AZ
about a quarter To Il O'Clock on oaIuI-
day night last he went from the corner
of Farm and Harrison streets to the cor
uer of ~. Gaul and Harrison streets,
where he saw the body of a man lying on
the floor of Mr.. Thee's store. Mr.. Ihee
told witness that the man lying there was
George Ebert, but that he was not
drunk; that Robert Wright beat MN;
rs mis-
his personal effects to keep until sunday
morning; that Mr.. Thee en-
ployed two men. Charlie Lee and Har-
risOn Williams, TO carry Ebert out OF his
store. After moving deceased out the
store he. the witness, with Lee and VIII
liams, carried Ebert into st. Gaul street
lane.
James Jefferson, cOlored, was then
sworn and testified that he LETT his shop
about II O'Clock Saturday night, and
when he got home, shortly after, he met
his wife sitting on the stOop and saw
crowd in front of MIR. Ihee.s
harrOOm door. Witness asked his vile
what was the matter, and then went over
to the store and inquired, and gettinS no
answer he returned to his own door. On
Sunday morning, when he was on his way
to his Shop. witness saw crowd i'm st.
Gaul street lane, and went to where the
man was living, and felt the man, and
thought Ebert must be dying. Witness
then met a policeman, and told him that
there was man i'm a dying condition In
st. Gaul street lane.
George knight testified that he recog-
nized the remains as those of George
Elbert, who was 80 years of age and be-
longed in Augusta, Ga. That the de
ceased was well when he left the house ct
the witness on Saturday night.
Thomas Green, colOred, testified that at
about II 80 O'Clock on saturday
night he went to Mr.. Ihee's
| store to get some groceries, ana
| that while standing in the grocery de-
partment he saw man sitting ON the
counter of the bar and another standing
alongside the counter. Both seemed TO De
playng a game of cards. a dispute arose
about the game. when witness heard one
Of the parties say, Don't draw plstOi
ON me-; After that l heard blow, when
MIR. Thee ran into the bar, jumped
over the counter and put the
man out who struck the
deceased. The deceased then fell over
on the counter. The witness re-asserted
that he heard the blow, and that 1t sound
ed as though it was given with something
! heavy.
Harrison Williams testified that Mr. w.
| +. Thee rot him and Lee to carry the de-
ceased into the lane. and that Jones as
sisted: that Mr.. Thee paid them for dong
/ 50. Witness also testified that there was
| a large crowd i'm the store, and that when
| they went to pick Ebert up the unfor-
/ tunate man was lying in front of the
counter.
Mr.. VIM. T. Thee, the proprietor of the
store in which the difficulty took place,
was next sworn. He testified that the de-
ceased came into his store about ii O'Clock
on Saturday night, and appeared to be
somewhat under the influence of liquor.
/ Ebert remained about the store for some
/ time. when he and Robert Wright COM
meuced TO play "A game of cards. The
| witness said he did not know what kind
| Of game it was. That he
WAS busy in the front part
| of the store and that when he heard the
| quarrel he started around to see what
| was the matter and saw the deceased
/ pointing pistol at RObt. Wright. Wright
/ said this is the third time you have
| pointed pistol at me-" Witness rushed
/ between the men and moved Wright from
| the front of the pistol, when he re-
+ turned to the front part of the store, and
| again hearing some loud talking, and
/ cursing, he ran back towards the bar,
/ aud saw deceased lying on the counter
| and Robert Wright beating him with his
| fist Witness then leaped over the cOun-
| ter. and. catching hold of Wright. told
| him to 90 out and stop fighting. Wright
| left when Ebert was taken outside 10y
/ some men in the store. The witness then
| closed his place of business. it being
| near to Il O'Clock. Mr.. Thee stated
/ that there was an interval Of about five
| minutes from the time of the first diff
/ Guilty to the time when he returned back
/ Of the bar and saw Wright beating the
! deceased. and that Wright left the store
! about fifteen minutes before the deceased
! was taken out. The witness concluded by
| say ing that Mr.. John Cunneen was in the
/ store when Incorporated the two men.
/ Mr.. John J. Cunneen was called, and
/ testified that about 1:1j O'Clock he was
! waiting on a customer in the store, aud
/ while so engaged he heard loud cursing
/ i'm the bar, when his attention was further
/ attracted by seeing deceased with pistol
/ in his hand pointed directly at Robert
/ Wright, who went towards the door.
/ Witness then looked around and saw Mr..
( Thee trying TO make the parties quit
| quarreling. and saw him push Wright
! away.
/ Wright then left Mr.. Thee and went
/ around the partition to where the deceased
/ was. Mr.. Cunneen then left the store
/ and went across the street for fear OF iur-
/ Their trouble. when two or three parties
/ came out Of the store. DepOnent waited
/ about minutes. when he returned TO the
store. and seeing Mr.. Thee, said to him,
/ .sIs not this bady'' After which. turning
| around he saw that the deceased was
/ lying down. DepOnent then asked Mr..
Thee what was the matter, but the latter
made no reply.
| The taking of the testimony was con-
! cluded after dark, when the jury retired,
] and after some time spent in deliberatiOn
/ returned the following:
! I'VE, the undersigned, duly qualihed
| Jurors, being sworn and charged accord
/ ing TO law. do say from the evidence
/ before them that the said George Ebert
/ came to his death from wounds inflicted
upon the deceased by a heavy blunt
/ instrument i'm the hands of Robert Wright,
| and we, the jury, consider it manslaugh-
| ter
/ The remains Of the deceased were then
| enclosed in a coffin and inferred in the
| cOlOred cemetery.
| Wright, who is charged with the crime
4 i'm connection with the decease of Ebert,
I was at work on the Ocean Steamship
/ Company's wharf on Sunday, but about
/ dark either concluded to hide himself or
/ to leave the city.
InvigOrating Food
| For the brain and nerve is what we need
/ in these days of rush and worry. Parker's
/ Ginger Tonic restores the vital energies
/ and brings good health and joyous spirits
| quicker than anything you can use.-ITt-
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