The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-17
GAVE HIMSELF UP
WILLIAMS, MORNINGsTAR'S COM
PANION, SURRENDERED
THEN SW0RE OUT WARRANTS
FOR UNJUSTIFIADLE SHOOTING
AGAINST sAssER AND LARRIsSEY.

Williams Had walked Many Miles.
Was without Food for IL Day aud
Night-SLept on the Ground and
Almost FrOye--Picked Up by Fish
ermen-Morninsstar Made sworn
Statemcnt-Snys He Knows Moth
ing of Hog Being Killed ami
Placed in His Boat.
Bob Williams. the negro who was
with John Morningstar, when the lat
ter, it is alleged. was shot on Ossabaw
Island last Tuesday by S. S. Sasser,
and who has been searched for since
by the officers of the law, after walk
ing many miles, and being without
food both day and night, came to Sa-
vannah yesterday morning and surren-
dered himself to Constable w. F. Con-
stantine, to whom he. gave a bond OF
$500 in the case instituted against him
for hog stealing. Immediately thereaf-
ter he swore out warrants against
both Sasser and Larrissey for shoot
ing at another not in their own de-
Tense.
Since he fled from the men who
threatened him with arrest at Cut
Foot's landing on Tuesday morning,
Williams las had a rough time of it,
according 70 his story. He walked the
entire length of the island, a distance
of about fifteen miles, in many places
wading through the mud and marsh
ri To- Il
he was thinly clad. He says he al
most froZe. Finding no one to help
him, he spent the night on the island
in the woods, and was discovered the
next morning by fishermen. He was
taken to his home at Twin Hill, where
he remained until yesterday morning.
viii Give Bond To-day.
The warrants were sworn out before
Judge G. Noble Jones. The accused
were not arrested. their attorney hav-
ing promised to provide bond for each
of them this morning. Williams denies
that he went on the island with the
intention of killing or stealing a hog,
and says that if any hog was butchered
and put in his boat, that the white
men did it. The colored people at Twin
Hill are very much wrought UP over
the affair. They say that both Will
liams and Morningstar are quiet, hard
working negroes, and that the shooting
is an outrage.
Lying on his bed at the Georgia In
Urinary with several wounds in his
body, Morningstar made a statement
of the occurrence, which was sworn to
before a notary. In this statement he
made no mention of the killing of a
pig by Sasser. Published statements
to that effect are untrue. On the con-
trary, he says that he knows nothing
about any hog killing. He says that
he had no evil intentions in going on
the island. and did not know that he
was trespassing, and when ordered off
was getting away as fast as he could,
when he was followed up and repeated
ly shot by Sasser, while he pleaded
with him to desist.
SwOre Out no Warrants.
The statement made by Sasser short
ly after the shooting has been publish
ed 1t is. in short that he caught
Morningstar and Williams killing
hog of his, and that when he attempted
to arrest them, they attempted to put
the hog in the boat and get away. The
statement of Morningstar, made at the
infirmary, is interesting in the light of
the positive statements made by Sas-
ser, and because or the subsequent de-
Velopments. Morningstar has never
sworn out any warrants against the
white men before Justice Naughtin.
nor have the men been to Judge Naugh-
tins office to give bond, despite pub
lished statements to the contrary. War
rants were sworn out before Judge
Naughtin by friend of the wounded
man, which were placed in the hands
of Chief Deputy Sheriff Sweeney. Bond
has been arranged with the sheriff in
each case.
In answer to questions put to him by
his attorney. Morningstar made a
statement. the sum and substance of
which. was: I'VE had been fishing and
the wood we had in the boat was out
The wind was blowing and it was cold,
and we concluded the tide was too far
spent to carry us, so we decided to go
on the hill and make a fire. When we
were landing, a man came out of the
woods. He asked us if we didn't know
we weren't allowed to trespass; and
told him we came in to catch fish. and
] showed him our nets. and told him
that we didn't have anything else.
shot Him In the Leg.
"He said it didn't matter a d.
what we had he was going to carry
us and have us arrested. ! said, Oh,
boss. you need not arrest US, II 1t
against the law to come here didn't