The news & observer., 1904-03-11

VERY respectfully,
y. T. DRAPER"
This is labels letter:
'Feby % 1904
To the Publick
when you Read this I will Be Passed
to that Place that Knows Know waken-
ing On this Earth / would like to Bid fare
well 10 All My friends And See them But
1t Cant Be May they Remember Me And
think of Me As the one who would Gladly
at All times Do them favor But the
Time Has Come that Must Come to us
| All Death is kind to Me AS I Have Faith
In Our Heavenly father VINO Suffered the
| cruel Cross And Shead His Precious Blood
that We Mite all Be Saved while l Have
hPen A Sinner / know that God is Willing
and Ready to Save and l have that Faith
that 7 will Meat Ny friends In that
| Blessed land Above.
! To My Enemies 1 will say that l Have
not only forgiven them But Asked the
Good lord to forgive them And while the
World Holds Me Up to Be the William
(, they Claim Me to Be l Must Say that
am Not So Black after all And II Cross
/ Edmonson Had told the truth AS 1t Was
4 y
! the People want to Believe. that He Is
the only one to tell the truth May they
see their error yet for if he had told the
truth as l nav said Before the case would
have been different with me and my dear
| father who now is serving life sentence
| in the State prison 1 hope yet that the
time will come eaven after l am gone
! that the people may see that me and
my father are not the villains that we
have been held up to the world to be
May the good lord have mercy on such
people Cross Edmonson has sent me to
! death and my dear father to States prison
| the balance of his life and himself only
gets six years. ] hope ne will enjoy his
| life but the good book tells US that if a
man will save his life he will lose it but
hope he will repent and turn to God 1
! feel like that though the world has turn
ed against me that there is home pre-
| pared for me and that l will see my bless
| ed saviour
| 1t is not necessary for me to go over
the trial 1t would take up too much
SPACE and l have to read the Bible and
study God precious words and promises.
Me and my dear father were put in Jail
in June shut up in a sell and no one was
allowed to come about us that we could
claim as our friends But. to the con
trary the very ones who would do any
thing against us could come and eaven
today my dear mother and sister were re-
fused admitance to see me: but to stand
on the outside 1t was awful to sae my
dear mother stand out there and see her
heart breaking and not be able to comfort
her any. 1t is nearly run me crazy. Mr..
Wooten and Mr.. Draper came up to see
me or I don't know what | would have
done Ask the people to picture to them
selves the horrors of being cast into
prison and not allowed to have the pres
ence of friend your own dear mother
or your dear sisters all that makes life
worth living not allowed to come about
YOU so that you could taulk to them
Know hone held out to them for nearly
eight months part of the time working
in the state prison as a convlck and sec
ing your dear father who Is feeble and
I'll at work and know way to make his
burdens lighter know one can tell and
don't believe there ever was man treat
ed as me and my father have been treated
yet with all of this / can truly say that
[ hold know hard feeling toward any
man on earth / truly forgive them.
There is no Justice held out to people in
this world but thank God there IS place
for all who believe and trust IN jesus
Christ and to him / put my trust and
believe that he has heard my prayers
while my time is short on this earth am
giving myself up to prayer and thinking
OF leaving a loving home a loving mother
and father and three loving sisters to
mourn our death and praying to the heav-
enly father to protect them and let us
meat in his heavenly home where tAere
is and peace
I hope all young men will stop drink
ing whiskey if they don't it will ruin
them forever. Whskey will take away
the best part OF man he will soon get
so he will have know respect for himself
and he will do things that would make
him shudder if he could only see the things
as they are. [ hope that all who drink
will stop before it is too late. ] could
write more, but my mind is troubled at
seeing my mother and sister leave me
and not being able to touch their loving
hands or to take them in my arms and
kiss them last farewell. But such is
my fate Nav God protect me from nv
self I will bid good bye to this world
with the homes of better one. May God
send his divine blessings on the people
and turn them from their wicked wavs.
JABEL REGISTER.'