The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-07-19
4 BLOODY TRAGEDY
IN LEFLORE COUNTY IN
WHICH TWO MEN ARE
KILLED AND THREE 9TH
ERS WOUNDED.
An Interesting sketch of the
Scene and Circumstances.
From the Lexington Advertiser

From the Lexington Advertiser.l
\ terrible tragedy was enacted Sat
urday evening. about / o'clock, at
Rising Sun, small station on the Y.
n NJ. V. Railroad, in Lctlore county.
The name of the station was taken
from Capt. :. ii. Whitworth's place
on which it is situated. The railroad
at that point runs near to, and paral
lei with the Iazou River. The place
consists of two stores, one saloon, Il
depot and Il sawmill Capt. Whit
worth's residence is Il quarter from
the depot and fronts the river. The
Sidon and Greenwood road passes
along the river bank. The depot is
80 yards from the river. Fronting
the river and between it and the de
pot is the store of Matthews x Ne
Carly, in which the killing occurred.
1t is frame one story building about
90 feet long 10y - wide. The rear
end of the store is divided off into Il
sleeping room and an office, with an
allcy-way between them leading to
the back door. The office has mere "
IA railing around it with Il gateway at
about its center opening into the
allcy-way. Rutlcdge's store and
Scruggs' saloon are between this store
and the depot, and are on the south
side of and facing the short road lead
ing from the river to the depot.
The members of the firm of Math-
ews & McCarty are Is. II. Mathews,
who lived in Carroll Co., and Henry
McCarty who with Ben mccarthy and
Sam Aston, managed the store at
Rising Sun.
We give below our information of
the origin and particulars of the trag-
edy.
For several months Capt. ). H.
WhitwOrth and the two McCartys
have been at serious outs, the breach
being at times temporarily healed
The matters of difference were of no
great Importance. The ncighbors
have been expecting or fearing some
dangerous outburst as all were regard
ed as men of courage. For two or
three months past Mr.. Ike IIoskins
and his brotherin-law, Mr.. Dan Me
Lean, have been staying at Capt
WhitWorthS, the latter assisting him
in the management of his plantations
Hoskins is Whitworth's nephew, and
is son of one of the former peniten-
tiary lessees, and came from Brook
haven.
MesSrs. Mathews & McCarty and
others put skiff in the river to cross
people free who We're coming over to
trade. Capt. WhitwOrth objected on
the ground of its interfering with his
licensed ferry. The skiff was moved
down the river to just below his land.
: ON Saturday evening Capt. Whit
worth came from his residence to
Mathews {, McCarty's store, having a
shotgun, his hunting horn and few
hounds. HoskinS and Mclean accom-
panied him; the former CARRYING a
Winchester rifle and the latter shot
gun. When they entered the store
Aston and Ben McCarty were behind
the counters, Henry McCarty was in
the office writing in the books, and
Mr.. Ivey and about dozen negroes
were in the store. Capt. Whitworth
called Ben McCarty and walked him
towards the rear Of the store, stopping
III the allcy-way, and told him he had
come to settle the ferry matter. Ben
} McCarty proposed to go after Rut-
ledge and Charley Scruggs, saying
they were jointly interested. Whit
worth told him not to go after the
parties mentioned but to go into the
office, and endeavored to push him
i'll through the gate. \ struggled en-
sued in which Whitworth had his gun
in his left hand and held McCarty by
the wrist or arm with his right. Ben
McCarty jerked loose and reached to-
wards his hip pocket, and very short
ly passed out the door and several
shots were fired at him. After getting
out he fired one shot back and ran be
hind the stores towards the depot
Some claim that when mccarthy reach
ed back he drew his pistol and pre-
sented it at WhitwOrth who knocked
it downward az it fired, the ball hit
ting Whitworth in the leg and rang
ing downward in his foot where it
lodged. Others claim that McCarty
did not draw nor fire until after he
had been shot at and had left the
store. Henry McCarty did nothing
during the tussle and continued en-
gagged at his books till the firing.
He then opened a drawer in which
there was a pistol. Before he could
pick it up Hoskins fired at him with
the Winchester rifle, the ball passing
through the muscles of both arms,
which must have been extended in
front of him, and the fleshy part of
his breast. His arms fell helpless at
i his side and he ran out of the door
and behind the nearest store, several
shots being fired at him, one wound
ing him in the arm and load of buck
shot penetrating carp board
which leaned against the back of the
store. AS he passed Rutledge's store
and the saloon the doors were closed.
| He crossed the railroad near the depot