The Weekly Tallahasseean. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 18??-1905, 1901-10-11
MURDER IN MADISON.

A fearful and terrible series of muir
derS occurred in Madison, Madison
county, on Tuesday last, which excftev
the town to the utmost The perpetra-
tor being one Will Williams, a negro
belonging to a turpentine camp stu
ated between Lee and Higden, abOul
miles from Madison. Williams was
jealous of a negro woman by the name
OF Mary Bevins, whose husband was
Richard BeVins. Williams had wanted
to marry Mary, but she preferred Bev-
ms and married him, which had Oc-
casiOned Williams in a fit of jealousy
to threaten to kill her at the first on
portunity.
On Tuesday morning Mary went to
the woods to carry her husband his
breakfast. Williams saw her going
and followed her with a double bar
rel shotgun. He came up with her
as she was giving the breakfast to her
husband and Immediately fired at and
wounded her. Then he turned upon
Bevins and shot him, killing his in
stantly. He then turned again and
shot Mary a second time, killing her.
Williams then took to the woods and
escaped.
The people in the neighborhOOd,
hearing the shooting flOcked around,
and quickly sent for Sheriff Arm
strong, who with a man named Stock
ton Smith, bOtn with their shOtguns
and their dogs, came Immediately to
the scene. They quickly found Will
liams in Higden, turpentine still,
where he had taken refuge in a house
nearby. When the Sheriff and Smith
reached the house they separated, one
going each side of the house so as to
surround it. Armstrong then went to
the door and ordered Williams to open
it. Instead of doing so he first fired a
shot through the door, which tore the
clothing of Armstrong pretty badly,
and then opening the door he rushed
out and made for the woods. Both
Armstrong and Smith shot at the ne
gro as he ran away, hitting him in the
sOles of his feet as he ran. The negro
escaped them that nighu. Armstrong
stopped at the house mat night, and at
early day on Wednesday he put the
dogs on the track and came up with
the negro about two miles and a nall
away.
When he saw that he was Overtaken
Williams ran benin, TWO oak trees that
had grown together, and formed a
natural breaSkWOrkS, and waited to see
what would be DONE Armstrong and
Smith came within about sixty yards
OF the trees and then called Williams
to come out. Instead of replying Will
llamS opened fire upon them.
Smith was shot in the arm and Arm
strong in the legs and body, the small
snOt simply singing the flesh but tear
ing the clothing badly. Only one shot
hit Armstrong under the eye, which
caused the blooU to flow, so that he
was soon unable to see from either eye.
ny putting up one hand, however, and
holding the uninjured eye open, he was
able to shoot the negro, after which he
was surrounded and captured.
The negro fired eleven shots before
he was finally captured, but as :9hey
were only small bird shot they did lit
tie damage, excepting the one which
hit the Sheriff beneath the eye, and
which had not been extracted Thurs
day. The charge of buckShOt which
Armstrong firedf hit the negro one in
each shoulder and one in the knee. The
negro claimed that another shot struck
him in the head, but no signs of it
could be found.
Williams was taken to the buggy.
which was near by, and thence to the
jail, where a doctor soon arrived anu
examined the wounds. ne was nept
in the jail until dark, with a strong
guard, when he was slipped away by
the Sheriff, Mr.. /. H. Denton and an
assistant, Mr.. Henry Raines, who car
ried him to Greenville. Raines then
took the buggy back, while benson
took the prisoner to the train and came
to Tallahassee, where he arrived early
yesterday morning. He delivered his
prisoner, to Deputy Hopkins, who
lodged him in the Tallahassee Jail. j..
While in the woods Williams met a
white man by the name of Anderson.
who was out after squirrels and who
did not even know of the affair: the
negro, thinking that Anderson was
looking for him, shot him also, killing
MIN instantly. Further on he met an
other negro with a pistol, whom he
also supposed was hunting for him.
Williams shot him also.
Williams is a South Carolina negro.
While the prisoner was in the Jail
large crowd gathered and going to
Denton demanded the keys of the Jail.
Denton said that he would not give
them the keys, but he would go to the
Jail and, open it and let them 20
through it. While he was there his
deputy had slipped away with the pris-
oner, so that when Denton reached the
jail and opened the doors the prisoner
was gone. By taking a. side track Den
ton caught up with the buggy, and
drove rapidly away thus escaping With
his prisoner Denton says that he Ell
pected every moment that the crowd.
would catch up with him, take the pris-4
oner and lynch him on the spot: =.
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AN ESCAMRTA uAv mann