The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-01-13
MASS MEETING CEN
SURE.

az Cooner under the circumstances, was no
;aat;6able. aud outrageous. 1t is blot on
me fair fame of Sumter County, within whose
borders lynching never before occurred.
Of conrse Cooper was c 6eDd, devil 10
carna,e with tlgerish lust for blood, raw.
;sher of female virtue, and richly merited
death. but be should have been left for the
law to deal with. His guilt was uoQuestloo-
Cd. he was in the hands of nearly hundred
armed men, making his escape Impossible,
and that he would have been legally hanged
was as sure as fate"
The above paragraphs. which ap-
peared in this paper on Friday. gives,
in nut she'll, the deliberate opinion OF
the editor of this paper /; and the
logger be considers the matter the
clearer and stronger becomes bis coDvlc-
ton that be was justi6able 10 condemn
,ne the manner 10 which Cooper was
killed. This opinion was not formed
from evidence obtained at second hand
and at long range, for be was an
eyewitness when Cooper was shot
dowo at Jake Dargan's house. ln fact
he was within three feet of Cooper
when he was shot
If any one 10 the party bad reason to
feel outraged and iufamed against this
siendish murderer, We had. for we we're
kfresh from the seeaee of the murder OF
Wilson family. and that scene in
Is sickeuiDg. bloody horror vas
,eesh in oar mind At the moment
that Cooper came out of the bouse the
imnnlse to shoot him down was strong
withia us. but froll that moment to
this We have never ceased to be tbank-
ful that impulse did not gain the mas
tery. for had we shot Cooper as be
stood surrounded by crowd OF men.
hands above his head. cursiog and
sblaspb emiog his capsors though he was,
ve could never have felt other than as
murderer in our own mind, in the eyes of
Ged, and in the eyes of all law-abiding
aud rigb: thinking men.
n order that there shall be ne mis-
understanding or miscouception of the
matter We will review the career of
Cooper ffsm his first crime and defiance
Of the law at Magnolia 90 Friday, JAN
nary Let, and his bold and unopposed
re,urn to that community at intervals
during the following week. to the murder
.alsbe Wilson family and bis suose-
queo, capture and killiOg Oear this
city. m..,,,;.
Is related by the Magnolia correspond
emit Of the Columbia Register as fol-
Tvs:
MAGNOLIA. S. c., Jan 4.-On last
ay at Magnolia, a small town
,ynche's River. located on the
ogton. Columbia and Augusta
q Sumter County, Simon Coop
-. s<ed, created a row, shot a
number 81 colored persons, discharg-
;nr h;s pistol He reloaded. shot
and killed Grant Davis. colored
He then shot into respectable white
widow lady's house. Alter ';'e Fghtt
Awas over, there were six c''ored d
I,ersons wounded, several severely it
Ia: fatally. 1t seems that Cooper re-
(aded his pistol twice and shot about
een times. He then went about
NO miles and deliberately took from
colored mans house double bar
relied shotgun tie returned to
MAGNOLIA. terrorized the people OF
the town, de6ed arrest, captured
the town. made every mer-
chant in town but one shut
up shop and seek SAFETY upoer e.,
thei, counters and go out their PACK
doors He was monarch-o OF all he
surveyed, held up the East bound
passenger train, kept passengers from
leaving the town, and then quietly
walked aboat unmolested and is now
at large. He has been reported to
he within few miles of Magnolia
every day and so far no attempt has
heen made to arrest him Some OF
the citizens still look pale. What a
shame
Comment is unnecessary A Nag
nol;a man tells the story aod tells IT IT
we'll; and in the telling makes 1t as
plain as daylight that Cooper vas re-
cognizsd by the people of that 00"nno-
ity as desperate aud defiant outlaw
who did not hesitate at any crime. Ye'
.ooor1 thew saw in their resO-