The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-08-29
THE HERO OF A POST OFFICE
ne fought Two Burglars and
They Were Captured With Two
ACCOfnb1icac

+ "PIu1ed with TW,
l. Accomplices.
t Ihe Washington correspondent n
s the News and Courier SAYS: y
, -Four men arc Il waiting the cxccu,;o,
or death sentence passed upon ihcn
Tor the attempted robbery of the DOS,
office at Emma, North Carolina, aroun
which centres a tale OF romance AN
bravery rarely recorded III the Grim
nal annals Of the postoticc department
and one which has brought to the her
thereof the most nattcring praise {
the Postmaster General.
Samuel III. Alexander, the nssistan
postmaster at Emma, is the hero i
question, and he is the proud posscsso
of a letter from Postmaster GcDer,
Smith, which reads:
" IL is learned from an official re
port that on the occasion Of the rcCcn
robbery OF the postoflicc at Emma
North Carolina, you displayed grca
determination and courage in fearless
( ~ defending the property of the United
Statos when attacked by two heavily
armed burglars, whom you finally over
powered after desperate encounter
IN which you were dangerously wound
cd.
"Thc possession of the sterling
| quality which makes men willing TO
lnpcrll tE"lr lives in defence of an Of
llclal trust Is moi SO common that its
exhibition, rs in this case, should be
allowed To- pass without distinctly CRATE
lul recognition.
" Therefore, in Acknowledgement of
your fidelity and personal bravery, |
desire to extend TO you the thanks of
the postoIlicc department., and Co cx-
press the hope that you may 1--we for
many years to enjoy the honor which
you have SO dearly purchased, and to
winch you arc 80 Justly cDtitlcd."
Emma Is Il small town numbering
several thousand souls. Postmaster
Mcl.cllan is the proprietor of a general
merchandise store, in which the post
Office is kept. Young Alexander was
III the habit Of sleeping in the store,
and on The, night OF February last,
having barred the doors and windows,
ne was III the act of retiring when he
was aroused by knock ON The n,aiu
door and III request for mail. NcXan-
der opened the door, and wa6 immcdatc-
ly confronted by two determined men.
who with drawn rcvolvrrs, entered the
store, ordered Alexander to turn over
his gun and to orcn.the safe containing
the postal funds.
The men were afterwards identified
as discharged corvicts and one, Frank
johnson, stood guard over Alexander,
while the other, Ben Foster, proceeded
to rifle the safe. Foster laid his re-
Volvcr on top OF the safe and was in
tcntly examining its contents when
Johnson's attention was for IL moment
diverted by a cat knocking over a box
in the rear of the store. The moment
johnson turned his head Alexander
lcapcd forward, graspcd Fosters re-
Volvcr and shot Foster in the region Of
the heart. He then turned the revolver
on johnson, but 1t missed fire and The
two men glapplcd.
desperate struggle followed.
Foster, seriously wounded, pursued
Alexander and shot him in the abdo.
men. Alexander, seeing Foster about
to shoot H. ain, swung johnson around,
the bullet from Fosters gun striLln"
Johnson's left shoulder from the rear.
|
IN his jaw. Both men then drew their
knives and made Il most viciCus assault
ON the assistant postmaster. Faint
from the loss of blood and the terrible
excitement which he had undergone,
Alexander made one more desperate G
effort to eject the men from The store.
Reaching the door he gave the mystic
cry for help Of the Odd Fellows and
sank unconscious to the floor.
Postmaster Mcclellan an Odd Fellow,
lived directly opposite The store.
Startled from his sleep by the cry, he
Immediately came To AlcXandcr's re-
lief. Harry Mills and Gus Gates, two
confcdcratcs Of the robbers, who were
on The outside, carried away their
wounded companions. A short dis
tancc from the store they met hack
man, who they compelled to carry them
to place in thcIlowcr part of thc city,
where they attempted to hide.
Postmaster Mcclellan sounded an
alarm. Officers tracked the men and
arrested them at an early hour in the
morning. Alexander was removed to
the hospital, where his life was dcs.
paired Of.
The romantic touch to the incident
occurred while Alexander was in the
hospital. He was engaged to one OF
the young ladies of Emma and at his
earnest request they were married, al.
though the doctors held out little hope
Tor his recovery. After the marriage
the Young man steadily improved ant
before long was back in the store at
tending to his duties as assistant post
master. The men were tried foun,
Guilty and sentenced to be HANGED, a.
the North Carolina State laws provid
Tor this form OF punishment for bur
glary.
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