The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-06-20
Giving Patrick's Account of
the Crime.
ALLEGED ACCOMPLICES
IN THE KILLING AND ROBBING
OF MIR. E. B. WEEKS.
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR.. J. W. SANDERS
Who Was Sent for the Night the Crime Was
Committed. Patrick Bore Bad Repu.
taton and had been Charged
With Crimes Before.

With Crimes Before
Morehead. Y. c., June 10, 1899
(Staff Correspondence.)-So much has
been said and written about the murder
of Mr.. e. Il. Weeks and the lynching
of Lewis Patrick for that crime that
early on Saturday morning / left More
head City in boat and went Is miles
up Bogue Sound to the home OF DIR.
j. w. Sanders. a justice Of the peace
for White Oak township. From DIR.
Sanders / obtained the anonymous let
ter received by him on last Thursday
morning and signed "One of the Lynch
ers.' The letter is as follows:
TEXT OF THE LETTER.
Lewis Patrick. negro. charged with
the murder of f. Il. Weeks, committed
Wednesday night. June 9TH, 1899. on
the promise of his life if he would di-
vulge the names of his confederates in
said crime stated as follows:
ION my. way up to visit Sarah Lee.
| met near his house Frank Stiles about
dusk in the evening and asked him if
could stay with him all night: Stiles
declined, saying he had 10 room, bur
told me | could get lodging further
ON. Asked me if | was looking for
work. | told him not specially. He said
there was plenty money UP here. but it
was not i'm calculations; that he had the
tools to get it If he had some one to
help him. | asked him how. and being
told we vert Oh together towards h.
r. Weeks store. When we got to DIR.
Sanders. Stiles went to the wood-pile
and got an axe. The axe was not gotten
to kill Mr. Weeks. but to break open
the store. He them directed me to
go to a dairy where we
drank some milk. and then went
on. We concluded not TO break
in that night. so he returned home and
| went on a mile or SO and hid III the
woods Next night when | reached
the store about eight o'clock p. M.
found Stiles and Rufus Penny there.
They had bored the holes in the window
shutter while Mr.. Weeks was gone to
his supper, all but one or two. Stiles
brought the tools. 1t was a brace and
bit. About an hour after Mr.. Weeks
returned and lay down the other holes
were bored A piece OF the window
taken out. the hand inserted. the bar
bolt unpinioned. the window opened. the
sash raised. some paste board boxes
taken out with some packages wrapped
in paper These were taken out because
they INSTRUCTED the window. Stiles and
Penny went in and left me outside to
| watch. About ten O'Clock some one
riding horse went through the gate
IL, .ta I Stn a. IA,
door next the trees. 1t was agreed that
| Stiles and Penny We're to have most
of the money. as they said it would
not do for them to take goods as a
search might be made and the goods
betray them. They said | could take
| clothing as l would leave
| The letter goes on to say that Stiles
and Penny were brought face to face
with Patrick separately. they both
| proved an alibi and both Penny and
Stiles were turned loose; Dr. Sanders
| also told me that two other parties
had been suspected Of being accomplices
of Patrick both negroes. by name Abe
| White and Eli King; no evidence was
| found against White and he has not
been troubled. The man King it is be-
| lieved is the man who broke in Mr..
| Weeks store some time last fall. and
stole $50 from a spool cabinet Mr..
| Weeks told a man who told me, that
| he believed King got the money. King
| has the reputation of being a bad negro:
a crowd suspecting that King had some
| thing to do with the Weeks murder
vert to his house, so it is rumored,
placed rope around his neck, not for
the purpose of killing him, but to see
If he knew anything, being satisfied that
he was connected with the murder and
Upon promise that he would leave the
county they turned him looose and it
| is said that he has gone TO Wilmington.
From the best information | could
gather during my stay up in the Bogue
section it is not generally believed that
Patrick had an accomplice: some few
however differ from this opinion but
| the prevalent belief is that Patrick alone
committed the crime; this is the first
time in the history Of this township HAT
a crime of this kind has been committed,
and except the case against King who is
charged with breaking in Mr.. Weeks
store and stealing the money alluded
to, | am informed by DIR. Sanders that
for ten years past this township has
not furnished a case in the courts of
Carteret. The people of this section
have the reputation of being a hospita-
BILE, law-abiding people, and it is
generally believed that in the speedy
execution of Patrick that it was not
done so much in a spirit of anger or re-
venge, but because they knew they had
the right man and We're afraid that if
left i'm jail to come to trial he might
escape just punishment for the crime
he had committed / believe the entire
community is satisfied and no other per-
son will be molested: unless it is dis
covered beyond single doubt that some
one else aided Patrick
DIR. SANDERS INTERVIEWED.
asked DR.. Sanders for such facts