The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-04-22

to this line of testimony as being here
say and witness was instructed that
he couldn't tell what others had said
to him.
He told of receiving information
from Conductor John G. Mccain Of
the presence in the forward part Of
the train that two negroes whom the
conductor had suspected as having
been connected with the murder. He
arrested them and took them to the
Newberry Jail. They denied any
knowledge of the crime. Later he
telephoned for Mr.. NJ. F. Fox to come
to Newberry and identify the prison
ers. Mr.. Fox and Mr.. Alternately
came up early Thursday morning and
after the former identified them they
were taken to Columbia and placed in
the penitentiary for safe keeping.
Sheriff Buford started to tell of a
statement made by Brack Toland
while in the Newberry Jail, but this
was objected to by counsel for the
defendants on the gruond that proper
grounds for introducing a confession
had not been laid and on further
ground that the statement was made
after the negroes had been told that
they were in danger. The solicitor
did not insist on the statement and
this feature was dropped.
Sheriff Buford identified the arti-
cles found on the defendants.
Confessed to Capt. Griffith.
Capt. D. J. Griffith, superintendent
of the State p%enitentiary, testified that
the defendants were placed in the
%penitentiary on February 81. He had
a conversation with both of them in
his office a few days later. They made
voluntary statements about the Ellis
or murder. Brack was the first to
make a statement about the affair.
He said he had never been away from
home before; was induced by his
brother to accompany him on this
trip, telling him that he (Ned) knew
where they could get some money. He
said they staid around Cages depot
for a day or two and the morning of
the date on which they were arrested
he and Ned went to the house where
Mrs. Ellison lived. They went into
the house and asked for some bread.
She gave them some biscuits and they
offered to pay for it but she refused
to take n pay. They then started
into the house to warm. Mrs. Ellison,
he said, at first made no objection to
their warming, but that she told them
that she believed they were up to
some meanness.'
Brack said that they grabbed her
and while his brother got the x he
held her tight. Ned hit her in the
head two or three times and they
put her body in a basket, got some
things out of the house and they ran,
going through the woods a piece.
They sold the gun to a man at
New Brookland and then went TO
Columbia, taking the train from there
and going to Irmo; that they walked
up the railroad from Irmo to Hilton,
boarding the c., N. and l.. train there
and being arrested a few minutes lat
er by Sheriff Buford.
Capt. Griffith said he warned Brack
before he made any statement that II
would be used against him.
After Brack was sent back to his
cell, Ned was brought to the Office
and made substantially the same
statement as that made by Brack, he
too, being warned that he could not
be made to make any confession and
that whatever he said would be used
against him.
Can't. C. C. Roberts of the peniten'
tiary guard correlated Capt. Griffith's
testimony. The statements made by
Ned and Brack Toland were made in
his hearing as we'll as in the hearing
of Corporal j. P. Harling.
Ned Toland on Stand.
Ned Toland was. sworn for the de-
Tense. He said he was from Pros
perity. Left home on Monday (Feb
24); told his brother that he was 60
ing to Columbia. His brother and M
"beat" the local freight to Columbia
When they reached Columbia they
went to a restaurant. He bough'
some cocaine from a negro nance
Luther. After getting dinner he an6
his brother went to Cayce. He carried
coal for the operator at Cayce and the
latter allowed the two to sleep II
the waiting room. They swept ou'
the waiting room the next morning
and then they left and went up the
dirt road and stopped at a lady's
house and got something to eat; sa"
Mr.. Ellison working in the field neal
his home. After getting something
to eat at the lady's house they went
into the woods and built up a fire
staying there until late in the after
noon, when they returned to Capce
and again used the waiting room tc
sleep in.
Leaving the station Wednesday
morning. he took some more cocaine,
He had but one nickel left. He and
his brother started out, his brother
saying that he was hungry. They
went up to Mrs. Ellisor's and she gave
them some bread. They then asked
to be allowed to warm but she told
them not to come in. 1ney went on
in anyway and he grabbed her and