Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1893-01-07
BACK FROM BAKERSVILLE


MEN ON tine Ground OF the Al p
legged TroubIe-Ie was q ''Fa1ke" u
Ousrlxhl-atOry Of the Trip. III
The order of THE CITIZEN to ''go to Y
Bakersville and reIr,rt on the truth or e
falsity of this Johnson City dispatch" :
has been obeyed, and the village in the :
bleak table lands of the Blue Ridge was t
found to be in a state of quiet bordering
Oh sleepiness with no disturbance OF the
peace for many moons.
Messrs. w. F. Randolph Of THE CrrI.
ZEN and Norman c. McLoud, the latter
going in the interests of st. Louis,
Chicago, New York and Cincinnati
papers, returned to Ashcville on the
4:25 train Yesterday afternoon, conf
plete1y worn out by the trip. but, as true
newspaper men. proud of the fact that
they had been the first and only news
paper correspondents to reach the seat
of the alleged trouble.
The details OF the fearful trip were
given THE CITIZEN by Mr.. Randolph |
| this morning.
"At halfpast three o'clock Thursday |
morning." Mr. Randolph said, 1--WE were |
in Marion searching for a means of con- |
veyance to the place of reported strife,
| and by the aid of ]. T. Griffin OF the
Free Lance and the alacrity of r. L.Gilkey,
| at quarter of6ve we were well mounted,
and in the bright moonlight began
the seventy miles of a horseback ride over
the backbone of the Blue Ridge. We
m ade the { (atawba ford and breakfasted
with the Widow Craig at 6 O'Clock. Well
filled with sausage and pone the ride was
resumed and the matutinal cigars IN
| dulged in. The divide was reached at
Ito: o'clock and then we scanned the
features of all we met for traces OF ex-
citement, which failed to appear. At
Enslishs the mail boy from Bakersville
was seen and to an inquiry about a re-
ported lynching he said 'Snipes was in
iail " hen LETT home at daylight
1--WE made a dinner point at Tom
Norman's, and got to Bakersville at
3:15, about as completely done up as
can be imagined. Ex.Sheriff George K.
Pritchard was hunted up and his eyes
| buleed as we broke to him the me VS. in
the outside world concerning his hamlet
| and the purposes OF our errand. lie
stated that Bakersville for a long time
had been enjoying a season OF freedom
from 1awlessness of every sort; that the
holidays had been passed in unusual
quiet, and that the story we had brought
him was a miserable lie from beginning
to end. He further said that n recent
rumor concerning the circulation of a
Ip.tition pledging the signers to join in an
attempt to lynch Snipes had no fouuda-
ton in fact, and that the many good
people of Mitchell county deprecated the
black k-hearted malice that had selected
TIE place of their abode as the scene O
murder and riot, and that they invoked
the aid OF THE CIrIzENin making known
the true state of affairs.
"How to do the thirty five miles be
!. tween us and the operator at Marion
= was the next consideration and we de
cided upon trying the seven miles bacl
to Tom Norman's that night. The snov
- had been falling all the afternoon. and
at half past 6 O'Clock, with only thre
miles to our credit, darkness was upol
us and the storm furious. The fallin,
snow was so dense that we could barrel,
distinguish each other twenty feet apart
and letting the bride reins tall on tn
horses necks, we trusted to the instiuc
of the intelligent brutes to keep us right
When the home OF State Senator Blaloc
was reached we were unable to procee
further. and our appeal for shelter wa
responded to with a hospitality tha
only ceased with our departu,
OF the opinion that the mos
thoroughly enjoyed supper in til
nation was the one prepared and give
us by Mother Blalock and her bloomin
daughters Thursday night IN the WI
mountains of Mitchell. The storm rage
all night; at times SO great was its tui
that our bed was perceptibly shaken.
"At daylight Nelson Blalock, a son
our hostess. who was most attentive
our comfort, fed our stock and can
back to the house with frost-bitten ca
for his pains. The entire family urg'
us not to attempt the return that da
but when we explained that our imnl
diate departure was Imperative, tn
tucked newspapers under our vests al
tied blankets about our feet andle legs, sa
goodbye and prophesied a freeze-o
before we got three miles. But t
freeze-out didn't come. The road "
badly drifted by the swirling snow, a
At 1850 we were again on the divi'
and at o'clock in the valley. with I
miles to make in an hour and half
catch the train at Marion.
THE roughuess of the road soon C
vinced us of the impossibility of maxi
- the train. but by keeping everlasting
at it we had a'fighting chance to ge
telegram to the paper in time for pa
cation. -
"Our skinless anatomy and rack
= Joints protested vigorously against
accelerated pace deemed necessary,
such trifles were only felt, not heed
we gave Marion our dispatch OF dei
at $50, and as the signature was be
added thereto all the hardships of
trip were forgotten as the west-bo1
train rolled in, an hour late!
|EOI "Superintendent V. e. McBee railroa
lIO us into Asheville in his private car.
with that gentleman we broke brs
our first mouthful since daylight.
were royalty cared for on the homew
ride by Capt. McBee. who, whe
talking with the boys as Bunch
Bee, or with railroad maguates as
general superintendent of the r. &
r~1s system, is always the same court,
kind-hearted man. We got into Ashe
little before six o'clock, and never
two newspaper men appreciate I
fully than we did the ending of a !
tiresome journey-somc might Ga
wild goose chase, but we got the t
and that's what we went AFTER"
, 81. license 10 vvea.
Register Mackey has issued Hcens
wed as follows:
Z.V. Green and Louie Creasmar
IBuncombe: white.