Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-11-16

mean any harm or want any trouOle
and was not looking for any. Tom
Tolbert, my brother, was at Phoenix
because my first cousin, Henderson,
who was to be there, could not 60, his
mother having died the night before.
l voted at Abbeville court house for
my opponent, Asbury Latimer, and
aud heard there from the telegraph
operator that Tom had been shot at
Phoenix. 1 started for his house to
look after him.
My father, John R. Tolbert, had
come up from Charleston to vote. At
ter he voted at Verdery he heard Tom
was shot and drove out to his house,
taking little Steve, son of his brother
Elias, who had come with him to take
the horse back. So far from expecting
any fight, my father thought when he
drove up to Toms house that the mon
he saw there were Toms friends. Steve
told him better for the boy saw man
with gun in the front door of the
house who he knew was not Toms
friend. This man bad gone to Toms
bed and drawn the gun down on him
as he lay on his back gasping for breath
and had threatend to murder him then,
but my aunt, Mrs. Henderson, threw
herself on the bed and said she would
take the bullets too. Some man had
the manhood to stand up then and say
he would not see Tom murdered in
bed. I thank him for that. They began
to shoot at my father as soon as they
saw him. They hurt him badly. The
artery in his>le temple was cut by d
small shot and his back is full of buck
shot from his neck to his waist. Steve,
the boy, is badly shot but no bones are
broken. Their lives were saved by the
horse turning at the shots and running
away. The buggy is shot all to pieces
and the horse is hurt. the boy fell out
of the buggy. My father overlook a
'nigger' who got in with him and drove
him towards Verdery. met them a
mile outside of Verdery, on my way to
Tom. My father didn't know me at
first. He was as bloody as slaughter
ed hog. I took him to friends house
at Verdery and sent back for Steve.
Next morning, Wednesday, l carried
my father to my house.
sent Doctor Neuffer on to see about
Tom and two other doctors looked after
my father. Those doctors are men.
Neuffer is a man right.
(Here Tolbert wept freely, as he did
afterward whenever he alluded to his
father, brother or family or those who
befriended them.)
Doctor Neuffer told me Tom had one
chance in ten to live. I reckon he is
dead by now. From my house sent
note to Sheriff Nance asking for
protection. He wrote me back a cool
note that he could not come and could
send nobody.
want to say that Tom expected no
trouble at Phoenix. He did not have
ballot box. He was out on store
piazza taking affidavits and putting
them in the box. He had permission
from the owner of the store to be there.
Ethridge came over from Cages, an
other voting place, and made the trou-
Bile. He kicked Toms table over and
struck him and another man hit Tom
with stick. My brother did not even
have pocket knife. He picked up
bis box and fought with it. That was
all he had. Then the shooting began.
Tom was shot with buckshot and small
shot. They had Winchesters and pis.
tolls; but some green boys had them
who didn't know how to shoot. Some
of them killed Ethridge. The Negroes
had no arms and ran when the shoot
ing began. Tom walked of when
these boys had shot out all their am
munition. A Negro picked him up
on the road where he fell and carried
him home.
Joe Tolbert, my other brother, came
to my house Wednesday through the
woods. I carried him and my father
to a little station on the Seaboard Air
Line near my house Wednesday night,
tagged the train and put them aboard
for Chester. told Joe to get father
to Charleston to the hospital if be
could. He had two shot guns and
would have defended father to the last.
1 hear they have been arrested at Ches-
ter and don't expect to hear anything
else but that they have been taken
back to Greenwood and lynched.
Tolbert seemed to be rather sorry
that Sheriff Gilreath had no warrant
against him as he said he knew the
sheriff would not allow him to be
lynched.