The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-28
BAD WADE OLIVER
THE, TROUBLES AT \ NEGRO
 CHURCH IN cONECuH,
Orders to shoot the Preached Were De- Iivered, and oliver Was In Hu- nor to Attempt to Carry
 Them Out.

Evergreen, Jan. 27.--on the second Sunday night of April there was preaching at the Afro-Amerlean Church of Zion at Brooklyn. in this county,
 and the pastor. Rev. Edward Neary. oc,
 cupied the pulpit, Wade Oliver and Mack. two bad Coneeuh county ne- groes, went to the preaching and as
 a result of their attendance two good negroes are dead. Oliver Is under sem tence of death and Knight will have to spend the rest of his life in the tpenitentlary.
 The two negroes filled up on mean
 whjskey and carried big pistol to
 the church with them and the services at Zion Church that night were the live- 1 Hest that or any other church in this
 county ever had. Before the time for | the benediction had arrived, Wade had 1 shot two negroes dead, the brothers and
 sisters Of the church were diving head | first out of every window in the build-
 ing and good deacons were hiding hur~ | riedly In the pulpit and the church loft. SheriR Pridgen went to the church 1 at noon, of the next day. on receiving 1 news of the murder. He found the | bodies of the two negroes lying where l And he found, too, negroes in the loft
 of the church and negroes behind the pulpit There they had remained all night and half of the day. nervous and afraid to move. They did not know
 how far Wade and his terrible pistol
 were away from the church door and | they hid tremblingly in the church un- til the Sheriff came and they knew | oliver was nowhere in the neighbor' | hood.
 Oliver and Knight were tried this I week in the circuit court of Coneeuh
 county It was a special term or the court called by Judge Richardson 70
 clear the docket of capital cases ana ID | which only capital cases were tried, When the Jack Thompson ease had -been disposed of and 1t took the greater
 part of the week, Oliver and Knight
 were put on trial.
 Oliver Is a tall, young negro, with chestnut shaped head, head which
 runs mp to a lofty point at the top. He got the death sentence. Knight who actually did no part of the shoot 1 ing, but who furnished the pistol and l egged Oliver on to the shooting with | profane words was given the lire sen tence.
 Oliver and Knight went to Zion ! Church that April night heeled TOT
 trouble. Two bad negroes, given quantity of mean whiskey and big pistol form a combination that nine times out of ten furnishes work TOT the coroner and the grand jury. The pao negroes and the mean whiskey got 10 work on the outside of the church and there was loud talking and much CUTS
 Ing The preacher sent the sexton John Cole. out to quiet the disturbers.
 Mack Knight whipped out his pistol and handed it over to the other negro with steeple shaped head Without a , moments hesitation oliver shot the sexton dead. ,--. .-s :
 Mack Knight was in inc doorway or
 the church doing a war dance and en-
 couras.ng the slaughter ne had start- ! ed
 "Km every one of 'em,' he yelled ' out. Shoot every o"e S1
 them. Shoot the preacher shoot the
 preacher quick before he gets away
 Nothing loath to obey orders oIiVer
 rushed inside of the church with smok- | ing pistol in his hand The negroes
 fled towards the pulpit ike a droVe or frightened sheep. One of them turned to look back and oliver covered nm with the pistol. He saved hluiseit " | begging. Hold on, Wade, you Ahow me. Don't shoot me Ana ne Wa s l permitted to go on. Ahotner ,n tooAeu ,A.' ! back and when he found hImse" co'-