The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-12
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY MARCH H. 1893sIXTEEN PAGES

confession made by Clinton ct De Land. Gin
ton, 10 seems, had long been suspected. Acting
on the inference that these suspicious were wen
grounded, Mr. C)Wart, one OF the members OF
the grand jury. pumped clinton dry He said
that the state was not after him Clinton and
would probably treat him leniently With
hope Of beiuR freed, SO rumor saws, Clinton told
the story and subsequently, repeated 10 with all
the horrible bloody details TO the grand jury.
jenkins and MCRae were promptly jailed and
later on Clinton also. The latter is confined in
former In separate cells below with
communication absolutely prohibited All
three have long been under suspicion.
The evidence Vas purely Of q circumstantal
character. II was known that McRae, Clinton
and jenkins were together on the night Of the
crime. McRae had been an old sdmirer of Miss
Bruce, and it is believed that Jealousy prompted
the crime, and strong drink clinched the inclt-
nation to the sticking point. Although the dis
trict around New Smyrna Is dry there was
plenty OF orange wine manufactured in the
groves. They started together in the night and
arrived early in the morning. The shooting was
done, so IL is said, by MoRae with pistol Dor
rowed from Clinton. who in turn had borrowed
it from friend jenkins cut the threats.
This pistol has been an important factor in
linking the evidence in a chain. IL was the
only 32-Calber revolver in the entire neighbor-
hood. Through the efforts OF Capt. Dinick 1t
was traced back into the possession OF Clinton.
The next suspicious circumstance W6s the
significant remark Of Jenkins while in the
jail 1at Smyrna-"If they don't get ma out
they "a EtEEeI IL N6AJt HUel JeDhl0H was
jailed 10 Jacksonville for selling whisky to rail-
road hands, McRae sent a lawyer to Jackson
vile TO defend him. Then as TO the dog. There
were footprints OF this dog in the blood on the
floor. McRae mad dog but mysteriously dis
appeared. What became of that dog?" was
question asked frequently by the east coast peo-
pie. Among all these people there are few
Whodo not believe that the authorities have got
the right man yet. ClintOn's father and other
relatives were in DeLand Friday in high rage at
the injustice Of a bogus" confession. The most
sorrowful figure Of all is the aged father Of Nc
Rae, DR.. MoRae Of Sanford, whose head is white
as snow and bowed down with grief. It was
only three weeks ago that his wife died. He Is a
stanch believer in the innocence of his son.
On motion Of the states attorney, Judge
Broome has postponed the trial until Septem-
Der In an interview at Smyrna Capt. Dimick,
who assisted In organizing the coroner's jury,
said that when the doors Of the Packwood house
were closed a large crowd clamOred for admit
lance. The crowd was let In, among them was
McRae. He didn't look at the bodies, but gazed
at the ceiling, keeping his ewes everywhere but
on the CHASTITY spectacle, Then the next day
McRae and Clinton we're among the men who
secured the woods for The murderers The four
people who were murdered in December of
1891 we're Miss Bruce, Bsnnie Packwood. Mrs.
Hatch and her little boy. All we're shot and
their thrORts cut, except Mrs. Hatch, who was
shot.