The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-10-18
Especial to The Messenger.)

especial TO The Messenger
Eliz~abethtown, n. c., october 13.-The
| most important and blood stirring trial
Bladen county has known in many
years-that of the two negroes, NeIl
Sellars and Dave Brown, charged with
ravishing and numbering young Mrs.
George Packers now underway. The
first day of the trial is at an end, and
it has just brought it up to the intro
duction of the states witnesses. Prog
ress today was slower h was ex-
pected and consequently it is thought
that it will be late Saturday before the
trial concludes, though unlocked fer
speed tomorrow, coupled with a night
session, may terminate it before.
The sum total of today's proceedings
is the selection of the jury and the in
PRODUCTION Of two states witness. The
former occupied the morning session
and The latter the afternoon.
By these two witnesses, DR.. George
L. Clark and Editor A. C. Johnson, of
the Clarkton Express, both prominent
citizens Of his community, the state
has laid a firm foundation upon which
tomorrow it will commence, under the
skilled guidance of Solicitor Lyon, to
uild a hoped-to-be impregnable wall
of circumstantial evidence
The trial today brought fully five hun
dred people here, a number more than
three times the population of this quiet,
but historical little place. The court
room was literally packed with these
people, including two scores of blacks.
MORNING SESSION.
The morning session of The trial yield
ed nothing but the jury, but this was
fast progress towards the end as usual
| in a case Of this kind considerable time
| is spent in selecting satisfactory jurors.
| Both sides must be we'll satisfied with
the jury, for not half of the special
| venire was and the defence
| only used about half of it's peremptory
| challenges, twenty-three being the
number allowed for each defendant by
| law. The state did not make a chal
| lenge of any nature; though admitted
| cause in several instances and stood at
| least SIX of the special venire at the
| foot of the list.
OPENING OF COURT.
Court convened for its first session
in this important trial at $40 o'clock
| n but little time was consumed by
1 the preliminaries for the selecting of
the jury. The regular jurors Of the
term were first passed upon, as is GUS
tomary, and from hat number three
| jurors were obtained. The first vas
selected forty minutes after the con-
vening of court and was w. J. Kelly, a
farmer who resides at a point in Prin-
cess Creek township about twenty miles
from the scene of the tragedy.
III c~41.11 49,;
was called and the work of getting the
other nin jurors commenced.
GETTING THE JURY.
AS juror after juror faced the prison.
ers for his qualification to be passed
upon it was plainly evident that the
prevailing opinion is that the negroes
are guilty. There were probably not
four out of the siXty-odd called but
what had expressed an opinion as TO
their guilt, but, with one exception.
there was not a one but who stated
positively that he would be governed
strictly by the evidence. The exception
was a young man and he declared that
in Any event he would say guilty. Some
of the jurors had formed their opinion
from conversation a with witnesses
and they were promptly stood aside
by the court, while others had only
formed theirs from the general rumor
VI " SIlLlS. 1HSSt were QSeUltQ QUAIL
fed to act as jurors and counse for
the defence had to seek some other
cause to d~isQualify them, or either per-
emptorily challenge or accept them.
BROTHER OF THE MURDERED
WOMAN.
One of the special venire, John Russ,
was a brother of the murdered woman
and, of course, was promptly ruled out.
Several others Were witnesses in the
case and naturally shared the same
fate.
A SOLEMN MOMENT.
AT precisely three minute of 1 o'clock
he last juror was obtained and the
grave impanelling made by solicitor G.
c. Lyon, while the two negroes stood
and the large crowd was silent as a
tomb.
A FINE JURY.
The jury apparently is a fine one. II
is composed of fearless, frank-appear-
ing men-each a sturdy tiller of the soil
and each a married man. With the ex-
ception of one juror there is not a man
under probably forty years of age and
there are several whose hair fifty or
more winters has tinsed with white.
Not a one lives nearer han ten miles
to the scene Of the crime and some OF
them reside as far as twenty miles
away. The plurality OF the jury IS from
Colly township, which is near here.
PERSONNEL OF THE JURY.
The personnel of the jury is as fol-