Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-18
WOODS ARE FULL OF EN-
Posses Securing Baldwin COun-
tyin Every Direction,
BUT ALL ON BLIND TRAILS
Several Arrests Which Did Not Hold-Very I'm
fortunate Misrepresentation in the Case
of Mr.. Whathen.
Mobile Herald.

M0Dlle f1efdlu.
Since o'clock Friday morning and up
to 7 o'clock yesterday evening, when the
bay steamer Heroine left Battles wharf,
almost every man residing within ra-
dius of ten miles of Tatumville had been
up in arms searching for clue that
would lead to the arrest of the man VINO
SO cruelty mistreated little 5-year-old
Melville ]. Tucker. Thus far their assid-
uous search has been of no avail.
A representative of the Register was
dispatched to the scene of the crime
Friday afternoon. On account OF the
storm of Friday night telegraphic com
munjca ton was cut off ana nothing au-
thentic was received until his return on
the steamer Heroine last night at y
o'clock.
EARLY Friday morning Mr.. Tucker
wrote a letter to Sheriff Slau8 hter Oh
Baldwin county reporting the tact Oh tne
crime 1t will be remembered that MI.
Tucker brought his little child to Moplie
Friday morning.
The tugboat Rosalia, with Special Of
ficers Morris and McGoyern, went to Bat
ties Friday, arriving there at p; H.
Thompson, chief deputy sheriff or Bald
win county, and his deputies, Messrs
Hall. Young and Bush. Constable sta
pleton of Daphne also went to Battle s.
At the instigation of the Mobile othcers
Pink Snapp, alias Pink Smith. colored,
was arrested. Smith is the man who was
found sleeping in a bath house about
mile north of the residence of Mr.. Tuck-
er. The negro lives on Fly creek about
three miles north of Tatumville. lie was
subjected to a most rigid examination
and released by the officers, notwith-
standing the fact that button CORE
spending to those on his clothes was
found on the back gallery of Mr.. Tuck
er's house One button was missing from
Smiths garments. The officers were of
the opinion that this incident was salts
factorily explained. Smith is young
negro about "a years of age, and severaI
citizens said that he does not bear good
reputation. He is rather stoutly built
and of a bright yellow color.
The Search Friday Night.
At $50 o'clock Friday afternoon Depu-
ties Hall and Young arrested near Bat
ties Wharf young negro named James,
alias Jet, Howard. He answered the
description of the man who entered the
Catholic orphans home about an hour
before the assault on the BABY girl was
made Howard was taken to the Or
phans' home, and as the two little girls
whose room was entered could not iden-
tify him, he was released.
The bay steamers, which arrived at
Battles Wharf before nightfall, brought
great crowds of men from Mobile, ana
they lost no time in offering their SER
vices to the officers. The searching par
ties were in the woods until a late hour.
The home of Mr.. Tucker was made mead
quarters.
to the home of John Denton young mu-
Iatto. He was arrested and brought to
headquarters, but after careful exam
6nation he, too, was released.
A few minutes after 8 o'clock that night
rain began to descened in torrents and
+l,a given Temporarily. "A
meeting of the posses was held In the
woods adjacent to the Tucker homestead
and it was agreed that all who could pos
sibly do so should report at that place
the next morning Saturday at Z O'CLOCK
in order to perfect an organization.
Then, through the kindness of Mr. Nc
Donnell local missionary preacher, the
Register man was permitted to use MS
buggy and horse to drive to Point Gear
n distance of about four miles. The rain
was drenching, the night intensely dark
and the route led through a dismal
swamp. When Point Clear was reached
about 1890 o'clock 1t was found that the
gusts of wind and beating rain had play
ed havoc with the wires of the Gulf Tele-
graph company, and communication was
cut off. An effort was made to drive to
point where the main wire could be
.tapped." but the denseness of the night
made this impracticable.
Saturdays Developments.
What must De ceRdru6u DIS d lllOot I'll
fortunate incident came to head Satur-
day morning. On leaving Battles on
Friday Mr. Tucker requested his friend,
Mr.. G. w. Wathen, prominent cotton
buyer of Mobile, to see after the mouse
and the remaining children, Mr.. Wathen
being summer visitor to. Mr.. fuckers
house. This request kept Mr. Wather
in and about the house when all othel
men folk were active in the search. ano
this fact aroused the suspicion OF tne
CNrrnt INF
course soon swelled into accusation, ano
by yesterday morning the innocent op-
iect of their attention was followed to
the wharf, whittier he went to send by
the boat a package to Mr.. Tucker, py
quite a crowd, who appealed to the Of
ficers not to let him leave the place
Then for the first time Mr.. Whaten
learned that he was suspected or COM
hitting the crime. He behaved very
we'll in this trying moment and repaired
TO the Tucker house, where ne submit
ted to the inquiry the same as had beer
put to the others In this he was Joined
by Messrs. Hall. Ledyard, Bush and 9TH
ers, who said that as white man wa:
supposed to have committed the crime
they wished to be examined along will
Mr. Whaten. There was not the leas
evidence against any of them. Mr.
Whaten was, of course, the center of in
terest, but he said that he was anxious
that the people should satisfy them
selves, He was glau TO SUBMIT " tile
investigation. The release was promptly
made.
Greatly exaggerated reports of what
had happened reached the city by the
morning boat. All that was then known
was that Mr.. Wather had been arrested
SO the report said. An hour later came
word by wire that he had been released
Mr.. Tucker, at his home on Dearborn
street. was greatly shocked when h
heard of the terrible accusation. of hi
friend. He expressed himself as anxious
TO go to Battles that he might assur
Mr. Wathen of his confidence. The tug
boat was placed at his disposal and at l
O'Clock she left the Mobile and Ohio frui
wharf. Those in the party were Mr.
Tucker. Mr.. William L. Ross. Capt. Pc
ter Burke, Lieut.. Edward Rondeau ant
two newspaper men. While on the tug
boat Mr.. Tucker expressed his deep re
gard for Mr.. Wathen in these words
II wouli make his bond with my life.'
The Rosalia arrived at Battles at p
M The party at once repaired to Ia
tumville and to the home of Mr.. Tucker
1t was learned that Mr. Wathen had beer
out with a posse all day searching tia
n, in IN a.