The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-10-05

to be thrown into one room and the
house set on IRE. Once u had burned
to the ground the Rawlings hoped tina,
every evidence OF their crime would
have Vanished.
This was the scheme an conceived BY
Rawlings. NJ. Fortunately. In succeed.
ed only In part. He was wise enough
TO know hat suspicion OF foul play. u
there were ANY In the minds OF the
neighbors would naturally fall upon
him. for his threats against the Carriers
had been spread on all sides. He. there
fore. determined TO have no direct part
In the murder. but TO have a ithorougniy
substantiated salibi ~ he were called
upon TO give an account OF himself the
| night the Carriers died. 30 10 happened
+! that he was not with the boys when
they made their attack upon the Car
tiers. but was seen In the town OF VAL
dosta. a few miles south OF the Carter
and Rawlings plantations.
During the afternoon OF June n. the
Rawlings boys took ALI Moore. their
accompiice. TO a cabin on their planta-
ton and shut him up there. telling him
TO keep cxt OF sight and that they
would bring him his supper later. They
were taking no chances OF his losing
his nerve and crawling the last mo-
ment.
when the shadows had grown long
~ W. AAAH NV NJ SIS - ~
arranged. The last directions were
given. probably by Milton. who. as
oldest. had charge Of The party. Q
all four. including Moore. went care
fully through the brush. where n was
necessary through the open fields. TO
the Carter plantation. After the sun
had sunk and there was little danger
OF their being e e the murderers
closed In upon the house and waited.
Imagine the suspense OF those boys
waiting there with murder In their
hearts. No matter how much they may
have been murderers by instinct. pro-
vided that such n thing In possible.
they had youth and inexperience TO
overcome. Perhaps they wished many
times that the whole affair was only q
dream. that they would wake up from
the nightmare just AS they were killing
the Carriers. ALI Moore frankly con-
fessed IN the witness stand that he lost
his nerve and had he not been kept
where he was by n stronger Will OF his
boy confederates he would have thrown
up the job. But his was the weaker
mind and theirs the stronger Will.
About 8 o'clock the Carriers were dis
turbed by the barking OF q OF their
dogs. Then every dog on the place
took II up. Thinking hat Il might be
n friend. or possibly n stranger seeking
Information about the roads. Willie
Carter. seventeen year old. and Carrie.
his sister. who Was only n year young
er. and their baby sister. went out TO
see what had caused the rumpus.
First Attack.
MI. and Mrs. Carter. with their two
older daughters. Lola and Leila. were
sitting inside the house. Suddenly they
heard three shots fired In quick success
sion. Rushing 10 the door. Carter saw
his son, Willie Carter. crawling pain
fully toward him on the ground. His
baby Hirl lay but n few feet away from
the door. Carrie was nowhere In sight.
Quickly he snatched up the little girl.
and grasping the boy. dragged him to
the house. Quickly, because he knew
that there were other bullets whence
these thai had wounded .his children
had come. Once inside the Gus he
barricaded the door n locked the
shutters. Then the siege began.
Inside the house Carter. still unabls
to handle his gun on account OF the
wounds Rawlings had given him sew
eral weeks before. waited n~nxiousiy Tor
the attack. which he knew must come
soon. Beside him crouched his two
girls. fearing. they knew not what.
In another corner vas the mother.
bending over the little girl and wound
ed boy. The baby girl soon came 10
herself. The bullet only grazed her.
But the boy was desperately hurt. Part
of the time he was unconscious. but
when he was himself he Dan pit
eously for water. water which his
father could not bring him. FOR the well
was Ia range OF the enemy's bullets.
And Carter knew that those bullets
were from the guns OF the Rawlings.
for the little girl had recognized n OF
the boys.
Tried 20 Burn tho House
Outside lowered the Rawlings and All
Moore, fearing to approach the house
lest they be shot down by Carter. They
waited an hour In quiet. thinking that
the man would come out I look for his
daughter. They could hear the means
OF the dying boy I'm h house. and
again ALI Moore lost his nerve ana
would have gone away a h Raw
iings not compelled him TO stay.
Losing hope that Carter would come
into the yard. the Rawlings determined
10 set the house on fire n either burn
the res, OF the family 10 death or smoke
them out. They collected bundles OF
corn shucks lying near. and began pill
ing them against the side or the house
I'm which there were no windows. Lola
Carter. pecping through q crack n the
chimney. saw one OF h boys with MS
arms hull OF dry shucks. She too. rec
ognizcd a Rawlings.
She called 20 her father, and he. -
well AS he could. fitted his gun Into the
crack In the chimney. When he heard
the thud OF falling corn shucks ne
fred.
Immediately there was the sound OF
hurrying feet. Then quiet. although Lola
watched for another hour to see II more
shucks be piled against the n
could see nothing. Apparently the muir
derers a been frightened away by
one shot. They had. but Carter was
not sure OF this. All through the long
night the terrified family waited
watched. Before dawn the
boy died.
Murdered Girl in cornhsld.
When at last the night OF horror was
ended, Carter went out with his wife
! TO look for the missing daughter. They
found her in n nearby ~cornfeld. her
face mashed beyond recognition by the
boots OF the fends who had killed her.
TINS neighborhood was roused
There were talk OF n lynching tf the
murderers could be found. old man
Rawlings declared that neither ne nor
any OF his family had been near the
Carriers house that night. He proved
his alibi. But the evidence given oy
the Carter girls was sufficient TO cause
the arrest first OF the Rawlings boys
and then OF their father. Then All
Moore was taken.
An extra session OF the court was
- a. a~Aar that nRnnlo Mould not