The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-07

morning. ABOUT Lid y CtOCA dl liE nO4SC
OF Priscilla Bradley. a negro woman
who resides Oh the southwest corner OF
Sixth and, Nixon streets. In that mid
night hour the people IN the ~neighbor-
hooc were startled by the report OF a
gun and the distressful cries Of a man
in pain and terror.
FIR. Henry T. Often. who resides
across the street from the scene Of the
shooting went out to investigate the
cries of distress and found that Tom
king, the old negro scavenger had been
shot while at work in The back yard at
Priscilla Bradley's residence. He i'm
mediately telephoned TO the city a
and Captain n. J. Williams. Sergeant
c. s. Burnett and Policemen Alex Wells.
III. p. Merritt and Marcus Gray. went
to the scene as quick as possible in the
patrol wagon.
The officers ascertained that while old
man Tom King and a young negro
named Frank Onslow were doing sani-
tary work in the Bradley woman's yard.
some one shot the old man. Onslow
was so alarmed that he fled without
stopping to render assistance to King
who began to hollow as lou as he
could when a hurricane Of buckshots
swept all around him striking him in
several places. The old man made his
way out of the ward and called at Mr..
Otten's residence sic Nixon street, for
assistance.
1t is a remarkable Fact that the old
mar had a shot in his heart as large
as a thirty-two calibre bullet and yet
he lived to walk to Mr.. Otten's then
TO go back and show the police where
hF was shot, and only expired at the
city hospital about two hours af er he
had been shot. At fiji st the old man
did not think it was necessary to go to
tho hospital as he thought he had only
been shot in the arm. After sending
the old man to the hospital, Captain
Williams arrested everybody in the
Bradley woman's house and carried
them to the station house. They all
denied any knowledge of the shooting.
Captain Williams IN the meantime
SEN the old man to the hospital and
DR.. Thomas r. Little. the surgeon in
charge, dressed the wounds which the
old man showed him. He the left
King in apparently good condition. but
in an hour found that he was dying.
Yesterday morning. DR.. Little notified
DR.. Charles D.. Bell. the coroner. that
the DC man died an hour after he had
been admitted to the hospital. DR.. Bell
went out at s a. m, and the
following Jurors to hold an inquest: ].
A Kelly. foreman; j. T. Sellers, Jere
Hand. ". B. Brown. George c.. Dew,
and z. H. Barnes. The jury at IL a. m.
viewed the body, and adjourned to
meet at the city hall.
DR.. Bell performed IN autopsy on the
dead body and found that III had been
killed by a shot which had entered one
AID a half inches to the right of the
right nipple. passed anterior of the
lungs, struck the fifth rib on the left
side. ~rebounded and went through the
heart and lodged in the right ventricle
from which it was extracted. The sur
geon also found that three shots passed
through the right hand, one buck shot
passed clear through the right thigh
three shots had struck on the inside
OF the left knee. and one shot passed
through the upper part of the right
forearm. DR.. Bell says it is remarkable
that the old man should have lived five
minutes with a bullet In his heart and
is puzzled that he survived about two
hours after being shot. 1t is believed
That the shot found in the heart was
the one which also went through the
OLD mans arm.
THE MURDERER CONFESSES.
All the men who were arrested and
lodged in the station house protested
tnat they knew nothing of the shooting.
but yesterday at 9 o'clock the four of
them were turned over to city detective
Iohert Green. After very adroit and
excellent work. he extracted a confess
sion from Grattan PeaIce. Pearce told
him he and a South Cal DINA negro had
been to Brunjes' saloon to get a short
and when they got bach home he heard
somebody in the back yard. Thinking
1t was a thief he borrowed the negro's
L n fired into the back yard
whence the noise came. The old man
carried a lantern and Pearce must have
seen 1t, as it was shattered when the
gcn fired. Pearce said the gun was a
single barrel shot gun and it was load
ed with buck shot. He stated that af-
ter he shot. ne give the gun back to
the other negro. He said ne didn't
know the mans name from whom he
cog the gun. and that the man was car
rying 1t under a macintosh. There
appears to be something very strange
about the whole affair.
THE INQUEST.
Yesterday afternoon DR.. Bell, sitting
fl his capacity as coroner, investigated
the killing. The jury met at police
headquarters at the city hail.
Priscilla Bradley. colored. in whose
yard King was shot, was the first wit
ness. She testified as follows: "I