The leader., 1902-03-12

that Pritchard had been visited in the
Jail and bribed to swear falsely against
him, and that the man who did this
was then in the audience. A distinct
impression made by several of his re-
marks was that he had intimate knowl-
edge of great deal of lawlessness and
wrong, including the murder of Lard,
which he was unwilling to divulge,
even in the face of death on the scat
fold, because of the trouble he might
get men into whom he considered his
friends.
Spiritually he professed to be a
changed man and declared he had
made his peace with his God, and was
ready to die. He strongly commended
the Bible and urged everybody to do
right. His cherished purpose, he said,
had he not gotten into this trouble
and had his earthly career cut short,
was to become preacher and go
about over the country proclaiming
the truth and doing people good.
If he could become preacher he
could make money and get rich
and do people lots of good. He
declared he harbored no ill will or
malice toward his enemies and those
who had used him disrespectfully, but
he drew a broad distinction between
his enemies and his friends, which he
repeatedly emphasized. His friends
he defined as those who had signed his
petition for executive clemency to save
him from the gallows, and his enemies
all those who had refused to sign or
used their influence against him.
Several were personated by name
who had befriended him in this and
other ways, and several of his zen
emies" were given good, pious
''roast" for not trying to save his neck
and failing to treat him as he claimed
he deserved. Among the latter was
the editor of The LEADER, who he de-
clared had published numerous false
statements about him and been guilty
of base ingratitude. He made no
specifications of what the false state
ments were; but the alleged ingratitude
consisted of the editors accepting the
hospitality of his father several years
ago while attending Baptist Associa-
ton, aud then not joining in the
petition to save him John Sasser)
from the gallows. He closed his crit
icism in this connection, however, with
assurances of forgiveness, and the
hope that after awhile he might meet
this mendacious and ungrateful scribe
sin The Sweet By and By"
He paid feeling tribute to the de-
votion of his father and mother and
acquitted them of all blame for his
own wrong doing, and said his father
was reconciled to his fate, He de-
clared that from his father he inherit
ed his boasted nerve. He further de-
clared that full restitution would be
made to his father by his (the speak
er's friends) for all the outlay of time
and money speut in his behalf, but
that the PUBLIC would not know who
they are.
He also expressed a strong regard
for his own family and boasted that he
had never mistreated his wife nor
struck one of his children, gone home
drunk and ridden his horse into the
house and hitched him TO the bed
post, etc, In this connection he high
ly praised himself, and hoasted of his
display of nerve, saying, "there are not
many made of the straight stuff like
| am"
Portions Of his rambling talk bor-
dered on theincendiary, being inter
preted as threat, through his friends,
of political revenge aud even worse,
on those be chose to regard as perso-