The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1884-10-22

Threatened With Lynching. He Re
fuses to Talk--WhO He IL.

the ueoTS'a Taiiroau stopped II MIL
ledgcville Sunday night. there stepped
on board party of three, one Of which
was literally loaded down with chains.
When they left the depot large crowd
had gathered and watched them eagerly.
When n seat was taken two Of the party
proceeded to tie the man with chains
about him securely to it. When he had
Finished he remarked. II reckon YOU
won't steal any more horses before We
get to Aiken"
The three men were Messrs. r. A.
Chafet, =. Mcn. Williams and NJ. W.
Smith, the former two citizens OF All
ken, s. c., the latter notorious horse
thief who had been captured in Milcdgc-
vile, supposed to have been the one
wanted by them.
On the afternoon Of the Goth Of Sep
tcmber a we'll dressed man of pleasant
address went to the livery stable Of Mr..
R. A. Chafee, in Aiken, =. c., and order
cd horse and buggy. Being
stranger, he was requested to make the
usual deposit for the turnout. When
he was seated he dashed away, and was
soon lost to sight in cloud of dust
When the time arrived for his return hc
did not show up. The owner became
uneasy, and made inquiries to no avail.
1t was ascertained that the stranger had
left town soon after leaving the stable.
The stern reality began to dawn upon
Mr.. Chs fee that his team had been sto-
len and he had been made victim. He
reported the matter to police headquar-
Etcrs and immediately began. to telegraph
Oyer, the. country for his apprehension.
That night he with Mr. Williams 'secur-
ed a9trace Of him and began a remarka-
| lble'face for the thief. He was traced 10
Edgefeld Court House, thence to Able
| yillc, from there he cana to- Georgia..
His track was lost whei, he crossed the
| river.
Going to Trenton, sc, the gentlemen
received telegram from CHicf of Police
Hagood, of MiilcdgevfiIe. sayiag that
man had beon arrested answering to the
description wired by them. He was
wired to hold him, and. they came at
once to iNilledgcxilte. -. - -,....
Friday man rode into the place with
| trim little animal, for which he offered
to take one hundred and sixty dollars.
| afterwards fifty. This aroused the sus-
picions Of the police. He was taken in
hand by the officers and placed in Bald
win county Jail. He admitted having
stolen the horse from gentleman in
| Brunswick, and refused to talk much.
| He was given cell with two other pris-
oners, on tho lower floor Of the Jail, one
Of which was horse thief arrested dur
ing the week.
a negro WAS doing some securing in
the Jail, and late in the afternoon he
went on the outside to secure some wa
ter. When he went out he left the door
Of the cell open. While he was out
the three prisoners slipped out and
crouched in u side partition. When the
negro finished he wont out and the jailer
! locked the cells and out doors securely.
| When all was quiet the three men pro.
ceeded to take bar of iron and beat a
hole in the brick wall. They had work
cd hard and we'll and few minutes
more they would have been as free as
air. The keys grated in the locks Of the
front door, and the Sheriff Mr.. Ennis,
the jailer. and two gentlemen from
South Carolina entered. When the dcs-
perate prisoners saw them they glarcd
like mad men, and showed fight, but
were soon overpowercd and placed in n
different cell. The ring leader Of the
revolt was securely chained to the floor.
Smith was taken in charge and heavily
ironed by the men. He was taken to
the cars and securly tied for the jour
ney. Hc is regarded as desperate
character, and is supposed to be men,
Der Of gang Of horse thieves now in
Testing the southern portion of the State.
He is supposed to be a member Of the
same gang that stole five head Of horses
from the csmpmeeting near Augusta
some time since. He refuses to talk, and
will not tell whether or not he is tho
one who stole the buggy in Aiken, s. e.
a reward Of fifty dollars is offered by
Mr.. Chafee for his buggy and horse.
When the train reached Camak an at
tempt was made to force him to tell
what he knew, but he sworc he would
die first. 1t was proposed to lynch him,
and rope was secured to tie him to q
telegraph pole, but several ladies were
present and their shrickS and protcsta-
tons prevented it. He was taken to
Augusta on the 3 n. m, train.
| WYNrON
This is the Mr.. Chafcc who was here
looking after this thief.
Ed MESESGER