The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-08
MOUNTAIN MURDER
TWO MEN BLOWN UP, ALL ON AC-
COUNT OF A WIDOW.
A Tilted Lever Lifts the Cabin in Which
They Slepr w tn Cynsnn te The
I rial Now Proceeding.

Lenoir. y. c., June Especial .)-Ou
Anthony's Greek, "a tributary of the
Gregg prong of Johns River, under the
shadow of Grandfather Mountain. three
miles west of Globe POstOffice. in Cald-
well county. situated among steep
mountains, some distance from any public
road, William c. Moore and James d.
Moore erected portable steam saw mill
one mile from any residence. Walter
Moore and Dallas Bowman managed the
mill for the company.
On tn eevening of June 4, 1896, only a
few logs remained to be sawed, which
were to have been completed early the
next morning, and the mill to be moved
to another place during the day.
The young men had erected a small
shanty to cook and sleep in near the mill
and after the hands left it is supposed
they went to bed and TO sleep.
About midnight a terrible explosion was
heard for miles around, but no one could
locate it, owing to the conveyance of the
mountains. 1t was talked of next morning
at the breakfast table by the different
families, who finally concluded that it
must have been thunder or a mountain
slide as large rocks sometimes give way
and 60 era sinli9 down the side of the
mountains and make considerable noise.
On the morning of June ;, when the
hands arrived they found everything
quiet; no fires had been started in the
furnace. no one was near. On investiga-
ton they found the shanty wrecked and
among the debris the Lodies of Walter
Moore and Dallas Bowman, fearfully mu
tilated and cold in death. They further
found that dynamite had been placed on a
log Immediately under the corner of the
building in which they slept, and the ex-
plosion had wrecked the building and
thrown the bodies to the diagonal corner
of the room and were nearly concealed by
the rubbish of the explosion.
The neighborhood was soon informed
of the assassination, and the coroner sent
for, but owing to the distance, twenty
four miles from the county seat, he nor
the officers arrived at the scene until late
the next night. A jury was summoned and
an investigation made by the coroner.
physician and jury, the bodies taken out
of the debris and an adjournment made
until next morning.
The jury on assembling next morning
decided to hold the investigation isolated
from the crowd, for prudential reasons.
and only one witness or informer allowed
to be present at time. When interro-
gated as to enemies or threats made by
any one, from various persons, the infor-
nation was given that Simon Gragg. OF
the community, had threatened the life
of Dallas Bowman, because he was the
rival in the affections of widow by the
name of Burfield, who had given Gragg
the ''mitten' and had accepted Bowman,
or had intimated that she intended to do
so. There were so many circumstances
brought to light by the investigation that
the jury agreed that Simon Gragg was
the assassin and the sheriff was ordered
to quietly arrest him before the decision
was known and hurry him off to Jail. for
fear that he would be lynched by the in
muriated crowd, as he was present and
had taken an active part in pnearthing
the mystery.
1t is not generally believed that the
assassin intended to kill young Moore.
though it is said they had slight mis-
understanding about same work a wear
before. About half the time it WINS his
custom to go to his fathers and spend the
night, and return early in the morning TO
his work
With this epitonne of the case. the trial
commenced ON Thursday morning before
His Honor Judge Hoke, who is looking
Continued on fourth page.)