The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-08
FIVE LIVES TAKEN BY A FIEND.
USES BULLETS AND AN AN TO DO
HIS BLOODY WORK.

Begins His Desperate Deeds by At
tempting to Force Negro Girl TO
Marry Him-Pursued by n Posse,
He FIees, and Entering IA House,
RuthIessIy Murders Its Three In
mates-COntinuingH His Flight, He
Shoots a Negro Dead in the Road
and Fires Upon IA Group of Chill
dren.
Charleston. S. c., Jan. IA special to
the News and Courier, from Sumter. s.
c., says: "All Sumter was aroused this
morning when the news flashed over the
wires that Simon Cooper, a negro,
had killed old Mr.. Ben Will
son, his son Wesley and Mrs.
Wesley Wilson. The first information of
the hellish work was received about 8
o'clock, and shortly afterwards Sheriff
Pierson received a telegram confirming
the report. adding further that Cooper had
also killed two negroes-a man and a
girl.
Sheriff Pierson, as soon as possible, or
ganized a posse and chartered a special
train for Lynchburg When the special
reached Mayesville the sheriff received
information that Cooper had been seen TO
pass near the town a short time before,
so the train was stopped at Mayesville,
and part of the posse left for st. Charles
and the others took the public road,
coming towards Sumter. These two par
ties in conjunction with posses from
Mayesville, are securing every foot of the
THE facts in regard to the killing of
the five people, as received in Sumter this
afternoon at $3.50 o'clock, are as follows:
Simon Cooper went to Lynchburg yester-
day evening for the purpose of forcing
young colored girl to marry him. The
girl and her mother by some means es-
capped and ran into the swamp. AS soon
as possible after Cooper's appearance in
the town, a posse was organized and went
in pursuit of him, he having left as soon
as he failed to get the girl. The posse
came within 200 yards of him at one time,
when he shot at them and retreated.
HE forced some negroes to go with
him and kept them with him all night.
He came out of the woods about daylight
and went to the house of a colored man
PEELED Boyle's son to accompany him.
From there he went to the house of the
| Wilson's, about a mile distant, where the
horrible crime was committed.
| "Mr. Baker, who lives near by, says
| he heard considerable shooting, and saw
| Mrs Wilson go to the buggy house with
| Cooper to get the harness and then go
| back into the house, Cooper following her.
! Cooper, a short time afterwards, came out
on the piazza, shooting in every direction,
and forced Boyle's boy to harness the
horse to Mr.. Wilson's buggy. He got in
the buggy and only went a few yards,
when he met colored man named Smith.
He killed him, and as he passed Bakers
house, shot at Bakers children, who were
on the piazza.
"Where he went no one knows at this
time, but he will be found. Hundreds of
brave determined men are securing the
woods in every direction and speedy ven
geance will be meted out to this human
iend.
when the bodies of the Wilson's were
found this morning the old gentleman, rs
years old, was sitting up in the bed with
a shot gun in his hand, his son, Wesley.
was in another bed, his head split while
on the floor was the body of the woman,
with her head smashed in and her throat
cut. Smith, the negro who was killed
on the road, was found with an ak still in
| the back of his neck and his head half
severed from his body.
THE dead people were inoffensive, peace
able citizens. These are the facts as we
were able to gather them from the ex-
cited determined men from Lynchburg
who came into this city this afternoon"