The Penn's Grove record., 1906-05-18
MAD LOVER DEALS
DEATH AND PER|SHES
An infatuated Operator Creates
Reign of Terror Near Atlanta.
TERR0RIzED THREE COUNTIES
James n. Clark Runs Amuck--
Armed With a Shotgun Mailman
Roamed at Large, Firing on All
Who Approached.

Chamblee, Ga. Crazed by disap
pointment in love, James H. Clark, 8
telegraph operator here, killed one mar
and left five others close to death be-
fore he shot himself through the heart
in Dunwoody, a village five miles from
this place. The mailman terrorized
for eighteen hours a community of
twenty-four square miles, embracing
parts of Fulton, De Kalb and Cobb
counties. After killing one man out.
right, wounding six, some of whom will
die, and firing a residence, Clark fed
pursued by a posse.
The posse surrounded him in a grove
near Dunwoody. To a summons to
surrender Clark answered by a shot
The posse and Clark exchanged shots
for some minutes, when Clark, realiZ'
ing that escape was not possible, put
his revolver, which had only n car
fridge left, to his breast and fired 8
bullet into his heart. AS Clark fell
dead the posse rushed in and riddled
his corpse by repeated volleys. His
hat and coat, lying at his side, were
decorated with honeysuckles.
Clark is supposed tohave been crazed
by his unrequited love for fourteen
year-old Nellie Gay, the pretty sister
in-law of James W. Purcell. Recently
this love affair was broken up and
Clark became convinced that Mr.. and
Mrs. Purcell had interfered.
A laron mart of tho dow C1orIy yUae
in a drunken stupor, but during the
afternoon he reused himself, and about
8 D.. II. went to the home of E. S. Pur
cell, next door to the home of j. W.
Purcell, where Mr.. and Mrs. J.. w. Pur'
cell were at the time. and demanded
admission. On being refused he broke
in the door with an axe and was fired
at by J. w. Purcell. The Infatuated
operator secured a lot of kerosene oil
saturated the kitchen of the Purcell
home and set fire to it. When the
flames burst out the Purcells were seen
in the glare, and Clark opened fire upon
them from behind a tree. ]. w. Pur-
cell was shot in the thigh and a serious
wound was inflicted. e. S. Purcell was
shot in the hand. 1t is believed that in
the return fire Clark was wounded in
the hand and side.
Clark went away, but returned about
midnight, by which time the Purcells
had gathered some of their neighbors
TO help them defend their homes. Clark
made a second attempt to fire the
house. A fusillade followed, shots be.
ing fired by those in the house and by
Clark. The result of the midnight bat
+1o --oc +6at Wy G NTo1E- o+o%;o, oron+
received a slight wound in the back of
his neck. Clark was repulsed and did
not attack the house again.
The craZed man, heavily armed, went
down the railroad toward Dunwoody,
where he appeared very early in the
morning. Entering the store of Nash
& Cheek he demanded ammunition, his
supply having been about exhausted.
The news of his acts had been tele-
phoned to Dunwoody.
When Cheek told Nash not tc sell
Clark any ammunition, Clark turned
upon him with a revolver and fired, the
bullet entering Cheeks heart and kill
ing him instantly. Nash lodged behind
the counter as his partner sank to the
floor and Clark fired two shots at him.
Clark then walked behind the coun-
ter, supplied himself with cartridges
and left the store. AS he walked away
he met a man named Satterfeld, to
whom he handed seventy-five cents,
with the statement that he had taken
some ammunition and supposed that
amount would pay Tor it.
Clark started back toward Chamblee,
walking along the railroad. He had
gone only a short distance when he met
w. J. Cocker, whom he attacked, wound
ing him slightly. After going a little
further he plunged into a thick woods,
where later he vas trailed by the posse.
When Nellie Gay heard of Clark's
death, she said: II never loved him.
He was hateful to me-"