The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-06-19
EDEN'S LAWLESS GANG.
COUNTRY NEGROES ROBBED AND
SHOT BY GAMBLERS.

Two Central Railroad Hands Plum
dered of Their Wages at q Pistols
Point and One of Them Shot Fa-
tally-Another Shot over a Game Of
skin-The NeighborhoOd Alarmed.
A bad state of affairs is reported at Eden,
twenty miles west of Savannah. Andrew
Cleveland and James Norman (colored)
were brought into the city from there yes
terday, one with bullet in his thigh and
the other shot through the left breast.
Cleveland's wound is probably fatal.
Barlow Kellar, who lives a mile from
Eden station, was in the city yesterday
afternoon to see what can be done toward
putting stop to the trouble. Bad negroes,
bad whisky and lax enforcement of the
law, he says. have made the place unsafe
for some time.
Yesterday morning the Central railroad
pay train passed Eden and the employees of
the road there were paid off. There is e
gang of desperate characters, most Of them
gamblers, who make Eden their headquar-
tiers. Naturally, they make payday har-
vest time. After they were paid off yester-
day the railroad hands were lying around
the station and about Shuptrine's store.
SHOT AND THEN ROBBED.
Andrew Cleveland. one-armed negro,
and two or three others were sitting in the
shade of the water tank. VIII jackson, a
negro gambler who has been hanging
around the place for some time, watched
his chance and, slipping up, thrust pistol
in Cleveland's face and demanded his
money. Without giving him chance to
deliver his money, Jackson fired. The ball
81, Life old oE.. he
hip. He fell over, and jackson went
through his pockets, but without finding
anything. Putting his pistol to Cleveland's
head, jackson threatened to shoot again
unless he told where his money was. Afraid
of his life, Cleveland said that it was in a
pocket in his drawers. jackson secured the
money, 500 of which was Cleveland's and
$40 belonging to another negro. Jackson got
all of it except So or SO, which was in his
shirt pocket. He then ran into the woods.
Twenty or thirty men were in sight of the
shooting, but so little effort was made to
prevent the robbery that jackson easily
escaped. The men pursued him a short
distance without success.
Cleveland was brought to the city on the
afternoon train. Dr. Sheftall examined
the wounded man at the depot He found
the wound dangerous and Cleveland suffer
ing greatly. An ambulance was summoned
and he was sent to the Georgia Inflrmary.
He was attended there by DR.. Elliott, who
reported the wound very serious.
ROBBED AT PISTOLS POINT.
Encouraged by Jackson's success, another
one of the Eden gang carried out the same
programme in the afternoon, with equal
success, but with less harm to the victim
Ed. Russell, another negro gambler, also saw
the hands paid off. Watching his oppor-
tunity, he found one of the hands
alone and asked him to change a
dollar for him. The negro pulled
out a well-filled pocketbook and changed
the dollar. Russell then asked him to let
him see his pistol The unsuspecting negro
handed it to him, and as soon as he had
done SO Russell thrust it into the mans
face and with an oath demanded, snow,
give me your pocketbook."
The negro saw Russell had the drop on
him, and handed the pocketbook over
Fearing some attempt to recover the
money, Russell fired at the man, but failed
to hit him. Russell then took TO the woods.
He secured over $50.
Russell is small, dark brown negro,
weighing about l25 or 100 pounds He had
on an undershirt and pair Of dark striped
pantaloons
jackson. who shot Cleveland, is tall, of
slender build, very dark, thin face, and
weighs las or $50 pounds. He is between
rs and % years old. He wore pair of
1La
flannel shirt and light straw hat.
Warren Leonard, colored railroad hand,
was witness to the shooting of Cleveland
and was in the neighborhood when the
second robbery took place. He came in on
the train with Cleveland MORNING
NEWS reporter talked with him, and he
gave version of the affair, substantially
as related and which was corroborated from
other sources.
SHOT IN THE THIGH.
James Norman, the negro who was
brought into the city with Cleveland, was
shot in the thigh Tuesday afternoon by
Frank Frederick in a row over a game Of
skin. Frederick was chased into the woods
but escaped. MIR. Kellar says that a gang
OF negro gamblers aud women make Eden
, their headquarters, coming in from
the turpentine farms and along the
Savannah and Western railroad, and they
rob the country negroes whenever they
get hold of them, Sunday negro woman,
Nora King, got into a row with negro
named Joe Smith and shot at him several
times, but Smith got out of the way.
MIR. kellar says that the people around
Eden are afraid of their lives and property.
ONE OF THE PRINCIPALS CAPTURED.
An Eden dispatch says Ed Russell, one of
the principals in the shooting scrape, was
captured on the up train last night. A
party is now securing the woods in the hope
OF capturing the other principal.