Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-02-17

y
Melted Out-Strong Evidence in a
Bar of Iron-A Midnight Trip by
Officials and Newspaper Men to
the Scene Of the Crime-The Sur
rey Driven by Geo. H. Jackson
Found.
Cincinnati. Ohio, February 16.-The
excitement in this city and vicinity
over the auociOus murder of Pearl
Bryan has been intensified by the as
founding developments made last
night. People had time for reading
the papers to-day. The feeling to-
night is of the silent but ready sort
that portends latent danger. No out
break is anticipated, and a successful
one here would be out Of the question,
with the present efficiency OF the police
and the military. While the feeling
here is of the explosive sort, the eX-
ternal restraint is sufficient to prevent
an explosion. Every other man one
meets expresses the opinion that short
work should be made of these men.
The thinking and strictly law-abiding
element in COvingtOn and Newport
have confidence in the Courts, and they
are depending on the Courts to mete
out justice to the prisoners. 1t is now
probable that they will be taken TO
the Covington Jail. which is very strong
and also well situated
TO RESIST A SIEGE.
The iaiI in Newport is weak The de-
tectives have a clue to the surrey that
was employed to carry the human tigers
and their victim TO the scene of the
slaughter. They think they have found
the surrey on Walnut Hills, and they
are trying to identify it,
Special circumstances that give
weight to the testimony of George H.
Jackson. the negro who drove the sur
rey to Fort Thomas. are the high name
he bears among all his employers. Mr..
Rebstock, a liveryman, for whom he
worked four years, says: He is the
best and truest all round negro l ever
knew. l would trust him with any
thing
=.
avenue. Mt. Auburn, the negrO's pres
ent employer, says:
George II. Jackson is highly intel
ligent. very reticent, has no bad hab-
its. never drinks liquor or uses tObac-
co. is competent, trustworthy and eff
Cient as an emplOye, and is an active
member of Zion Colored Baptist
Church. He takes two daily papers
and is a man of more than ordinary
intelligence. I have tie most complete
confidence in his veracity and integ-
rity."
Major Widdekind and the family
have noticed that he has been
UNUSUALLY SILENT
since the murder, and that he has lost
appetite.
Another circumstance in his favor is
that there is an offer of a reward of $500
for the discovery of the cab driver.
George II. Jackson has not made any
claim for this reward, nor has he even
spoken Of it,
In his statement last night he said
that he found in the surrey instead of
a round hitching weight, a piece Of
railroad rail about a foot long while
waiting for the return of the two men
who had gone away with the girl at
the place of the murder. 1t had two
holes through it. A leather strap was
fastened TO one of these holes; that
he used for a hitching weight and then
ran away as fast as he could run until
he came home.
Right here is the great point in the
chain of circumstances. 1t was just
precisely such a piece of railroad iron
that was wrapped up in JacksOn's
bloody coat when it was fished out of
a sewer catch basin at the corner of
John and Richmond streets several
days ago What
EMPHASIZES THIS EVIDENCE
is the fact that his coat being wrapped
around a piece of railroad iron has new
er been mentioned in the newspapers.
Another circumstance that supports
George II. JacksOn's story that the con-
yeyanCe used was a surrey, and that
George II. Jackson abandoned il in
fright on that tragic night, is the fact
that a gentleman of Newport driving
toward Fort Thomas in a buggy on
o'clock met a surrey, drawn by gray
horse, with two men on the front seat
and collided with it. He got out and
the men in the surrey drove on towards
Newport at furious rate. This mans
name is not given. but he will be on
hand when required as a witness.
To clinch the mater. a procession OF
carriages containing policemen and re
porters started at a quarter to one to
Fort Thomas last night George II.
Jackson drove the leading carriage.
The procession struck the murderers'
route az Vine and Third streets. and
with George II. Jackson as a guide fol-
lowed it TO
THE BLOODY GROUND.
A halt was made at the Newport bridge
toll booth TO seek another link in the
awful chain that binds these men to
the guilt of Pearl Bryran's death. Toll
Collector Tarvin said he remembered
the surrey driven by a cOlored man
passing over the bridge about O'Clock
on the morning of February l. 1t con-
tainsd q man and a woman and there
was q white man with the negro driver
on the seat The procession was led
by George H. jackson through unfre-
Quented streets in Newport and by a
long. circuitous route of mud roads in
the darkness under a cloudy sky and
finally onto the Alexandria pike near
Fort Thomas. After driving a short
distance George II. Jackson stopped
just where a blind lane led out from the
road Here said he. is where they
took the lady, and telling me TO turn the
carriage around and wait" George