The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-12
NURSES UGLY STORY
CAME NEAR CAUSING THE DEATH
OF AN INNOCENT NEGRO.
AROUSED A FATHERS WRATH.
WOMAN FALSELY ACCUSED DAN
WILLIAMS of AN HEINoUs CRIME.

WAilams was Charged, on the TeS-
timony of the Nurse, with At
tempted Criminal Assault Upon n
Little White GirI-At the Trial the
WOman's Evidence Fell to the
Ground and She Was Arrested for
Perjury-The Prosecution Dropped
and Verdict of Not Guilty Re-
turned-Circum of WILL
inns Narrow Escape From Death.
The ugly story of negro nurse girl,
proven false in the Superior Court yest
terday and which resulted in the girls ar
rest for perjury, came near making her re-
sponsible for the death of an innocent
man. "'.'+...'
That men may do things in the heat
of passion. or threaten to do them, and
then have future occasion bitterly to re-
pent what they have done or to be glad
they have been prevented from carrying
out their threats. was well illustrated by
the trial
1t was the case of Dan Williams. The
heinous character of the crime imputed
to the negro had aroused the wrath OF
the father OF little 4-year-old girl and
for some time after the crimes alleged
cimmission and before Williams arrest
the father was looking for him with a
shotgun and threatening to kill him on
sight. He would have done so, had it
not been for the GOODNESS and strategy
of City Detective Murphy. who managed
to get his prisoner safely away. The
trial of the case resulted in the exonera-
ton of the negro and the arrest and
confinement on a charge of perjury of
the principal witness for the state. whose
story of the crimes alleged commission
lad so aroused the fathers wrath.
The crime with which Williams was
charged and for which the grand jury
had indicted him was an attempted Grim
inal assault alleged to have been COM
mitted upon little white girl, 4 years
old, in the neighborhood of Waldburg and
Price streets. The testimony which
caused his arrest had been furnished by
Annie Rivers, the child's nurse. who
claimed to have witnessed the attempt.
This story she repeated on the witness
stand. TO dieDrove it Mr.. ]. Ferris
Cam. who represented the defendant in
troduced an array of witnesses, who told
stories that left in the minds of the
jurymen not single doubt of the inno-
cence of the accused. 1t was shown on
the contrary that the charge the woman
had preferred against Williams had been
made for the sole purpose of covering and
concealing her own inattention to her du-
ties, and the threats she had made the
children in order to inforce their compli-
ance with her commands.
When this came out. Mr.. Raiford Fall
ligant, who was acting for the state in
the prosecution of the case, and the faith
err Of the little girl upon whom the
sauH was said to have been attempted,
both expressed their Willingness that the
case should be dropped and consented
to the return of a verdict of not guilty
by the jury even before they had heard
the statement of the accused. The case
took this course.
Mr. Cam then had the woman who hal
made the charge arrested for perjury,
and she was taken into the sheriff's Of
fee and detained until warrant. charg-
ing perjury, could be sworn out against
her. Then she was committed to Jail.
She took her Imprisonment with the same
impressive couutenance she had displayed
on the witness stand. when she lied, if
she did lie. with a perfectly straight
face. The evidence of the witnesses for
the defendant seemed to prove conclu-
sively that when she accused him of the
crime she did end related the circum-
stances that she said surrounded that &C
casion, she was not telling the truth.
The crime was said to have been com
mitted Sunday morning, May 26, while
Williams was watching the Warning
houses on Waldburg street, near Price.
The following morning Detective Murphy
went to the houses for the purpose of
arresting the negro, where he reported for
duty at o'clock. The father had al
ready arrived, but the negro was not due
for half an hour. The father had a shot
gun across his shoulder and the officer
realized that unless he did something he
would be unable to prevent a tragedy.
The detective advised the father to
act cautiously. He stated that he had
been informed that williams had been
down town Sunday morning, and that
maybe the man he had left in his place
had committed the crime. The words of
moderation had the desired effect, and
the child's father said that he would wait
until the negro had been identified.
When Williams reached the buildings he
was placed under arrest by the detective
and expressed considerable surprise. He
denied all knowledge of the crime placed
at his door The father wanted the negro
taken to his house so that the servant
girl could Identify him. The detective
knew that this would be madness and in
sisted that he had no authority to do such
a thing. He took his prisoner to police
headquarters at once and said the woman
could identify him there. In this manner
the officer managed to reach the police
station safely with the negro.