Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-20
STRANGLED BY A FIEND.
HORRIBLE MURDER Oh TWO
LITTLE NEGRO BOYS,

LITTLE NEGRO BOYS.
GhasuY Discovery of an Old COIored
WON an In - swamp West OF the Oity-
A Maniac Negroes Horrible Crime
The Bodies OF Hrs Victims Tied with
Ropes TO Tree and Their Mouths
Filled with Sand and StrAw-scsnss At
the COrOner's Inquest.
A horrible and mysterious crime was
discovered yesterday morning 200 yards
cast OF the emile post on the
Central railroad. Basha Graham, an
old colored woman, while hunt
ing for her crazy son, came across the
bodies of two little negro boys covered
over with brush and leaves IN the woods.
Early Thursday morning her son, John
Graham, left the rude hut, 100 yards north
Of where the Deane road crosses the rail-
road track. All day Thursday she
searched for him. Yesterday morning
she WAS standing in her cabin looking
nut OF the solitary window, when her at
tention was attracted by the lazy flap
ming OF "A buzzafd which was circhng
above the tree tops in the woods south
of the railroad. For several minutes she
watched IL flying around and around
until it lit on limb in the top of tall
pine. Presently another buzzard came
soaring along from the opposite direction
and lowered over the trees.
Thinking that perhaps her son had wan
6ered of in the woods and died, the old
Woman crept from her cabin to the edge
81 the woods and through the brush and
Underground until she came under the
ffee on which the huge carriOn
BIRD WAS PERCHED.
y II Heightened, it few away. The old wo-
(. IAn hook a few steps further into the
if1a4e. aud looking around, her eye caught
q shInipg tin kettle lying almost at her
I8,f She picked it up and went few
feot futber along the path. CHANGING to
hcr,l.t fb9 was mortified at the sight of
wis 81 bIi8hes and leaves through which
ina saw some clothing. Thoroughly
ffIsn1entd,old Bssha turned and hurried
Qua a. the wopds and up the railroad track
nntfi 6he came within hailing distance of
her ftli1 d amt They went into the woods
togethaf. and old John Graham saw that
whRtvh4a fTichtened his wife were the
todies OF Two boys, the elder not more
'.SSsll1O years Of age and the other per-
a Giro a
been helatry is thinly settled, but a
fists, Gle collected. When the leaves
~ '~ss mere removed from the bodies a
,eah .awy, THT WAS REVEALED.
q u to be brothers. Both
niep WIN ~ backs on the ground.
we notice t"oc 80, together with stout
NNclting the wa Trope as is used for
4iitrt. The L v =. ands of the smaller
oocordin tn- around the wrists
~ IN law he u tied to the right
&c Fine .-sr boy ~ a band Of coarse
muslin. Each boys medtht was rammed
iull of dirt and pine straw. Ebe gag was
~, hu a nf tho
same rope which bound their legs{& To
hold the dirt In the boys, mouths mofeee-
curely broad Riecaaf 4nslin had been>
passed around the BOYS, bsads and tied
With thc'k pot ID sac Inp0thsof one of the
the lads, Yhei1neok8 woEe fastened to a
G'fsfi sli2 ~ = shbst piece Of
ma and a piece q muslin. Their hands
WIRE TIGHTLY CLENCHED
rs though they died in great agony.
The larger boy had freed his left arm
before death, but even with its use he had
tot beeR able 20 loose the bonds which
pIuiOned him so firmly that be could
scarcely move any part of his body.
Among all who went to look at the dead
children there was no one who knew them.
There was no clue to the murderer, and
the identity Of the victims not being
known, the case was enveloped in nys-
terry.
IL was 1 O'Clock yesterday afternoon
when an old darkey trudged into the city
and notified Coroner Dixon Of the finding
Of the two bodies.
THE OORoNER's INVESTIGATION.
The Coroner, DR.. T. B. Chisholm, and
representative Of the NEWS visited the
spot in the afternoon and found the bodies
still lying under a clump of sweet gum
saplings, the tallestOf which was not over
20 feet high and more than inches in di-
ameter. The cords had not been united
and the bodies had not been disturbed.
.lesbe aar9t. where they lay was almost in
aaiisrTow foot path not over forty pacesf
EN- the rail-pad track, and only twenty
Fees from the edge of the woods, F46r
all pines stoodHike sentinels STRETCHING
out their bare ARMS over the scene OF the
DE-. Chisholm made an examin Alton OF
the bodies, but did not find a woRnd or
mark of violence any where. Some ami
NAL had slightly gnawed the boyB bare
feet. Decomposition was already be-
ginning. The physician thought that the
boys had probably been
DEAD FOUR DAYS.
Lying In the shade and on the cold damp
ground decomposition would be slow at
this season, when the nights are still cold.
A jury was sworn, with Mr.. Jones, a
in the neighborhood, as fore
man. Old .Basha Graham was the first
witnesb. Suspicion pointed TO her son,
the crazy John who was missing. The
inquest was an odd scene. The jurors,
mostly cOlOred and extremely supersti-
tious, seated themselves on a pile OF rail-
road cross ties, few rods from where the
bodies were discovered. Another pile of
cross-ties served as a table on which to
write down the evidence. Hardly was
the evidence begun before away down the
track WAS seen a cloud OF smoke from the
locomotive Of passenger train. In a
minute or two the heavy train swept by,
scattering the witnesses and the specta-
tors, who had seated themselves on the
rails.
OLD BAsHA's STORY.