The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-01-25
Unknown Person Has Attempted
to Kill Mother and Son.
MARKED FOR DEATH
Poison, Dynamite and Flre Have Been
Used In Attempts to AunihiIate
aSouth Georgia Family by
Some Secret Euemy
or Enemies.
or Enemies.

Ailou utcn, &r6 mOm0QGAflly eXp0O6.
Ing assassination In their homo in the
lower part OF Thomas county, Ca,
says q dispatch to the Atlanta Jour.
nal. Nine times the hidden hand OF
mysterious death has been raised
against mother and son, poison, dyna.
mite and fire failing In each instance
to accomplish It's flendish execution.
Secret service officers, county Off.
cials, private detectives and the com.
bined efforts of the law, augmented
by sympathetic and zoalous friendg,
have bsen foiled 10 their strenuous
forts to deteot the man and tho lno.
tive and today the terror-stricken and
sole Inhabitants of the old Futoh
homestead are calmly awaiting what
| they fear may be complete annihila.
t1on.
Rsoounting their terrible expert.
ence, young Allon Futch, the son,
twenty. ne years Of age, dramatically
exclaimed today:
1t Is the protection of tho Lord
that has saved me and my mother
from death!"
Yes, it's providence Alone" the
mother interposed.
And to those who have watched the
! plot thioken, 1T seems apparent that
moro than human agenoies have been
brought to their assistance to ooun.
teraot tho execution Of nine diaboli
cal attempts to take their lives.
Another attempt will be made
upon the lives of these innocent peo
ple," said Hon. Fondren Mitchell,
member Of the Georgia legislature,
4Sho has baen employed as special
counsel to aid the solioit tor of Thomas
county In running the assassin to
cover.
For seven months veritable terror
reigp has ruled over the Futoh homo
When the two members of the
| family Here away, poisson Woald .nc
placed In their food, In the milk and
even In the we'll; when they were at
homo they were targets for dynamite
bombs and the asssssin's bullets. 60
or stay, their lives have been In peril
sinoe early In last Juno.
What Vicious motive has driven an
| enomV to such extremes? Ask the
trembling woman. and she only shakes
her head. Ask the young son who re.
mains constantly by her side and he
cannot answer.
They haven't an oneuy In the
world. made SO by an act OF their
own" declares Attorney Mitchell.
It's all mystery deep, weird and up
to the present. lmpenetrahle. I am
moving heaven aud earth to find the
guilty man. Others are doing the
same thing. We all have theories.
but the facts are still beyond our
reaoh."
The population of the love- half of
Thomas county Is busily engaged In
speculatirg upon this strange case
and gossip has connected many per
sons with the crime, In which Ro.
nance, Love and Jealousy figure in
sensational human interest, but the
evidence is lacking.
On June 4th, last year, Mrs. Futch
and Allen were suddenly seized with
desperate Illness. That they were
spared seemed almost miraculous. 1t
was beloved their illness was due to
acute Indigestion. AS q matter of fact
they were poisoned, but 1t WAS not unit |
the third attempt had been made that
they realized tiendish plot had bsen
laid for their assassination. The first
attempt was made by putting either
arsenic or rough on rats In the water
bucket and coffee pot
On June 10th second attenpt wag
made, and this time tho mother and
son were again In tho shadow Cf death,
On July 9Th the chiokeM at the
noon meal was saturated With poison,
and mother and son again were des.
| perat0ly Ill.
July 10Th the assassin returned and
| poisoned MrS. Futch.
The condition Of Mrs. Futch grew
constantly moro critical, and on July
18th DR.. Taylor, the family physician,
Rev. II. A. White, tho pastor of the
| First BaptiBt church at Metcalf, and
other friends and relatives wero sum.
monod.
There were twenty. ono persons IN
the house On this day and none were
spared by the unknown hand that
sprlnkled poison Wholesale in the sup.
| per.
All twenty.one wele poisoned.
The physloian, called to save Mrs.
Futch, almost lost his own life, and
the minister was for hours at tho
point CT death.
O5herg, including friends and ser.
wants, were desperately Ill, but ell re-.
covered.
On July 90 another attempt WAS
made and Mrs. Futoh, Allen and ohm
were Victims
With the arrest OF Laura and Ollie
Cunningham, negroes employed on the
Eutch eGtate, the attempts ceased
until January 7th, when Che ASSASSIN
grew moro hold aud discarded poison
and resortod to dynamite.
Sunday night, January 7th, the on
envy crawled under the house, bored
holes through the floor under tho bed
In which Allen Futoh was sleeping,
ohiseled out hole with q sharp in.
strument and pushed a dynamite
bomb int the room, lighted the fugs
and fed.
Tracks were found In the back yard
leading to the woods In the rear OF
the house.
The bomb exploded, but again gu.
per. human hands seemed to interpoge
and the assassin was foilOd.