The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-19
NO LYNCHING At OLIVER.
The People Excited, but the Sup
posed MurdereTS UlmOleSted.

The Confessions of the Negroes Rice
and Patrick duplicating Each Other
in the Killing of Young jackson.
Little Doubt About the Guilt of the
Parties Under Arrest.
The prospective lynching of the four
mUrderers of John A. jackson, of Oliver,
did not come off last night, so far as
known, A dispatch received by the
MORNING News from Oliver at late
hour said that everything was quiet
and twas not thought that any attempt
at lynching would be made during the
night.
preliminary examination of the pris-
oners was held yesterday afternoon.
The evidence introduced was chiefly
the confessions Of the two negroes,
Rice and Patrick, which they had
made duplicating each other in the
crime.
The murder was one of the most brutal
on record. John A, jackson, popular
and highly respected young merchant, of
Oliver, was murdered in his bed in his
room in the rear Of the store by having
his head crushed in with sledge ham
mer The first announcement of the
murder was made in the MORNING News
! OF Thursday morning. Four men were
arrested charged with the murder, and
| there is little doubt at Oliver that they
are the guilty parties,
THE SUPPOSED MURDERERs.
Their names are William Patrick, Will
oil 4
and Samuel Edmonson, white. AS pre-
! viously recounted in the MORNING News.
! they were tramping through the country
and had only appeared at Oliver the day
before the murder They acted very sus-
| piciously and were suspected at once
when the murder was discovered.
Dr. A. B. Lanier of Oliver, spent yes
| terdaY with his sou, DR. S. j. Lanier of
Savannah. sr. Lanier brought the
| fullest information of the affair that has
yet been received in the city DR.. Lanier
was one of the first persons to reach Mr.
| jackson after he was discovered in dv-
| ing state Wednesday morning. He saw
that his skull bad been crushed in with a
| hammer, which had been left lying in the
| room. The motive was evidently rob
berry, as Mr.. Jacksons trunk and desk
had been broken open and the money
taken.
LITTLE DOUBT 0 F THEIR GUILT.
DR. Lanier said that he had little doubt
| of the guilt Of the men under arrest.
Henry Bates made partial confession to
the effect that the murder had been com
mitted by the others. When William
Patrick was taken out to face Bates he
! succeeded in making his escape, though a
number of shots were fired at him
Later he was shot az again by men who
met him in the road. 1t was thought
that Patrick had been mortalIy
wounded, but he was recaptured the next
day by farmer at whose house he APP
peared begging for something to
eat. He did not Q have a
scratch on him. Yesterday morning he
made partial confession of the crime,
claiming that the others had committed
| the murder He gave conclusive evil
dence Of his guilt TO the crowd by stating
that he had torn up number of drafts
taken from the store and Offering to take
! the party to the place where he had torn
| upthe drafts and hidden the money!. 1t
was not known before that there had
been any drafts taken.
.- DESTROYED THE DRAFTS.
There was no doubts in the minds of
| those who heard Patrick's statement
that he had torn up the drafts from the
circums ntfal account which he gave of
| them. Patrick agreed to lead his captors
to the place where he had torn up the
| drafts and hidden the money. A party
had gone off with him for this purpose
when DIR. Lanier left for Savannah.
DIR. Lanier said that there was a large
crowd at Oliver, which was worked up to
a fearful state of excitement, and he had
DO doubt that if Patrick's story were con-
frmed by the finding OF the pocketboolt
that a quadruple lynching would imme-
diately follow. 1t is probable that Pat
rick did not confirm his story by finding
the place where he claimed to have hid
den the money.
Edmondson, the white boy who is under
arrest at Oliver, is well connected in
| Macon. A telegram was received at
Oliver yesterday from his uncle, Hon.
Robert Hodges, of Macon, in
which he said that he would
assist Edmondson for his mother s
sake if it was penitentiary offense, but
if it were only misdemeanor he would
leave him to his own devices, as he had
only recently helped his nephew out of a
scrape which he had hoped would prove
lesson to him.