The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-01-24
Posse Compelled to Shoot
Into His House.
LITTLE BOY is ALIVE
Drained With Axe Mary Bridgers
Body Lies in Rain All Night and
Her Daughter Dies Soon At
ter Bob Bridgers Finds
Her in Blood.

Accused of the murder of the negro
woman Mary Bridgers and her six-year
old girl, Lille, the negro Will Adams
is now in Wake county Jail.
The full account of the tragedys was
brought here last night by the Coroner,
DR.. T. M. Jordan. Early in the day Jer-
ry Smith "A well known negro, had come
in from Milburnie with some details OF
the murder and the capture of the &C
cused man. who made desperate resist
ancc.
Two of the parties attacked and Drained
with an axe are dead, these being Mary
Bridgers, about twenty-five years old, the
wife OF Robert Bridgers, and her six-year-
old daughter, Lille. The four-year-old
boy. who was struck in the mouth, is still
living, though badly injured.
Adams, the negro charged by the coro-
ner jury with the murder, is tall, black
fellow. weighing nearly 200 pounds, and
says he is about twenty-one years old.
He looks older than this. He was inter
viewed yesterday afternoon in Jail here
by a News and Observer reporter, and
protested his innocence, declaring that he
had spent the entire afternoon OF Friday
at his home. He has a cruel face, re
treating forehead, eyes which show red
and prominent protruding lips.
Adams made a desperate resistance
when the posse, headed by Deputy Sher-
if Thomas F. Daniels, went to arrest
him. 1t was after midnight yesterday
morning when Robert Bridgers, the hus-
band of the murdered woman, came to
his house with a warrant for the arrest
of Adams There were others with Bird
gers and these went with Daniels. At the
house Adams refused to let the officers in
and the crowd shot number of times in
to the house with shotguns, breaking the
windows. while inside bureau, pitcher
and wash bowl were destroyed. Finally
the door was forced, Adams wife made
to come out and the crowd went in The
negro resisted fercely and it was after
hard fight that he was captured
Yesterday morning he was taken before
Magistrate n. w. Pool, near Milburnie
who examined some witnesses and he
committed the prisoner to Jail. As Depu
" Daniels was leaving Milburnie, he was
met by the Coroner, DR.. T. M. Jordan,
who had Adams taken back to await the
result of the investigation of the coroner
jury. There had also gone from Raleigh
Deputy Sheriff J. P. Stell, whom Sheriff
Page had sent to help secure Adams.
A gerat crowd assembled at Robert
Bridgers house, where the inquest was
held In this were many negroes, and
these had some fifteen to twenty shot
guns They weer indignant and aroused,
and it was said last night that if any one
had taken the lead that Adams would
have been shot to pieces or lynched by
the negroes.
Coroner Jordan empanelled as a jury
C. P. Snuggs, A. C. Green, A. P Coley,
Sidney Partin, c. T. Hester, and j. r.
Watkins These inspected the house and
went to the field. where all night long
the dead body of the murdered woman
had lain in the rain. She was on her face,
her arms under her and the temple above
the right eye was broken in, the brsin
having oozed from it. The position of the
body indicated that death had come at
once when the cruel blow was struck
The dead body of the little girl was in
he room on the bed
The investigation placed chain of cir
cumstantial evidence about Williams. He
was known to have been hanging about
Bridger's house, a young lady, Miss En-
ma c. Holding, had seen him there about
1 o'clock Shortly before o'clock he
had been seen by Mr.. T. C. Holding,
hiding on the side of the road near the
house and the tracks from the house
and the dead woman led to his house.
The jury brought in verdict that it
was their opinion ''that Mary Bridgers
and Lille Bridgers came to their death at
the hands Of one Will Adams by blows