Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-11-06

mile posi- is DeyOnu Cne pOluG VI arrest. VIC
arrested him in front of Hemphilrs house.
1 and Riddle were in front of the buggy,
riding on. Thornburg was close to us when
gait. I do not know which party saw the
other first. When spoke to him, he start
ed to rum Mr.. Riddle fired. My gun did
not fire. l saw no pistol drawn by defend
ant. His horse did not seem to be in per-
spiration. He was ten steps from me when
1 halted him. He attempted to ride by us.
1 snapped at him, and Mr.. Riddle fired.
At the Finley house several persons fired
cannot say how many. He was halted and
several shots were fired in the space of a
few moments. Thornburg did not fire at us:
When fired at near the Finley house he
galloped off. When arrested, he attempted
been snapped. When I got up to him, after
he had fallen from his horse, he had no
pistols in his hands. When I started up
that road, 1 had an idea that would meet
with them on it. We rode rapidly part
of the time. We went up the road two
miles beyond the trestle. We rode at the
rate of about six miles an hour from the
time we left the bridge until we turned
back. Coming back, we rode slowly. We
turned Immediately opposite Capt Fitch
ett's house. Thornburg had two pistols. A
cartridge of the smallest one had been snap
ped. 1 know not Of my personal know
ledge what were the contents of the barn.
/ do not remember the exact time of the
threshing last summer, but was there once
in awhile during the threshing.
JAMES G. THOMAssON, s,CO1n. l reside on
the Lincolnton road, 81 miles from York
Vile. remember the night of the burning.
I saw the fire in the direction of the barn.
When l saw the blaze, it was about two
o'clock in the morning fifteen minutes un-
til two by my clock. The clock was correct
at the time. There was light near the
clock, and when I entered the house just
after seeing the light of the fire, it was a
quarter till two. I heard buggy pass ten
minutes after two. After the buggy had
passed, IsaW a man ride by, at three o'clock.
1t was exactly three when the man rode by
my house. The buggy did not stop. MIR.
Riddle and some others stopped at my house
and inquired if buggy had passed. This
had passed. 1t is u mile from my house to
the railroad trestle. The four-mile post is
half mile from my house, and few hun
dred yards from Hemphil's. The six-mile
post stands near Mr.. Moore's. I did not re-
cognize the hOrseman, nor did not notice
the color of his horse. The road is thirty or
thirty-fve yards from my door. 1t is or
q miles from my house to Glenn's barn.
From my house to the barn, would take
the country road and come in by Mr.. Par
ishs. I know where Leander Parish lives !;
the fire was in the direction of his house.
Cross-eran,ined. live near a public road.
People pass itatall times. 1 do not say that
my clock was exactly correct. was called
up by Mr.. Riddle. 1 did not see the fire
until he had called me. l remained out of
the house not exceeding ten minutes.
R. H. GLENN, recalled. The contents of
hay, clover hay and a few pieces of wagon
timber. The building was 36 feet long and
80 feet wide. 1t was a framed building,
with back shed Of one and half story.
The barn proper was two nine-feet stories.
There was wagon shed in front. The
size Of the barn proper was sixteen by
twenty feet. Stables were cut off at each
end. Two stables in the rear were filled
with chaff and wheat straw. In the left of
the barn was fodder, clover hay, Oat straw
and crab grass hay. The story. was nine
feet high, ana hlled with, hay, straw, &C. :.
Cross-eranained. The barn was TWO sto-
ries, nine feet each. 1t was planked up and
down with pine plank one inch thick. The
plank for the gables were twenty-five feet
in length. The rafters were two by four
lIlCIlCS, SdWeu. VII tlle lOWel llool 9"O qua
bles contained chaff and straw, and room
in the rear contained shucks. The barn was
generally full. On the upper and lower
floors there were thirty-fve loads of straw,
but cannot say how much was in either
story. A greater portion of the straw was
on the upper floor. Reached the upper floor
from the inside. It could be reached from
the outside by climbing up the door and
entering by a window. Some of the straw
was put in last year; some last July or Au-
gust. There was rain for about five or six
weeks in May and June. There was clover
hay on the loft, but do not know what
quantity. A part of my straw had been ex-
posed to the rain. do not know in what
part of the barn the crab grass hay had been
put. Some sheaf oats were also in the barn.
My wheat was at home. The barn was
burned down when / got there. l could
see from town the smoke rising up. The
straw was burning, making some light. |
cannot tell what time it was when 1 reached
there, though it was after two o'clock in the
morning. 1 did not see the marks of a
walking stick on the ground. Had seen
such marks 1 should have noticed them.
j. O. WALKER, SlcOrn. l was at Thorn
burg's house when the attempt was made to
arrest them. William Thornburg left the
Finley house ten minutes past twelve
o'clock. Wewent through the Finley land
across the Limestone road at Beth-SMloh
Church. From the Finley place the distance
is two and half miles. We drove in a
slow walk, William suffering from wound.
The Limestone road crosses the Charlotte
and the Lincolnton roads. At James Thom-
asson's place we turned to the right. From
the Finley place to his house the distance is
about five miles. Passing Thomasson's
l. {l,oI RI Of
When the road was smooth we travelled III
trot; when it was rough we went slowly.
Cannot say at what time we passed Thom-
asson's house. We left Sylvanus at the Fin
ley place. He said he could not go with US
when we started, that he had to see man
up the country, and that he would probably
not see us until the next night. We next
saw him after his arrest. [ have been in
Jail with him, both of us confined in the
same room. / do not know personally that
he conveyed written message from the
Jail to Lowry and his Nowry's) wife: un-
derstoOd from him that his message to them
was that he was in bad fix if they could
do nothing for him. He wanted them to
swear that he was at their house from the
time he left the Finley house until the next
morning. Some writing was sent by hand
by his brother William. I do not know
what the writing was. He wrote notes to
William and slipped them to himin the jail,
before William left the Jail. The next day
after we were put in Jail he gave me some
matches from his pocket. He said that
from heway the sheriff talked to him when
he took his shoes, he did not know what
trouble he might get into, and asked me to
take some matches that he had in his pocket.
1 took them, and they were afterwards Civ
en- to some darkeys in Jail, except some
which Sylvanus took from my pocket one
night. He afterwards said he took them
from my pocket, being afraid that if it was
found out that he had given them to me, it