The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-09-18
FOUL AND DASTARDLY MURD Err.
VERY Ole .iEGR0 KILLED IT SMITH
CREEK BRIDGE.
His Brains were Beat Out with n Rice
Hoe IL was Believed ar First That
the Train Had SI-Ick Him, but Sew
raj People Heard Cries OF Murder
Friday Afternoon I'm the Direction of
the Brfdge-The Coroner's Inquest In
Progress "A Motive Hard TO Find.

gre A Motive Hard TO Find.
DIR. r. j. Price. the coroner was
notified yesterday morning at 10 O'Clock
that the dead body of an old negro
man had been discovered at the bot
tom OF the Twelve foot railroad en-
bankment on the north side OF Smiths
creek, right at the bridge. 1t seems
that the engineer, mail agent and
others on train IL, which arrived
here on the Wilmington & Weldon rail-
road yesterday morning go o'clock dis
covered he body.
DIR. Price drove out to Smiths creek
bridge and ascertainei lha, the UoIy
vas nat of an old coloreu man, I.uO-
eEt sic, eAaS a. II rOStell, wlo
nas been an inmate of the counCy
--ome for about two years.
The body vas lying at a telegraph
pole with the head towards the creek,
ard around the pole there We're pools
49, teIeS.acu Nlla there
We're four freshly made cuts as if the
AT the edge of Smiths creek fifteen or
twenty feet away was found a rice
hoe. The old man had eight wounds
on his head. There was a deep cash
at The rear of the left ear, the top part
Of which had been cut off by whatever
instrument struck him. Over the left
eye there was a cash, and over the
left part of the forehead there was a
bad cash. There were also gashes
over the right eye, on the right tenn
pie, one at the back of the head, and
two on top of the head. Near the old
mans body was his walking stick and
at the edge of the creek fifteeL OF
twenty feet away, almost hidden in the
weeds, IVES a rice hoe with which the
aid man had been digging bait. The
holes where he had dug about in the
marshy ground for bait We're still
fresh. When the old mans body was
found his arms We're up over his
head as If he had put them up for pro-
lection.
After viewing the body and x&Elin
ing the spot Tor a clue. the coroner
gave permission for the body to be re-
moved. IN the meantime Mr.. NJ. CT.
Chadwick. superintendent of the home,
had been notified that the old man was
dead and he sent some men down and
had the body carried to the home.
Coroner Price at first thought it
probable that the old man had been
killed by a train, but he picked up
some information which satisfied him
that a foul and dastardly murder had
been committed. He came back to the
city and summoned a jury, and accom-
panied by Sheriff w. CT. MaiRae the
party went out to the county home to
hold an inquest. They left the city at
2.05 p. m, stopping first at the scene
of the murder to examine the locality.
Upon arrival at the home the follow
ing jury was sworn in: Capt. w. 2.
Oldham, T. A. Watson, c. H. Daniels,
w. H. McEachern, Ed. w. Manning,
Jr., and T. w. Clawson. Capt. Old
ham was made foreman n T. w.
ClawSon secretary.
i, par;nfanIa Cho1uialy stated that
the old mans name was down on the
home books as A. D. Postell or PuStell
but he was generally known as Robert
Postell. The old mar gave the date OF
his birth as 1899, which would make
him 101 years old His appearance
showed that he was a very old man.
He claimed to have been a body SER
want in the war of 1872, the Mexican war
and the war between states. Mr..
Chadwick says the old fellow had
a custom of fishing on the creek and
had a BOAT which he padded up an
down the stream on his fishing eX-
petitions. His boat was found yes
the home a considerable distance from
the place where the body was
found. He said the old man stay
ed out all night once when
he went out fishing and when scolded
about it he said sometimes the fish bit
| peter at HlSul. ne never SidIu Jul
| after night again until Friday night.
He left the home that afternoon with
a hoe and bucket to dig bait and that
was the last seen of him alive. He
informed the jury that the old man
was a very intelligent and industri-
Gus man and was a kind of foreman
in the yard at the home. He would
look after the other inmate and in
form the superintendent OIL them
when they would not do right. He
assumed a good deal Of authority in
a small way, and he regarded him as
the best man On the place.
DR.. Price then examined the wound,
and stated that in his opinion they
were not gun shot wounds, but had
evidently been made by some blount
instrument. The hoe which was pick
ed up on the creek, was examined for
blood but none was found on 1t, as 1t
had been under water at high tide and
would have been washed clean any
way.
The jury then examined the follow
ing witnesses:
G.. H. Hutaff being sworn testified
as follows:
Our farm is situated a quarter of a
mile across the creek from where the
body was found, on the south 1 q OF
Smiths creek. At 5 o'clock Friday al
| ternOOn myself ana TWO IdpOIeiS iciI
the house n went down into the
field towards the creek to plant a let
tuce bed. The field was about two
undre yards from my house. When
we got to the lettuce bed, l two
shots from a gun in the direction OF
the poor house. l am not POSITIVE but
/ think I heard shots While we were
on the way down there. When L heard
the two shots, I heard shrin cries OF
murder. the cries were repeated four
or five times, louder each time. l told
one of the laborers, Bob Maultsby, that
I heard cries of murder and asked him
to AXE notice of it. He said he alss
heard the cries. l took my gun and
started afoot in the direction of the
sound of the cries. I went by myself
to an elevation within about 200 yards
of Smiths creek bridge. I didn't see
anybody or hear anything. / saw no
one going away from the bridge.
During the afternoon, between that
and night, / heard some fifty shots
/ heard seven shots in succession. At
ter / got there and heard no noise ]
want hack INIT after r got hack TO the