The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-01

H., DIVA n%l NdS StOI aIt'A AAO
| tho time Louis Steele swore he was
81 great many thought the man
con in Eyerett's store and by LOUIS
Ston1a WAS the proper man after gellins
Matte Coles description straight. VI.
| Mcdonald and Mr.. Taylor and Louis
steele | think all agreed tfGat Wleh NJ
left Evcrett's store he went III me u
| rection of Hinson's Livery Stable THIS
man was John Evans. None OF Gs
know his name at that time, but search
was made by Mr.. Mcdonald, MI. IaSlor
and others for the man seen III LNefetl
store. i'm consequence OF his having useu
Mr.. Hornes name III Capt. Everett
store it was thought Mr.. Horne might
give us information concerning MN. BUT
we did not communicate with Mt.
Horne for some hours. After hearing
that some negro had gone rapidly to-
wards Lilesville | sent Mr.. Horne the
following teIegram: Lookout for gln-
cercake negro with o~veralls on, left here
This morning. Rape, have him arrest
ed Mr.. Horne received this telegram
in Lilesville at two twenty nine p. III.
John Evans is not a coal black negro,
but about fills the description in this
telegram. Miss Matte did not use the
expression ''gingercake colored' in my
presence that l remember, but |
thought it expressed what she meant
by mot plum black, and not yellow
The color of Il "gingercake" as they are
cooked by many people in this county
and eaten with enjoyment, is about the
color of John Evans. The man
eeen in Everett's store and
many other suspected characters
were pursued, we were not experts on
theeXact shade Of negro complexion,
then as We have since become.
Matte Coles description was not the
only reason for the arrest. Two of the
arrests the defendants counsel try to
make much out of, the arrests of Bald
Allen, Il sixteen year old white boy, who
Mir. Dockery calls a bad white man
came about i'll this way: There was
some talk whispered that Allen might
have committed the crime, as he was Il
bad boy; Il Mr.. Harper claimed to have
seen Allen running down the hill from
the scene of the crime while the girls
were screaming. The colored people
and some Of their particular friends
seemed to be earnest i'll their opinion
that Allen had committed the crime;
upon hearing of this. in company with
Mr.. Leak, the president Of the Pee
Dee factory. | went to see Matte Cole
about it,: We asked her if it was posi-
BILE for her to be mistaken about its be-
ing Il negro; she SAID it was not; | asked
her II it could rave been Bald Allen:
she said certainly not, that she knew
Bald Allen as we'll as any body and
that it was not him, she seemed to think
the idea absurd, but the talk about Bald
Allen continued among the colOred peo-
pie and L few whites, | concluded that
as We We're arr5sting all others who
were suspected We ought to take him
up too and satisfy those who charged
him with it. At this time l feared Mat
tie Cole would not be able to identity
the man but | never doubted, nor did
any other man who heard her talk about
it, that if she did identify the criminal,
that she would be truthful and correct
i'll 1T; she SAID all the while that she
would know him, that she could see
him all the time in her mind. but I
feared she was mistaken: SO we did not
trust to this %entierly but pursued other
theories at the same time we hoped
she might be able to Identify the right
man. In spite OF Matrices saying Allen
WAS not the man and being somewhat
impressed myself with the suspicion
against Allen, we decided to have Aliens
S%ureties to surrender him on a charge
of assault and battery for which he
was under bond to appear at court; this
wills uoll6 ana ne WIS taken 10 1(dlc1Tl
for safe keeping. The morning after his
arrest it was discovered that Mr.. Harper
was mac with Allen, and had been
thrashed by Mr.. Cole. Il short while
before, that he had tried to indict Allen
a few days before for some trivial Of
Tense. that the course he Gained to have
lseen linn running was directly opposite
to the direction in which Miss Lille
/ Cole SWore her assailant ran and which
the tracks, clearly to be seen, showed
!, her asSailant did run, that Mr.. Harper
, Il very old man with imperfect sigh
claimed to nave seen him, a distance
of about a hundred and fifty yards
Ihis, mind you. at a time Mr.. Dockery
says was lust before day when Miss
Matte Cole, according to Mr.. Dockery
f unable to identify Il man she was right
: tat, this SHOWS the Inconsistency o.
| Evans friends who believe Allen tC
l have committed the crime: and by tn.
testimony of Mrs. Infer, a lady of unmis
takably good character, that she heart
| the screaming Of the girls and ran t
Mrs. Aliens, Balls mother, to get some
; one to run down to the screaming girl.
? and find out what that trouble was
: that Alrs. Allen said that Ball was no
{ up and was SO s~leepyheaded that sht
t did not know whether they could sc
1 him awake or not. that while they wer,
talking, she saw Ball, through the win
/ dow of the room in which he slept. IN
. and putting on his shoes, that passer
very 500 informed them what was TIL,
matter and Ball was not sent to tn
i girls. his mother said that after Mrs
Infer left, Ball ate his breakfast an,
| vert down OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES E0I
went from home down town. and TIL,
way Mr.. Harper claimed to have see1
i HIM coming from, or near the way
o in consequence of this testimony. Mis-
5 Matte Coles roiteration. that she kne,
it was not Bal Allen who made the as
l sault. the officer who carried Ball t
g Raleigh was wired TO bring him back
II The Cole girls all knew this boy well
and in my opinion. if he had attempts
n to assault Miss Lille, they would hay
S jumped on him and given him Il goo
thraShing. AS to the other arrest, tina
of John FOrepaugh, known as the Banj
e ECKER. 1T came about in this way: O
the day Of the crime we learned that h
had been loafing around a wood sho
near Mr.. Coles residence, and had bee