The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-03
LURED HIM TO HIS DEATH.
MOSES WILLIAMS LOVE FOR HIS
CHILD COST HIM HIS LIFE.

Negroes and the Shooting Was
Done in Yamacrnw-The Woman,
Stella Williams. the Only Eye Wit
ness to the IIiIIing-Spendy Cap
ture of the Murderer Due to the
PROMPT Action of Policeman Jer-
nixan-NouItrie Followed Three
Miles by n Howiins Mob.
Moses Williams was shot three times
and instantly killed by Jake Moultrie, in
house at No. III Poplar street, in Iama-
craw. about 10 o'clock yesterday morning.
Both of the parties are colored. Two
hours after the homicide after chase
in which nearly 200 excited and deter
mined men participated, the slayer was
captured by Policeman Jernigan.
As is usual in such cases, there was a
woman at the bottom Of the
trouble, and she is either d.
reetly or indirectly the cause of Will
Jams death Her name is Stella Will
SANS, and some years ago she and the
dead man were living together as husband
and wife. They had one child, boy who
is stin alive and about 4 years old. The
pair separated, the woman keeping the
child, though it appears that the father
kept up a more or less constant inter-
course with him. and frequently was per-
inItted to take him walking and on other
excursions that he thought would be
pleasing.
This was the status of affairs yesterday
morning, and as it was Sunday and
pleasant day williams decided that he
would take his child for a walk. He sent
Lavinia Matthews, "a negro woman living
in the vicinity, for the child, but the boys
mother refused to send him under La
vinia's care. She had been living for some
time with Jake Moultrie, the man who did
the shooting, and Moultrie was in the
house when the refusal to send the child
to its father was made. It is probable
that he advised it; OF any rate, he assent
ed to it, and the messenger returned with
the report that her mission had been
failure.
Then Williams determined to go for the
boy himself, and walked down the street
to the house in which Stella and her para
mour were living. She was standing in
the doorway Of the house and he asked
that he be permitted to take the child for
a walk. Permission was refused by the
woman, stubbornly and insistently, and she
demanded that Williams leave the neigh
borhood of the step and cease from annoy
ing her. second request met with the
same denial
The door was open and the man stepped
across the threshold and into the room.
As he did so the door was closed from
within and almost Immediately afterwards
the pistol shots, three in number and in
quick succession were heard by the ne
gToes, who were congregated across the
street. They were afraid 10 enter the
house, and did nothing but sit and blink
f.lN
door Of the place from which the reports
of The pistol had proceeded. Within a
short time the woman came out and
walked down the street, with no one at
tempting TO impede or interrupt her.
Through the open window one of the
negro women who were across the street,
could see The man, Jake MOultrie, making
hurried preparations for departure. He
put a soft hat on his head and a stiff hat
over that and Swapping a small valise
across his shoulders came out of the
house and started west. in the direction
Of the canal As in the case of the wo-
man, 10 attempt was made TO stop him
The negroes seemed to be stupefed by the
rapdity with which the events preceding
and following the shooting had tTanspired
and Incapable of action or even of
thought. They diverted their Mortified
gaze from the house thet had attracted
it long enough to mole the direction in
which Moultre had gone and then hocked
through the open doorway.
AS they entered, a horrible sight met
their eyes. On the ofor of the room, near
the door, lay the body of Williams, still
warm and weterng in his blood. Every
shot that had been fred had taken effect
one in the head behind the right ear,
another In the right breast four inches
to the right Of the nipple and the third
in the lower part of the back. Either
the shot in the head or the one in the
breast would have been sufficient TO pro-
duce almost instantaneous death. The
collar of the mans coat had been burned
by the powder. so that when the shot
that entered behind the ear was fired the
pistol must have been held in close proX-
unity TO his head.
BY this time Policeman Jernigan had
come up and to his prompt and energetic
action is doubtless due the speedy cap
ture of the murderer. He took in the
situation at a glance, and borrowing
horse and arming himself with a shotgun
in addition to his revolver, set out TO
follow the trail of the fugitive.
Moultrie was known to be armed, and a
desperate man, and it was a wise precau-
ton of the officer that led him to prepare
himself thoroughly for the encounter that
he expected would follow the meeting be-
tween himself and the man he was en-
deavoring to capture. A throng of men
and women, white and colored had col
lected around the house in which the
tragedy had occurred, and about two hun
dred or more of these set out with the
policeman to make the arrest. All of
them were thlrsting for honor. and some.
among these the brother and other close
relatives of the dead man, for blood
The chase led out past the wharves of
the Central Railway and along the banks
of the canal. Jernigan could follow by the
direction Of those whom Moultre had
passed in his flight and who were for
tunately not few. Two miles or more
were covered In this fashion without
catching sight of the fugitive.
The pursuers were out on horseback, IN
buggies and on foot Detective Scuny
followed as fast as he could without
conveyance of any kind and Detective Gar
rity huriedly secured trap and drove
after the mob There was wild excite
ment and the thirst for blood, the old
prlmeval instinct of the savage man, crop
ped out in his civilized descendants of to-
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