Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-12-04
SAM HALLS CASE.
Only One Witness Finished With T. !
Whiimnre on the Stlni

p. Lee on the bench the large ~oori
was filed with interested Spectators
gathered Ia witness what promises to he
one of the most sensational murder
trials in the history of the county. that
of sam Hall. the negro saloon Keeper
charged with the murder Of one sold;e.
and The wounding of another.
The entire morning was occupied with
prein:naries-ti hearing of various !.
motions to uuash. and the empannellinc
of the <Airy. The court then adjourned
for dinner and in the afternoon the
commonwealth put its first witness on
the stand the coroner Who had charge
of the case. DIR. Is. Z. Gary. who test,-
fled rs to the inquest ana the fact that
the subject Of the highest cam. To his
death as the result of = pistol s;lo,
wound I.. .u..
The next witness was e. L. whitmore.
who saw the shooting. enc CT tho States
most Important witnesses. He testified
tat Il" was coming down I'll" hill at the
time towar! Ivy avenue. ard Was aboN'
half way between Phi! Browns bar arG
Sam Halls place. He saw Tie three SOL
diers. They We're DRUM; ara were max
ing for the street lie saw Hall lr.vil <
toward Newport News and chsssed ur
as he got opposite the men who We're
.ta,:GiG:, with arms nntStretchod g"s-
tiru!atifg. lie thought he heard Ea.i
tt! item to so away and then lie san
i,al drive OF. art! rs he went. he raised
himself UP, put his pistol o. III ba:N:
81 the buggy and fired. the shot striking
ore of the soldiers IN this foot. i;e fred
again. this si:ot. according to tie VII
ness, striking Andrews. killing him. lie
did no; hear 4 third SHOT. Hall WAS
about fifteen feet from tie men wien h
fired the first sho, and about twenty
rcet When he fired the second.
Mir IT, NJ Lett. who, with Ar K. r.
tr,p Np iHf,- ooh.
the witness and subjected him 70 4 So
we're cross-..Nan1ation. iht cour, 0u-
journcG With this WITNESS still on ll.e
stand ""
MIR. Lett has associated with HIM in
i'm the conduct Of the commonwealth s
case Air. r. ST. George WILCOX. til.
prisoner is brought 10 NEWPORT News
cvcrs- night for SAFE. keeping and tal-ca
M to court the next day by 4 deputy
sheriff
A review Of the crime With which sam
Hall is charged. Will be interesting.
Private .,lonzo Andrews Of Company !.
Tooth Indiana, was killed outright. aud
Private Jacob Admire. of the same
company. was wounded in the left foot
By Sam Hall in l3loodtcld on the alter
noon Of Thursday, August is.
News CT the shooting spread like Wild
| fire. and for several hours It looked as
| ii Judge Lynch would preside over the
eise, ~ W.. - ,.,n ~,
ni,,' M'''nn ~ rn,! an n,nn,t,,,-
| ity to avengc the murder of their COM
| rade, but the men finally Gained down
| when they found they could not lay
their hands on Hall.
| ~, 80, ~, nf nn,,,n, IN -bo,,r
passes, and ii seems that they went to
Bocdieli. All three of the men had
! been drinking. but volne l.and.f hXleaLed
| So that they stagsl.:ed' or ;tpI,egred "a
| have lost ccntrcl rs their mental fac
ulties; in other words. they knew what
they We're doing. They went into Hairs
place to get some beer
| Hall, it appa.rs. was NOT in the
saloon at the time, but came iii a:
| moment later. Some words passed be-
| tween two Of the soldiers ana the
proprietor. but Andrews was NOT lmplj-
! ;,;,tcC. On the other hand, he Is said
| to have used his best efforts to
| uniet down his comrades. Hall refused
| to draw the beer. He went behind the
| bar picked up a 2a-c:,libre revolver
| and then cursed the soldiers, according
to the evidence at the coroner's jury.
He ordered Ham James, Il piano play
CT in his saloon. to close the door.
Andrews eucfravared to restore quiet
He told Hall he did no, come into his
place with the intention of creating n
disturbance. and asked his comrades to
so our With him. Andrews then walk
cd up to Phcihl caught him by the arm
ana took him out. The other man. i,
| is said, was elected by the negro
! y few minutes later Hall! With Piano
Player James, came out of the bar
room and got int, the formers buggy.
which was standing o.! the outside.
Exactly what transuiicd afterwards
Will have to be determined at the trial
now in progress. All that is positively
known to the public is that Hall shot
Andrews and Admire and that the
! folI.:er died almost instantly from his
injuries.
There are several conflicting stories
as to Halls conduct sitter reaching the
street and the precise cause that led
To the shooting.
Il is said that Vail started off at &
lively rate i'll his buggy and yelled to
the soldiers, who We're standing in the
road, 10 keep away.
Some reports stated that the soldiers
took hold Of Halls horse and attempt
cd to climb into the buggy. Other re-
ports had it that. without word the
negro raised up in his vehicle. whipped
out his revolver and fired tire. shots
at the soldiers. AT any rate the shoot