The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-01
Is Evans Guilty.?
Review of the Testimony by Cameron Morrison, Esq.
Additional Affidavs.


af the world, >Nurc positively amt hru.-
lv that >h. onkcd 4. hrr sister aS~tll
ant good and that John Evans MS
the man. Ny recollection Of " - Mat
tic coles testimony differs radically
from thar uf Mr.. pockery'S AMI heard
her tel il I'm" and time aqua h#forr
John Evans was arrested aS well ~
upon the witness stand She au1 Esr
SISTER testified that at about. 'va "r ten
minutes before eiN o'clucl, hy tie time
used hy rhc factory N which they Nol.-
81. which e fifteen minutcs behind town
! OF railroad time: This would Ec i've ..
ten minutes past six O'Clock 10y she tI.ar
other inhabitants OF our town than tn.
factory operatives - by, started. ac-
companiel by their sister Maggie. 1.
Pee Dee Factory, and when about two
hundred yards from their home III" n
Naut Was committed in the cdg Of w
l. Everctt'S field. Matte swort and
told il before Evans was apprchcndca.
that when she first saw th" man ny thc
fence, she thought il was Mr.. .tllon, a
harmless white man whom She knew we'll
and had frequently seen drunk along
the road, this before She Was near
enough To distinguish features, think
| ing Il Was Mr.. Anlcn she was not
| frightened, when She got near the man
| Just before and while in the net of ccins
! through the fence she looked 1T him
| and SAW il Was negro and sad .nok
| there Lille hut not loudly ~ rlc was
| frightened. Miss Lille does not hear
| Well and did not hear Matte. Matte
stepped through the fence, the path af-
ter crossing tn.. fence 1oces up along side
| Of the fence. Matte took one ur two
| steps which placed her ~ she sworc I.ght
at the negro facing each other with
nothing between th"m lntt The Wiz"
] fence She said Sire could have reached
| him with her hand. and that she looked
| at him good; he jumped at her sister
| and she Matte, ran screaming. Ii"r
sister Maggie was a little distance n
| front of Matte and Matte ran against
! Maggie and knocked her down, Maggie
! got up and ran off screaming. Matte
ram on to Pee Dee Factory and did not
| return until after the first arrest had
! been made. Matte says the man she
saw grab her sister was John Evans and
that She can not be mistaken about it,
This seems to me about as positive as
the English language could make the
identified ton. bnt Mr.. Docllcry does not
agree with this statement of In" tcsti
mony this point. Mr. Dockcry asks
YOU 10 find n doubt of Matte Coles
statement. because he says it was
dark at the scene of the crime at the
time of its commission that Matte Cole
could not see well enough 10 identify
afterwards her sisters assailant, Ac
says. it was just before day break;
not 4 witness SWore it, the only t@stl-
mony introduced before the court as to
The light and the opportunity To see wsis
from Mr.. j. e.. Terry and the Cole fam
lily. Mr.. Terry WAS introduced by the
defendant and i L man of character.
he lives within an hundred yards Of my
nd I,-itl, in llyuI 1rl-
Of the spot where the assault was com
mitted he sworc that it was light
enough to see and distinguish persons
1t the time hH heard the screaming, that
the girls ran by his home and told Mr.
McAuley, who lives jn~t across Il mar
row street from him. something Of what
had happened, that he ran quickly anI
just little after Mr.. NcAuey 10 the
scene Of the assault, be described the
place and SWorc that there was no OH
Struction between where Matte Cole
said she first saw the defendant and
wher. the tracks showed the man to
have been crouching. and none after
she crossed the fence from Wlb"rc 1h"
said she looked 1T him, except tn" wire
fence which scarcely obStruct.~I the
view at all that ut the time he rcac chel
there it was light enough to have seen
and distinguished persons: that hc fol-
lowed the track some distance across
the Id and that by STOPPING n little
he could see the track in the grass ls
ii went throu@h the field. We had
the defendants own witness tcsti-
when the defendants own witness tcsti-
fed that it was mot only light enough
10 see i man, int light enough 10 see
track in the grass. and Matte and
Lille Cole had sworn that it was light
enough for them To see, 50 light that
their father who had started with them
To the factory stopped at the lot, think
ing it unnecessary for him 10 70 on:
that they had lantern which they hal
borrowed to come from Pee Dee the
night before and We're returning it, but
did not light it that morning. they had
this lantern mlightcd with them when
the assault was committed. II believe
the statement q, 10 lantern WAS nor
brought out on the trial, but il it trn-
as showncd hy Mr.. Coles affidayitr.i
They were. Il little later than 1sual IN
starting to the mill that morning. w"
thought this sufficient for Il court and
jury upon this point, if we had known
YOU intended 10 exercise appellate jur-
>lction of the facts in th- case and try
it upon the opinion Of the public. we
would have introduced further testimony
upon this point We could have intro
duced Mr. ]. A. NcAuley. whose char
actcr is as good as n presiding elders,
who would have testified TO the facts
conta ined in h.s affidavit hereto at
tached. You Will see from this that he
reached the scene Of the assault within
not more than seven minutes from
the time Of its commission, and that he
could and did see: You will also note
that he disa grces with Mr.. Dockery
and corroioratcs the Cole girls as TO
the time the assault was made. and also
as to its being such Il dark place. Mr..
McAuley swears III this affidavit. 1T
! Continued on second page