The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-07-31
CAST BY
R0WDY NEGROES
IA New Story of East
Raleigh Killing.
|SELF DEFENSE PLEA
Raleigh Boy. Confessed That lie
Did the shooting Because Of
Assault Upon Himself and
Companions
From News snd observe. Ja.g u

From News and Observe. Ju.E y
Some Of the negroes IN George
Lanes Bottom. ii East Raleigh are u
far from truth rs the east Is from "a.
Nest. Instead # being AS pacific a~
their statements "Wednesday hight
a few minutes after Walter CnaNl9
was killed. indicated, they themselves
were partly responsible for the death
OF their brother of color. precipitatIu.
a row and casting stones at the men IA
the wagon, one q the rocks striking a
young white man III the face.
The c~orOner's jury "elnpannelei yes
terday By Coroner Charles StpaTh ta
inquire into the death Of ChaNis. re-
turned 4 verdict saying that the me-
gro came to his death from Il pistol
shot wound. the weapon being in t1e
hands of Ernest Spence. a white boy
OF his city, aged Il years. 1t was
Spence who was struck by the rock
flung i~nsolently at him by some mem-
Der Of the black mob.
1T developed that Lynn Fowler, tho
white man arrested "Wednesday night
soon after the shooting and charged
with the crime was not ia the
during the shooting. and he was order
cd to be discharged.
The negroes, however. who held
that there were three men and a b.,
i'll the wagon. were correct, the occu-
pants Of the wagon being: SD WIl-
liams and his little boy, Ernest spence.
the 17-year-old white boy who confess
ed to the crime. and w. y. HuiilneS,
the mar supposed to have come from
Fayetteville, and whose home IS be
lieved TO be in South Carolina.
Early yesterday morning, at about
day-brcak Constable Byrum aud Dep
uty Sheriff Stcll reached Williams
home. seven miles east OF Raleigh. i'm
l o. NI,ttlaIrr tar1G]j, a md .t.4jlnj an
the inmates to surrender. Williams
land Huf11nes were Immediately arrest
ed and tied, and the small boy was
sent to hitch up the cam.
While this operation was in prog
ress. spence, who had not been ar
rested called the officers aside. Sayins
that he had something To tell them.
lThey expected that he would 'squeai@
on the guilty man, whoever lie might
be, and went to him, but great was
their astonishmcnt when he confessed
that he himself had done tn" shooting
HI declared that it was in self defense.
and that the occupants of The wagon
were being attacked by the negroes.
The officers had such respect for the
boys mamliness in acknowledging TN"
authorship Of the angel Of ChaNiS
death that they did not handcuff him
in bringing him to the city.
The investigation disclosed the fact
that rocks were thrown by the no
groes who had assembled around the
Wagon-onc of which struck the boy
ISpcnce in the face. Spence. who is
only seventeen years Old made no de
inial Of doing the shooting. but stated
that he did 50 because the negroes
were throwing rocks at him and the
other occupants Of the wagon.
DR.. Rowland was examined first.
lie said that he had extracted the bull
let which he found lodged in a crcvicc
in the frontal bone just over the left
icye. The entry was in the lower part
Of the ear of head on the right side.
The range Of the bullet was from left
behind to right in front upwards.
Geo. Lane, ST., testified that the
men came to his store and Mr.. Sid
Williams bought Il quart Of cider.
lSpence came III the store with VIII
lia1ns. He said Williams cursed n
great deal. He put Williams in the
wagon. The men drove up to the
%corner and stopped. Williams said,
Let me get out, | can whip a whole
l%street full Of niggcrs." Fowler was not
there at all. He said he saw no rocks
thrown. When Williams had been
put in the ago again and it started
off someone in the wagon began shoot
ing and shot five times.
sam Williams, the 1~3-year-old Sou
OF sgd Williams, was a splendid wit
ness, telling a good story in q straight
forward manner. He said his fathcr
hod dllti ~ inc SlDufld Wflllt fr\ll.E
TO get out of the wagon. and somebody
then took his whiskey from his pock-
ct. He said the negroes were curSing
and bOlStcrOus. and that one of them
CARED his father a vile name. aud
struck him in the face with Il brick.
The number of shadows around them
blacker than the darkness began to
increase and the throwing Of rocks
was becoming more dangerous.
large stone struck the tail-board Of the
wagon, he said, and then Spence began
To fire, cmptyine his revolver into tn"
threatening mass Of negroes. He said
Fowler was not in the wagon when
the shooting occurred: his father was
lying on the bottom of the wagon and
Hufflnes was driving.
The testimony of Hufines corrobo-
rates that Of sam Williams, and Irene
Holiday c~orroborates Geo. Lanes
story of the killing. She said she
saw no rocks thrown.
Constable Byrum testified to arrest
ing the men and the confession Of
spence.
The jury went out to Lanes bot
tom and viewed the scene Of the
shooting.
1t is probable that Spence Will be
given a preliminary hearing TO-DAY.
All the other defendants were dis
charged.
STATE DEMOCRATIC EX. COM.