The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-07-23

Ball-A Pistol Found in the r DOM Where
the Child Lay Dead-All knowledge of
the Deed Denied.
Special Correspondence to THE GLOBE.
SALISBURY, July 22-Yesterday morn
ing as Eta Riblin, grown daughter of
Jack Riblin, colored farmer, was draw
ing water at the well of a neighbor who
lived about 200 yards from her fathers
house, she was hailed by grown negro
at the gate on the side of the road. The
negro told her that he had just left some
thing at her fathers house for her
brother, and that he had placed it in her
brothers, pants pocket in the house. He
also told her to tell her brother that if he
did not stop by for it that evening for
him Cher brother) to bring it down to the
Dennis mountain farm for him Monday
morning The negro girl hurried home
to see what this fellow who was well
known to her nad left at the house. She
entered the house, looked in her broth
ers pocket and saw pistol. The pants
were hanging on the wall and the pocket
was nearly five feet from the floor. Af-
ter discovering the pistol she turned
around and saw her 6 year old brother
lying on the floor and as he was motion
less she began to scream and ran to call
her parents and grown brother for whom
this fellow, Eli Rendel, had left the pis-
tol. The mother and others ran in the
house and found the child dead with
large hole in its throat. Her daughter
Eta who had been left at the house to
take care of the children, said it was all
done while sDe was getting bucket of
water at the we'll of the neighbor. She
related what Eli Randell had said to her
at the gate. Besides the deceased child
two others years old had been left by
Eta playing in the yard when she went
for the water. On being questioned they
said that Ell Randell come in the yard
brother were. They answered in the
cotton field. Ell then went in the house
and one of the children said that she and
the deceased boy went in after him and
that Eli got out a pistol and while it
was pointed in her little brothers face
1t went off and her brother fell over on
the floor. Eli then placed the pistol in
her brothers pants pocket and left the
house. Eta soon returned with the
water and found things as described
above.
To corroborate the story of Eta and
the two children some neighbors living
two or three hundred yards from the
house said they heard the pistol shot q
few minutes before the cries of Eta for
her parents. And little white girl said
that she saw Eli and two other negroes
come down the road to the house. One
of them entered the house. She then
heard pistol shot and saw the negro
come out of the house and catch up with
the two other fellows with him. She
also saw him stop at the gate of the yard
where Eta was drawing water and heard
him talking to Eta.
The above is the pricipal evidence
that Eli shot the child either purpOsely
or accidentally.
On the other hand Ellis story makes
this evidence purely circumstantial. He
says that he and two other young negro
men left his house about 10 o'clock on
their way TO baseball field near Sails
bury to play match game of baseball.
Thinking that lie would be among
strangers he placed his pistol in his
pocket. On his way soon after starting
he told the negroes with him that he
had his pistol. They told him that he
ought not TO have brought the pistol
along as the baseball might strike it in
his pocket while he was playing. They
told him 10 leave it somewhere on the
road and he agreed to do so. When
they got TO the house of Jack Riblin, the
father Of the deceased child, Eli sp-
preached the house which was about
fifteen yards from the road and saw three
children playing under a tree in the
back part of the yard. Eli said that he
spoke 10 them and asked where was their
mother and brother Ed. They said in
the cotton patch, and he having always
been on friendly and intimate terms
with Riblin's family entered the back
door, went into the living room placed
the pistol in Els pants pocket, came out,
told the children still playing under the
tree good bye and went on out 10 the
road to his companions who had stop
ped about a hundred yards from the
house, having met in the road an old