The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-10-30
THE COPIES ASSASSINATION.
Governor Tillman Strikes n Trail
and Orders The Arrest Of u Suspect
ed Man.

Governor Tillman Strikes n Trail
and Orders the Arrest of u Suspect
ed Man.
The State, 24th inst.
Governor Tillman has received pri-
vate information bearing on the Or
angeburg assassination, which to all
appearances comes nearer to solving
the mystery of the identity of the as
sassins than anything that has yet de-
veloped under the most powerful
searchlight that the people Of Orange
burg, working night and day, have
been able to secure.
that the Governor had tclegraphed to
the sheriff of Orangeburg instructing
him to hunt for aud detain one Manuel
Williams, white man supposed to be
an escaped convict from Alabama, and
also the man who committed the
murder in the upper edge of Orange
burg county near Hc Lexington county
line short time ago When Cover
nor Tillman was asked about it he
gave information which makes out a
stronger case against this man and q
pal he had, so far as the assassination
of Treasurer Copes is concerned, than
anything that has yet been found con-
Meeting any one else with the crime
such strong case against Williams
and his pal are as follows:
Williams has lived in that section
OF the State nearly ell his life. He
is said to be an all-round crook. Some
time ago he disappeared, going, it is
thought TO Florida. Some four or
five days before the murder Williams
came into Blackville, accompanied by
apal. They had beat their way in on
a freight train. The pals name is not
known He was small fellow, about
five feet four inches in stature, and
had just such a foot as Indicated by
the tracks found at the scene of the
description given Of the tracks of the
murder. Williams tracks also fit the
other man. Both had very small feet.
Now the information that the Cover
nor has is to the effect that Williams
p2Lwas seen to leave Bambcrg. sitting
on q wagon going in tho direction
OF the Edisto swamp. He said he
was going way up into the swamp to
hunt. Bamberg is about twenty mile
from tho scene OF the murder He
had a doublc-barrclcd shot gun. He
left Bamberg, it is said, on the third
day previous to the murder. Another
significant thing is that Bamberg
was said to be the only place where
inc peculiar KIND OF shell used in the
assassin's gun could be purchased
And l5ambcrg was the ,,lace the fell
low started out from. Williams was
not seen after this time. Neither OF
these fellows have been en- since
the murder so far as any one knows
Another significant thing is that
Williams, having lived in that
section of the country all his life,
know all about the trips of the
treasurer at this time of the year,
knew the roads and the localities and
even every foot of the swamps thor
oughly.
This is the information upon which
Governor Tillman has based his orders
to have Williams arrested and held
till he can prove clearly that these
circumstances do not fastcn the crime
upon him and his pal. Williams was
once the town marshal at Salley, and
later at Springfield. Williams is Il
man about five feet, eight inches tall,
of dark complexion, has dark hair, eyes
and slight black moustachc. Most
of the timo he goes unshavcn and
dirty