Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-08-01

| Mary Alternately and pokey Barnes khieu
her. and I held her" Never had 'hs
| writer seen the witness when ne see,neu
TO realize his real situation as ne oio Nv
| this particular time. Neither does he ~
pect To see him realize II any more lu'S'
! even when standing on the fatal Trap.
| THE WHITE MAN THEORY.
psmembor that I'D 10 this date dSth OF
/ JULY not one word had ever been ns",u
| Of n white man az being implicated III
| the murder
THE RICHMOND SOLDIERS.
AZ truth now compes the writer 70
| refer to the military. let him las an oiO
soldier. and one who thinks he knows
| the duty of a SOLDIER add his testimony
TO the soidierly manner in which every
| officer and private performed every uu'S
Of the soldier, in the darkness OF night
when they were expecting danger. IN the
storms and downpour OF rain. In the
scorching sun of midday. While many
OF them were sick from the change Oh
water and dieO, and were hlrely able 10
walk their beats. they stood TO ther
posts Of duty as might have been eN-
pected only from old regulars OF many
campaigns. -.
And oh, had they been content with
faithfully performing the duties of the
soldier and leaving other matters to De
adjusted by the civil authorities alone
how much better II would have been for
both citizens and soldiers.
The trial of Pokey Barnes was now
pending. and although she had been nou-
ned DAYS before 10 have all Of her wiz
pesses summoned, and had replied that
she had done so, and that they were all
present: yet. while her trial was pro-
crossing she desired five other wit
nesses summoned 10 testify in hsr Dehah.
Some Of these witnesses residing In the
county OF Charlotte, and one in the county
OF MeckIenburg) Judge Orgain' ever
ready TO give the prisoners every oppor-
tunity Of defence, promptly suspehueu
court. and ordered all the witnesses that
she desired TO be brought In. when oidef
was obeyed, although requiring TWO uaSs
TO do IT,
Let II be remembered that the prisoners
preyious to this time, had been taken
out Of Jail and placed in the charge OF
the military. who had IN opportunity OF
conversing with them Ghe prisoDecs), anu
for days past the writer had seen anu
noted the strong prejudice growing IN 'he
minds of the military, and on TINS paf'cu-
lar day (the 18th day Of Juiy) he had see"
the prisoner. Solomon MaraDle' 'uu'Ihs
the recess Of COURT. surrounded by
and caught enough Of this conversation
To satisfy him that an earnest effort was
being made by the military TO induce Inc
prisoner. Solomon Marable 10 deny mat
the women were implicated in the muIdeT'
The writer stated these facts to Jonh
Robertson and f.. a. Clements two deputy
sheriffs), when six or seven mhes from lilv
courthouse on their way TO summon VIII
neEses for Pokey Barnes on the evening
before the white man theory was
sprung upon the people.
CERTIFICATE OF Z. a. CLEMENTS.
l append the following:
This is to certify that on Thursday. the
18th of July. this being the day preVl-
Gus to the day on which solomon mara
bic made statement implicauns
white man In the murGer Of Mrs. Pollard,
II. G. Gregory stated 10 the undersigned
in the presence Of John Robertson taat
he had seen before leaving the court
house that the military were bringing
powerful pressure 20 bear on solomon
Marable to induce him TO acquit the wo-
men: and we may be prepared on reach
ing the courthouse tomorrow morning
To hear a statement from solomon deny
ing that the women were implicated IN
the murder at all.
(SgneD +. A. CLEMhN >.
on reaching the courthouse at $3.50
Friday morning. July 18th. we found all
confusion over the startling statement
from Solomon Marable that the women
had nothing 10 do with the murder OF
Mrs. Pollard. and that white man was
his accompice This was the first time
the white-man theory had even been
heard Of, and. in the opinion Of the writer
but for the military, never would have
been heard of.
II so happened that the very man that
Solomon claimed as having been his ac-
cOmplice in the crime had already been
proved by Pokey Barnes's own witnesses
TO have been on his farm at work miles
off at the very hour the murder was
committed. In fact. the whole statement
as TO the white man bore unmstakaole
signs of recent manufacture, ana carry
In the cross-examination Solomon broke
down and confessed that every WORD ne
had said about The white man was a ne
and that he had been induced TO MAKE
this statement by three soldiers while
in a room in the courthouse the night
before. He said the soldiers told him
that they knew "A white man was in IL.
and il he (Solomo1) would put ii on the
white man and clear the women they
would see him safe.
WHAT CAPTAIN CUNNINGHAM SAID.
The writer had hoped that it would
never become necessary to publish these
facts; but the time has come when the
truth must and shall be known. let It
hurt whom IL may. Immediately after
this confession Of Soomon's that the
white-man story was ali lie), Captain
Cunningham said TO the writer: Il had
believed that the women We're innocent:
now. / believe they are guilty. and every
~ l. Iap oil nd he qTna
effect seemed to have been produced on
the minds Of the jurors-vz.: that of
STRENGTHENING their belief in the guilt o.
the women.
This attempt to saddle this crime on
an innocent white man and acquit two
murderesses (as may well be imagined)
was not without its effect on the minds
of the citizens. and this was the time
heretofore referred TO when there was
danger that the indignation of the people
could not be controlled and had this
fiend chung to that statement about the
white man few hours longer the con-
sequences might have been serious, in
deed
The white-man story is known by the
people of this community to be utterly
false in every particular, and ds so pre-
posterous and farfetched as not to cause
single serious thought in the mind OF
any intelligent man.
THE WINKING MAN.
So much has been said about a man
who made signs TO the witness. Solomon
Marable, that the whole truth shall here
be given. The time this is said TO have
occurred was just after Solomon had
confessed that every word he had uttered
connecting a white man with the murder
was a lie. and Just while he was stating
TO the jury that Mary Alternately and