The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-17
EDDIE DAVIS LAST DAYS.
He Says He Gives No Thought 10 the
Fate That awaits Him Tomorrow.

/ He Smiled as he Talked About His
Crime and Gave an Account of It, to
Which He Says He VIII Stick as the
Truth to the Last-He Feels That He
Did Wrong in Killing Willis Brown,
but Says he Had No Intention of Do
ing Him Any injury Whatever-His
Account of the Killing.
I Eddie Davis. who will pay the penalty
/ tomorrow for the crime of murder of
/ which he has been convicted. is bearing up
cheerfully under the sentence that hangs
over him. and which is so soon to be put
/ into execution. He talks cheerfully to his
! fellow prisoners and does not let his pend
/ ing fate prey upon his mind. He has
reached point where he can talk about
his crime and his fate with a smile that
would make one think it was his wedding
/ that was approaching, instead of his
death.
His minister. the Rev. Black OF the Por-
ter church. out at the Five-mile Bend on
the Augusta road. went to see him yester-
day. He has been to the Jail to converse
with the prisoner on several occasions, and
will see him again to-day and tomorrow.
/ To a representative of the Morning News.
Davis yesterday gave the following state
ment of the facts in the case of the kill
ing of Willis Brown to which he says he
will stick to the last:
L was not mad nor angry with him.
/ When 1 went to the house of Mary Bluff,
/ my mother-in-law, Tuesday morning, the
/ day killed him, she told me what he had
/ said. Willis told her that / tried to hurt
my wife on the road near the church on
/ Sunday night; he said l tried TO shoot her
and that l stole his gun for that purpose.
! / could not have done this, as he was in
! his house all day. After she told me what
| ne said, / went to his house 10 ask him
about it. l said: Brown. / want to see
! you a minute He was talking to Davis
Solomons at the time. and / waited until
/ he finished. Then / told him what my
mother-in-law said and asked him what
/ he meant by it. lie jumped on me and
began to fight me There was no reason
for his doing this and ! told him did not
want any fight but wanted only to know
/ why he had been talking about me.
told him 10 90 home until his passions had
Gained down. / went home and saw my
father, and told him about the quarrel
| lie said he'd so down there and see about
it, as he didn't want us lighting, as there
was no reason for it,
Il had razor in my pocket at the time
! Willis jumped on me" Davis added, but
when ] went home l took it out of my
pocket and give it to my mother before go
/ ing back to where he Was. l then told
| my mother 1 was going down to see
whether Willis told straight story about
| the quarrel, and l saw him and my father
| standing in the woods talking. As soon as
| willis saw me coming, from behind pine
tree he picked up his ak and struck t me
| The ak handle was broken by the blow
| against the pine tree. L ran backward
from him, stumbled over his gun, whicf
| l picked up intending to hold it on hin
| until l could stop him. don't know
whether it was cooked or not. / was 81
| nervous l hardly knew what l was doirs
| and the gun went Off and shot him in tn
| head. After that 1 got scared and went VI
on the South Bound railroad to Scotia
! where l stayed until they came and caugh
| me. l didn't deny my name or try L
conceal myself. l had nothing agains
| Brown and no reason for wanting to dc
him any injury. feel that l did wrong t.
| kill him, but ] will stand to it and say L
| the last that 1 never had any intention
! even of hurting him when l went there
We were like brothers and had no reason
to kill him and l did not at any time in
tend to do him any injury
Il have got to die some time" sal
Davis, land l had as soon go now as an
other time. Thank God 1 have made m
peace with him and l am well satisfied
GOD lotted this to be done and L am salts
fed he will hear a sinner mourn. ! than
God he has heard mine. Tell all m
friends to take warning after me and no
to be so quick to fall in love with ever
little thing they see. I've got nothin
against anyobdy, and nobody that l know
of has anything against me. If they hav
l want them to come and tell me befor
my time comes and let US make it up i
peace"
Davis is about q years old, is of a dar
gingerc AXE color, and not a bad counter
ance. He was working, he says, at tn
phosphate works up the river at the tim
of the killing. He says he does not thin
about his fate and for that reason it doe
not worry him. AS he expressed it, "
don't study about it no more than taNn
drink Of water. I've got to die som
time and it might as well be now"