Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-12-01

crime.
Z. Lee.
Two homicides, without political signiG-
cance or any influence whatever on The
election, occurred iii this county. Zach
Weary, coalilionst, was killed by Charles
Willoushby, democrat, OH the day after The
election. They were dispuling about the
merits Of the respective parties, and got to
blows, in the course of which Weary drew
a pistol and shot Willoughby in the breast.
Thereupon Willoughby, in self:delencc, shot
and killed Weary. WillouShby,s act has
been recognized rs one of sclf-deirucc by
three justices of the peace-one Il prominent
cOalilionst-wh were unanimously in favor
of his acquittal.
Carter, who was killed at Turkey Cove,
was accidentally shot by man whose pls-
tol was discharged during struggle to pre-
vent Il fight between two other men. Car
ter had no quarrel with either of the men,
and was standing at some distance from
them.
S. Town of Danville
The public has already read the temper
ate and convincing statement made by Il
committee of forty citizens of Danvile, of
which Major w. r. Sutherlin was chair
man, after examining under oath thirty
seven witnesses of the street fight Of The
Sd of November, who were personally
known to the committee, including The
TWO policemen present. 1t is therefore
only necessary bcielly to recapituIatc the
testimony accompanying this report, the
whole current of which negatives the idea
of any preconcerted plan un the part oil the
whites to attack the blacks, or to provoke
an attack from the blacks. The white peo-
pie Of Danville will, on the contrary, be
found to have displayed the utmost forbear-
ancc and self control under the most try
ing circumstances. This, coupled with the
absence Of any reasonable motive TO bring
on a bloody conflict in the midst of their
wives and children, ought TO prcdispose
every far-minded man to that rejection of
so unnatural charge to which he will
surely be led Ivy the irresistible logic of the
facts
Let these undisputcd facts speak.
Ii must be promised that since the cleo
ton of May, lSS2. Danville has been under
negro government, with negro policemen.
and that a belief has grown up in the minds
of The negroes that, us against white men,
they would, in every case. receive the sup
port and protection of the municipal gov
eminent. In consequence, they had he
come rude and insulting to the whites, and
bad feeling had been mutually brought
about. This tendency to race excitement
had been aggravated by the heated canvass
of the last few months, and had been spe-
cialiy intensified on the night Of the ID OF
November by an inccndiary speech deliver
ed hy a coalition leader Sims to an audi
cnce of 500 negroes. In this fevcred state
Of feeling, on the 81 Of November, between
> and : o'clock, IL list iyht-the second of
that day-bctween white man NOEL and
a negro (Lawson) struck the spark which
kndIcd il violent but brief explosion.
And here it is important to observe that
both of these listfights were brought on Ivy
insults first proceeding from the negro Law
son and his companion, and the negro Law
son is the same who had on the lst Of No
vember offered an unprovoked insult to Il
white man tTaylor) who was quietly pass
ing through crowd ofcolored people.
A little after midday on the :ird of No
venber NOEL, passing down the street. had
without any proyocation been ins,Iltcd Ivy
Lawson and his colored companion. This
NOEL resented with blows, and passing on
determined to let the matter drop and 90
into the country, expressing his deLermina-
ton to keep out Of further trouble on account
of thc prevailing excitement. But after
wards, as he was driving along in Il buggy,
he was, without provocation on his part.
three times deliantly jeered at by his late as
saiant Lawson, who followed him witha
crowd Of negroes. Not able to brook these
insults, NOEL rapidly called to his side TO
secure fair play, bis friends Lea and Taylor,
white men, to whom he declared he would
strike Lawson only with his fists and again
got TO blows with The negro.
A great crowd of blacks were now press
ing around, and Lea and Taylor babe them
stand oil, as il was fair fight and the two
men should be left 10 fight il out. TO en-
force this Lea and Taylor drew their pistols.
Shortly afterwards, as the testimony Of b. +.
Williamson shows negro named Adams ran up
behind Lea and attempted to snatch his pistol
from him. In the srutllc which followed the pis-
tol was discharged This pistol.shot, for which
the negro George Adams. as the aggrcssor, is dis
tinctly responsible seems 10 have wr0mghtup the
crowd OF 100 to 15O-somc say 3nO-ncgrocs to
an uncomfortable pitch Of excitement; and
though the coorcd policeman Withcrs and his
white comr;lc and Booth, Oliver, and other white
citizens, Cntrcatcd the cOl0rcd people Ia 'i5pcrSc
aud keep the peace cries were now heard from
the negroes communicating the whites by GER
tainly five and probably ten, To one that they
might we'll have it ont there rs anywhere"
firmly answered by the little hand Of whites, "Wc
arc ready for yon. If you won't dispersc. we'll
and, holdingu pistol, shouted, "D--n ynu,
come on" At that moment the firing began
from which side cannot be asccrtaincd-;ind was
kept mp from both silc though the negro police
man (Withcrs) testiics that lat first the white
people shot up in the air rs if to scare the people
away, and then the firing seemed to be on both
sides at each other"
What seems certain is that if the ten or fifteen
brave white men, standing there, and facing that
angry crowd 81 enormously outnumDcring them.
had lIinched for IN instant or rctrcatcd one foot
from the ground they occupied they themselves
would have been butchcrcd, and the town would
have been ut the mercy of An iniilriat9d mob
That there was predi>postion on the part ofthc
negroes and their Coalition leaders To bring on Il
disturbance is shown By the unprovokcd insult
offered to Taylor on the lSt of November, and
twice repeated on the Sd IL NOEL by the dcc,-
ration of Epp Bark<dae, an active whit" Coal
itionist. on the night of November ID: I'VE have
got the negroe, solid against you, and I'll BE-
damned if We can't turn them loose on you in
five Sccnnds' by the statement of Arlington
(colorcdJ that he heard Taiafcrro. II leader OF
the negroes. say about II O'Clock on the I'd Of No
vembcr, ''Thcre will be- difficulty here to. day.:
and lastly by the inhammatory speech of Sims
on the night of the ID.
During the fight a The lea'ling white of Danville
were gathered in public meeting IN the Opera House.
few OF them reached the of the conflict towards
it, conclusion and by their aid peace and order were
Immediately restored by the local authorities. 40 that
nu,. rc "A uipte tp,r in 4 ln