The De Soto County news., 1906-03-23
hew OF Woman Takes Her
fe and Also Stays Her Two
hiIdren-Speedy Trial Asked
Or-Negro Confesses.

n Saturday evening Jne lIVni
Pine Level about nine miles
d Of Arcadia, one Of the most
tai murders was committed that
Soto county has known since the
htal ASSASSINATION of Marshal
wman of Punta Gorda, over three
Iars ago, when the wife and two
Tvs of Uncle" Jake Simmons, a
Bspectable negro, was shot.
"Aunt Sallie," as she was COM
honly known by every one in the
Immunity, had just returned from
be store at Pine Level and was
handing just outside the house pre-
pairing potatoes for supper, when,
from the assassins own evidence
she was shot and as the two small
children ran out of the house, he
shot each Of them. The two older
boys. aged about and Z, had just
left the house to chase off some cat
tie that were breaking into the field
and having found three other negro
boys on Buzzard Slough within a
few hundred yards of the house fish
ing, stopped with them and were on
the Slough when the guns fired,
however, they we're expecting their
father, who at the time was working &
in Arcadia, to come home as was his
custom on Saturday evening and
thought he was shooting a hawk
that had been troubling the chickens,
not once dreaming of the scene that
awaited them at Il cir home. The
murderer had taken the precaution
to drag his victims a short way
from the house and deposit them in
a shallow sink, covering them with
palm leaves, and they did not make
tne discovery until nearly morning.
Aunt Sallie was the servant for
the entire community, and any one
that was sick, always sent for her,
and the children we're 80 accustomed
to being left alone. thought nothing
of it, and retired for the night and
the bodies were not discovered until
next morning. Another negro
friend of the family, the name OF
whom we do not know, went TO the
house next morning and asked to
see Uncle Jake and Aunt Sallie, but
when he was informed by the two
little boys that neither of them were
at home, he left his message and
started back home. When he was
only a short distance away he was
attracted by the screaming of the
children, who bad just discovered
their dead mother and brothers, and
they come running after him to
make the facts known.
Il He made his way to the turpentine
etill of Shingle Crawford Company
and told them of the deed, but for
some reason the sheriff here was not
notified until about o'clock Sunday
morning. Sheriff Freeman was
away at the time in another part of
the county, however, his efficient
deputy, B. Bassett, promptly started
out with the sheriff's we'll trained
blood hounds and in less than an
hour and half had the guilty negro
in custody.
County Judge j. B. Cochran and
several Arcadians went out and held
an inquest over the dead bodies
On Monday morning the guilty
negro, Albert Simmons, stated that
he did not commit the crime, but
said it was done by John Young,
Will Hutson and Lewis Green, who
were arrested and brought before
Judge Cochran Monday afternoon
for a preliminary hearing, however,
they proved their whereabouts by
the two remaining children of the
dead woman and were promptly
discharged. The guilty negro,
Albert simmons. havingIn all prob,
ability, decided that there was no
other recourse. confused on.Tues-
day morning 10 having killed them
himself, however, he stated that his
gun went fl accidentally and killed
the two children and then had to
kill the mother in self defense. This
however, conflicts with his other
statements made on the stand when
trying TO implicate the other negroes.
HI having said that he saw them
killed by the other negroes-the
mother first and the two children as
they ran out Of the house.