The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-15
KILLED IN A FREE AND EASY.
WILLIS SALES STABBED To THE
HEART By MATTE SANDERS.

The Row started During "A Dance in
the Free and Easy in which Mat
tie Wanted TO Take the Place of
Theresa jenkins, Sales Mistress.
IL Was Renewed After the Place
Closed with Fatal ResuIts-The
Woman Hides Herself From the
Authorities.
Willis Sales, a young mulatto. about %
years old. was stabbed and killed about
1918 O'Clock this morning by a negro wo-
man named Matte Sanders.
The fight took place in free and easy
run by p. f. Dewberry at Reynolds and
President street There was negro dance
going on there all the evening up to mid
night, the closing hour. Some fifty or
sixty negroes were gathered in the place,
dancing and imbibing frequently Of the
usual class OF intoxicating beverages that
are dispensed in such places.
Sales was dancing with the rest Of the
crowd, and so was Theresa Jenkins, his
mistress Theresa was dancing with an
other fellow, however, and thereby hangs
the tale. If she had been tripping the
light fantastic with Willis, the little Diff
hculty might never have occurred
Matte wanted to take Theresa's place
IN the set that was called shortly after IL
o'clock. The musicians were about to strike
up the tune, and there was no time to be
lost. Matte demanded that Theresa step
down and out and let her dance the set
with the fellow she had. Theresa. refused
natly, and her ultimatum brought on war
Matte pitched into her. and two or three
more of the women in the joint took up
the fracas, until Willis Sales seeing that
his mistress was about to get the worst
OF 1t took hand.
Seeing that the row was about to terrnin-
ate seriously, one of the assistants at the
free and easy separated the participants
and the dance went on. At 12 O'Clock the
free and easy was closed and Willis went
about to seek Matte Sanders for having
attacked the Jenkins woman. Matte was
a resident of the free and easy on the up
per floor, and he remained in the hall and
called for her. She came out and a quarrel
ensued over what had taken place in the
dance hall.
There are several conflicting statements
as to the progress of the quarrel. Some
of the witnesses say that Sales cut at the
Sanders woman three or four times, where
upon she pulled out a knife and stabbed
him to protect herself. Others say that
Sales had a knife open in his pocket. but
did not pull 1t out. Joe Burney. one of the
simply saw them quarreling in the hall
ana that the Sanders woman pulled out
one OF them little knives like women
carry and stabbed Sales without any
other provocation than words He saws
ne saw no knife in Sales hand nor were
there any signs of one.
sales was stabbed right over the heart
the knife entering two or three inches. He
tell almost in the doorway. and was picked
up by Joe Burney and others and carried
10 his home, at 5lH Reynolds street, where
ne died in about fifteen minutes. He was
a laDorer on the cotton wharves. The
Sanders woman left right after the cutting
and successfully hid herself from the
police. The policeman on that beat seemed
TO know nothing about the affair and so
tar as could be seen, was not making any
particular effort to investigate it, as it was
about O'Clock before the police depart
ment had any accurate information as to
the place where the difficulty occurred
The coroner was informed of the killing.
but had not arrived at 1870 O'Clock, and
the negroes at the house would not make
any investigation to see whether or not
Sales mad knife in his pocket. The kill
ing viii probably be thoroughly investi-
gated to-day.