The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-31
WHITE MAN BURNED
TRAMP's SKULL FRACTURED BE-
FORE HE WAS CREMATED.
FIRE BUILT OVER THE BODY.
TRAGEDY OCCURRED AT WAYS
STATION AROUND CAMP FIRE.

The Victim Chnrred by Flames and
Could Not he Identified-HoEs
Were Roofing at Remains When
They Were Discovered by Crew OF
Freight Train on siding-Mnn
Was struck in the Head with an
Angle Bar and Fire Was Built on
Top of Him-'Three Negroes Were
Seen with White Man at the
Same Place Late Wednesday
the Criminals-MOtive of the MUIR
derers Is Doubtful and Two Theo-
ries Are Advanced.
An unidentified white man, believed
to be tramp. had his skull fractured
and was then burned at Ways Station
yesterday morning. The crime was
committed about $50 yards from the
depot, and the charred remins were
not found until o'clock in the after
noon. Ways Station is on the Plant
System about twenty miles from Sa-
vannah, and in Bryan county.
The man was struck in the head with
an angle bar and his skull was crushed.
He was dragged several feet after he
had fallen, and a fire was started on
top of his body. The side that rested
on the ground escaped the flames, and
in this manner it was ascertained that
the victim was a white man. The
ghastly discovery was made by the
crew of freight train which stopped
on the siding to let a passenger train
pass. Hogs were roofing at the body
and were fighting over the charred
trunk when the attention of the train
crew was attracted. The hogs were
driven away and an examination of the
body and the surroundings made it ap-
parent that a murder had been commit
ted. The mans head had not been
consumed and the fracture was seen
at a glance. The coroner of Bryan
county was notified. and made an in
vestigation.
A resident of Ways Station remem-
bered having seen four men at the spot
where the dead man was found, about
II o'clock Wednesday night. They were
apparently tramps, three of whom were
negroes. The men had built a small
fire and were sitting around it talking
at that hour. The place where the fire
was is near the station, Nbut is in a
clump of woods. 1t is believed that the
white man was killed by the three ne
groes, but the motive is a matter of
conjecture.
The angle bar with which the deed
was done was found about five feet
from the fire and near it was pool of
blood. From that place the wounded
IL 4 lrNtsl
close to it. Logs and underbrush were
piled on his body and the burning wood
was transferred to the top of the pile.
With fresh fuel added to the flames the
mans clothing was soon consumed and
in some places the flesh was burned
from his body entirely.
Robbery may have been the cause of
the killing and white man
with a small amount of money
was noticed around the station
during the day. 1t is not known
whether he was the man seen with the
negroes around the fire at night al
though he had the appearance of a
tramp The blow on the head could
have been struck from behind and the
man may have been walking away
when assaulted by one of the negroes.
Under such circumstances their object
in burning him would have been pro-
badly for the purpose of making 1t ap-
pear that he had fallen in the fire
while asleep. Had his head been in the
fire all evidence of a crime would have
been destroyed and his death would
probably have been attributed to an
accident.
A theory was advanced that the
crime was committed in a spirit of
revenge after a quarrel. Less than
a year ago a negro named Washing
ton was burned near Ways Station
for a criminal assault upon a white
woman. The burning of the negro may
have been recalled and discussed by
the white man and three negroes
around the camp fire, and may have
been followed by a fight. If the homi-
eide happened in this manner the me-
groes probably decided, after infiict-
ing the mortal wound with the angle
bar, to cremate the white man in much
the same manner that Washington was
burned by the whites
While the cause of the homicide
could not be satisfactorily determined,
there is no doubt in the minds of the
residents of Ways that the man was
murdered by the negro tramps, and
that he, too. was a hobo. An inquest
was held last night and the testimony
of the witness who saw the four men
around the camp fire was taken. The
jury returned a verdict that the un-
known man came to his death from
wounds administered by parties un-
known to the jury.
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