The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-25
Chain of Evidence Very Slowly Tightens Around Prisoners
 At Union City
THOMAS CLOAR LET THE
 NIGHT RIDER COMPANY
Witness Said He Burned His Mask and Would Never Go With the Night Riders Again-Fortified
 House Unmoested.

Union City, Tenn, December 24.-In- stead of resting with the testimony it had submitted the state decided this morning to strengthen the case against the night riders" with a little more evil denee. For this purpose it summoned Thomas H. Cloar, no relative of the de- fendant Arthur Cloar, as it's first wit ness Cloar was induced to join the night riders by. Arthur Cloar early in October. The witness was cool, .but careful. for on last Sunday a friend of one of the men on trial approached Cloar and told him if he testified he would be killed before he left the stand He was missing for an hour or two last night and the state feared he had been abducted or killed, An armdd party found him at his home in Clayton, however He has been in Union City since the defendants were arrested and simply went home for little rest.
 On the day of Captain Rankin's murder Cloar went to Reelfoot lake for fish and met Bob Huffmann and Bud Morris. two of the defendants. Huffmann told him they had wanted him to join in order to get information as to how Union City was guarded as they wanted to visit that place and "attend to- Judge Jones and Attor- ney Caldwell, the latters father, a man so years old Judge Waddell and a num- Der of other prominent men who were urging the extermination- of the night night rider band.
 The witness was told that the riders were "to get Rankin and Taylor that night and he was urged to ride with them. He told them he had no gun, that his child was ill, and that he could not go. Prior to this, however, he had burned his mask and told his wife he would never go with the riders again. He was not pres ent when Rankin was killed.
 He talked with Arthur Cloar a few days after the killing. Arthur Cloar is one of the defendants and he told Thomas Cloar, the witness, all the details of the murder and said that he, Arthur Cloar was present when it was committed. A severe cross-examination failed to confuse the witness or make. him vary from any detail of his story.
 During a recess Judge Jones noticed a number of small boys in the court and asked that they retire. This action fol- lowed an incident the court noted last A chased black masks and were vigorously playing night riders. They have been con- stant attendants at the trial and the court did not consider the effect good on the youthful minds.
 pr. D. M White, while visiting near the lake the night of the Rankin murder, was approached by a masked rider who was armed with a revolver. The man de- manded guns and got an automatic pump gun belonging to his host,- John Moore. The gun was returned the next day. The doctor did mot recognize the man as he spoke in a falsetto tone
 William Roberts, a Reelfoot lake man, was solicited by 1.rthur Cloar to join. He refused, whereupon Cloar told him the riders proposed to "get'' Judge Harris, whip him and cut on his head, "and when we go," said Cloar, you will have to go whether you want to or not"
 The night riders were never able to get Harris. who was one of the owners of the West Tennessee Land company, be- cause he was guarded at all times. His home at Tiptonville is a vertiable fort. The ground and approaches to it are elec- trically mined and it could stand a siege of weeks Whether this was known to the night riders Is not definitely known, but they never attempted to raid Harris home Next the map of the Reelfoot dis trict was produced again and explained by Deputy Sheriff Tom Noah.
 When Noah was excused the state asked a recess until after luncheon when 1t asked attachments for three witnesses. Then the attorney stated If the court ad- Journed at once, the commonwealth would continue until Monday. The court then adjourned until Monday