The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-28
warm TELLS HIS STORY.
FLEEING FROM HIS PLACE TO
SAVE his LIFE.


The Attack on the Colored Wagon
er and the Killing of Hendricks and
McLendcr-Vern Sells Out BIS Tur-
pentine Business to Avoid Further
Trouble.
l. B. Warn, who has been prominent
figure In the trouble which has recently
caused such great excitement in Ware and
Coffee counties, the entire section OF coun-
try between Warns, Stokes and McDonald's
stills in Ware and Coffee counties having
been literally in a state of insurrection for
nearly a week, was in the city yesterday
arranging his business with the Savannah
naval stores men.
Mr.. Warn has sold out his turpentine in
terests. He was compelled to. in fact, as II
was certain that il he remained in Ware
county he would be killed. He was seen in
she afternoon by s. MORNING NEWS re-
porter. Warn is a heavy set, dark COM
plexioned man of medium hight, and looks
70 be about 30 years of age. He was born 10
South Carolina, he said and has been in the
turpentine business in Georgia for eleven
years. He has had no trouble in Coffee or
Ware counties previous to now. His face
IS not that of desperado. and be appears
to be deeply troubled at the course affairs
have taken at his home. and deeply regrets
the killing of the two men. In giving his
history of the trouble from the beginning,
the part be took in it, and an account Of
the recent lawless occurrences as he knew
of them or was informed by parties who
took part in them, he said:
YARNS STORY.
81 have lived four years at Warn, Ware
county, on the Brunswick and Western
road, where have carried on turpentine
distilling business. l secured a postoffice
for the station soon after going there, and
was appointed postmaster, which place |
have held ever since. The present trouble
begun over lot of 400 acres of land, which
/ purchased from the Waycross Lumber
Company a short while ago. Thomas Sears
purchased the same lot from II. NJ Hit of
Augusta and leased the turpentine
privilege to r. N. Stokes of Coffee county.
About three weeks ago sent two hands TO
work on this lot. They were ordered off
by Sears. / saw l. johnson Of the Way
cross Lumber Csmpany and j. L. Sweat,
the conlpany's attorney, about the matter
and was advised to go back to work unless
stopped according to law. | sent the two
men back, when Sears ordered them off
again. saying that they could not work on
the lot, and il they did he would kill them.
The hands left the place and informed me
of what Sears had said This was Tuesday,
Oct IA.
ADVISED TO STAND HIS GROUND.
1.-THE Saturday following | went to see
johnson and Sweat again and was advised
to go TO work. They said they bad leased
me the land and would defend the title.
They told me to get hands that would not
run. Monday, Oct. 20, Istarted four hands
to the lot and sent a wagon and driver
with them. told the wagner to stay
there one day and return the next night
The lot is about six miles from Warn, aud
about seventeen miles from Waycross The
hands worked Monday and Tuesday. Tues
day afternoon, while the colored WAGNER,
Campbell Baker. was on his way back with
the team, he was waylaid and shot.
The first ball struck him under one
ear and passed through, lodging
behind the other ear. He fell off the wagon
and was shot again in the back. He swore
before Justice otter ward that Sears was
the man who shot him. He managed to
make his way 10 the house of Bob Knight
tcoloredl near bv, where he secured horse
and came on to Warn, leaving the team be-
bind him. / sent him 30 DR.. Spence at
Waresboro for treatment Campbell is
dangerously wounded, bat will probably
recover.
THE KILLING OF M'LENDoN AND HEN
BRICKS.
There was a very heavy rain the next
day and the hands were not able to work,
and went to Robert Knights house, about
one mile and half from the land in dis
pute. BetEeen 8 and o'clock in the after
noon parry Of several white men, includ-
ing Tom Sears, Berrien McLendon, James
Hendricks, and a man named Davis
and Others, came up to the
house. Knights wife saw the men
slipping around a cane patch about forty
yards away and gave the alarm to the
party in the house. The white men were
armed with shotguns and Winchesters, and
when they heard the woman call out to the
men in the house they opened fire. Several
volleys were fired into the house, but the
only man hurt was Rob Knight, who was
grazed on the temple by a ball. Knight
and others Of the men in the house were
armed, and they returned the fire with
deadly results. Hendricks and McIAndon
were killed almost instantly.
The party ran of leaving the dead men
where they fell in Knights yard and where
they lay all night in the rain. 1t was re-
ported that others Of the party were killed
and wounded, but it was not true, and was
simply done for effect Robert Knight
came immediately to Warn and told me of
the affair. He said they had been attacked
IN his house by party and two Of them
had been killed in his yard. / advised
knight to get away from there OF the party
NOuNt COIuo DaCK ana XIII MIN and his
family, but he said he would stay if 1t cost
him his life. He afterward left, though.
CHARGED WITH UGLY WORK
II was informed of the reports that the
other party was sending out over the
country the reDort that I was leading a
gang OF negroes and Strengthening the help
less white people of the community / went
to Waycross that night and woke up Sher-
III Henderson at 2 O'Clock in the morning
and gave myself up 20 him. told him
that wanted protection, that false reports
were being spread about me, that if half
were true l would deserve to be killed. BY
the sheriff's advice / saw coroner
Grimes and asked him to 20 to
the place Of the killing the
next morning with the sheriff and myself.
Thursday morning the sheriff and Coroner
Grimes, myself and three others who went
at the sheriff's request, started for the scene
OF the killing. At Waresboro, seven miles
from Waycross. l was advised by the
sheriff and others to 60 back, which did.
AT the Satilla river, about a mile from
the place, the sheriffs party met a
party OF about forty armed men, who noti-
fled them that the bodies had been removed
TO Stokes still, in Coffee county, about six
miles distant from the scene of the shooting.
The men announced their intention of going
on to Warn. The sheriff begged them not
TO 20. telling them that was in waycross,
bat AIar.wr It,.