Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1897-09-17

Scroors. seriously wounded, and doc
tor. With the escort Lambert held
brief parley, also with the wounded
man, who, though weak, was full OF
pluck and spirits; his sole anxiety
seemed to b., on the score of his wife
and the shock the news would cause
her. The account given the young Off
Ger of the circumstances leading up to
the facts differed radically from that
with which he and his commander had
thus far been favored. This was to be
expected, as up to this point their sole
informants were either negroes or a
couple of whites Of the Parmelee stamp.
In the north, as a rule, the affair APP
peared to have been Wanton and un-
provoked attack by Walton Scroggs and
his friends upon some negroes who had
been instrumental in securing his ar
rest-nothing short, in fact, of a red
handed act Of vengeance, as was evi-
| dent from the fact that immediately on
his release he and his party, armed to
the teeth, had ridden over to Vernon,
instead of going home, and without
warning or apparent warrant had be-
gun the indiscriminate shooting down
of certain unpopular whites and their
luckless negro supporters.
In the south, except among certain
journals published in the interest of
the radical" republican party, the 9th
er side of the story was promptly cir
culated. capt. Scroggs and friend,
endeavoring to reach home by cir
cutous route so as to avoid trouble after
his release from Jail, where he had
been incarcerated several weeks on
baseless, trllmped-up charges, were set
| upon in the streets of Vernon by
! blackguardly pack of loafers. insulted,
| abused and assaulted. and finally COM
| PEELED in self-defense to draw their re-
volvers, not, however, until they had
been fired upon. One odd circumstance
connected with these perennial shooting
scrapes in those days was the fact that
in footing up the score it was always
found that five negroes to one white was
about the proportion of casualties. This
may have been due to the fact that the
ratio of black to white in every scrim-
mage was about five to one. or else that
the Caucasian, being cooler and long
skilled in the use of arms, was more
effective in close combat. At all events,
when impartially investigated it was
found that this Vernon difficulty diff
fered from it's fellows in no particular
except one-that it "had no political
significance whatever" Walton's
friends, rejoicing with him in his re-
lease from durance vile, did so after the
fashion of the day, and more or less bad
whisky was consumed before the stage
reached Nernon-where more friends
were met, more treats exchanged, and
where, as the devil of mischief would
have it, he happened into the bar of
the old tavern just at the moment when
two or three others, all white, were hap
pening out. One of these was an OLD
time admirer of Esther Walton, man
with whom Scroggs had been at outs
for years. There was a jostie-uninten-
tional-a sheer in the careless apology
and ranking word or two. Peace
makers drew the principals apart. In
deed. Walton was too happy to continue
his journey home and Estherwards to
care to quarrel. But his rivals heart
and brain were burning, and more
liquor made matters worse. The horses
were being brought around from the
stable with the troop of vagrant ne
groes loafng after, when, despite the
efforts of his friends, the half-drunken
man came lurching out of neighboring
saloon and with savage oaths rushed
at Walton, demanding satisfaction"
! Weapons were drawn and shots en-
changed on the instant, and one of the
scattered mob of negroes fell dead with
a bullet through his heart, while for
moment Walton, with smoking pistol,
stood alone, looking down at his as
saiant writing on the sidewalk
| Friends rushed in, carried one man into
the drug store and crowded Walton in
to the tavern bar. It was fair fight"
| He had drawn only in self-defense. His
assailant was to blame. and there was
no man to suggest arrest. But he stood
there pale and unnerved now, covered
with sorrow at the disaster to the man.
who, even though no friend, was popu-
lar, well and widely known. and, ac-
cording to the somewhat accessible
standard of the state and day, "a per-
! feet gentleman 1t was characteristic
of the time and place that nobody pres
cnt happened to think of the dead negro
Among these poor people Walton
Scroggs was, perhaps deservedly I'M
popular. The other man, open-handed,
generous, easy-going, had won not Il
little of their unreasoning yet enthusi-
astic regard. 1t was while Scroggs.
with two advisers, was seated, sad and
trembling, in little room of the tavern
awaiting the result of the doctors en-
animation of his fainting foe that a
citizen came rushing in. "Scroggs,
you'll have to get out of this-quick
There was \ meeting of that old Grant
and Colfax club going on up the street,
and the niggers have rushed in and told
'em you killed Pete Jackson. The
whole gang of EN- are coming.'
Coming? They were already there.
With furious yells and vergeful threats
a surgiDg crowd of negroes came tear
ing along the village street, stopping
! ~ w. =, -